Infographic Creation Checklist
Workflow a content or design lead runs to take an infographic from brief through concept, design, content, review, and publish-ready export. Covers SEO alt text, accessibility, source citation, and stakeholder approval.
Brief and Concept Development
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Define the target persona and channel
Name the ICP segment and the primary distribution channel — LinkedIn feed, blog hero image, gated PDF, email banner. Channel drives aspect ratio and density. A 1200×630 LinkedIn post and an 800×2000 long-form blog piece are not the same artifact.
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Confirm the core message and CTA
One sentence the reader should walk away with, and one action you want them to take. If you can't fit either on a sticky note, the infographic isn't focused enough yet.
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Source data with citations
Every stat needs a primary source, publication date, and URL captured in the brief. Avoid stats older than 3 years unless they're still definitive. Internal data needs analytics-team sign-off before it appears in a public asset.
Collects file -
Determine the asset format
Static PNG, animated GIF, scrollytelling SVG, or interactive web embed. Animated and interactive formats trigger a different review path (motion accessibility, JS performance, embed QA).
Collects list -
Wireframe the visual hierarchy
Sketch in Figma or on paper. Block out the headline, 3–5 supporting sections, and the CTA. Confirm the reading path before any pixel work starts.
Design and Layout
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Pull colors and type from the brand system
Use the published brand palette HEX values and approved typefaces from the DAM (Brandfolder, Frontify, or shared Figma library). No off-brand accent colors — if you need a new color, route through brand before the design pass.
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Build data visualizations in Figma or Illustrator
Match the chart type to the data: bar for comparisons, line for trends, donut sparingly and never for more than 4 segments. Label axes, include units, and avoid 3D effects that distort proportion.
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Verify color contrast against WCAG 2.1 AA
4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text and graphical elements. Check with the Figma Stark plugin or WebAIM contrast checker. Brand-palette pairings often fail at small sizes — fix at design time, not in QA.
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Lay out responsive crops for each channel
LinkedIn (1200×627), Instagram square (1080×1080) and story (1080×1920), X (1600×900), blog hero, email (max 600px wide). Build crops as Figma frames so updates propagate from a single source.
Copy and Editorial
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Write headline and section copy
Headline under 10 words. Each section block under 25 words. Match the brand tone-of-voice guide. Cut adjectives ruthlessly — infographic copy reads on a phone in 4 seconds.
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Fact-check every stat against its source
Open each citation, confirm the number on the page matches the design, and confirm the source's methodology supports the claim being made. Rounding or paraphrasing a stat into something the source doesn't say is the most common way infographics get pulled after publication.
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Run copy through brand voice and AP-style edit
Editor pass for clarity, voice, capitalization, and number formatting. Confirm product names, trademarks, and the legal entity name match the current brand guidelines.
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Add the CTA with UTM-tagged URL
Build the CTA URL in the shared link-builder so source / medium / campaign follow team convention. Test the link resolves to a live, indexable page — broken CTA URLs on social posts are a recurring incident.
Review and Approval
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Route draft for stakeholder review
Share via Figma comment links, not Slack DMs. Tag PMM for messaging accuracy, brand for visual standards, and the SME who owns the data. Set a 48-hour comment window with a clear cutoff.
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Capture the approval decision
Document the final decision with reviewer notes. "Approved with revisions" routes back through design; legal-flagged content needs a separate compliance pass before any external use.
Collects list Collects paragraph Collects signature -
Route through legal for substantiation review
Required when the asset includes comparative claims, customer outcomes, or regulated-industry messaging (health, finance, security). Legal verifies the substantiation file under Lanham Act and FTC standards before external publication.
Export and Publish Prep
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Write alt text for screen readers
Describe the data and conclusion, not the visual style. "Bar chart showing 62% of buyers research three vendors before booking a demo" beats "colorful bar chart." Required for ADA / WCAG 2.1 AA compliance on public-facing pages.
Collects paragraph -
Compress and export web-optimized files
PNG or WebP under 200KB for blog and social, SVG for crisp scaling on retina, PDF for gated download. Run through TinyPNG or Squoosh; oversized hero images tank Core Web Vitals LCP scores.
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Upload final assets to the DAM
Tag with campaign, channel, expiration date, and rights-cleared status in Brandfolder, Bynder, or your DAM of record. Without DAM tagging, sales and partner teams pull stale versions for months.
Collects file -
Hand off to publishing channels
Notify the blog editor, social manager, and email lead with DAM links, alt text, UTM-tagged URL, and recommended posting copy. Confirm the social scheduler (Sprout, Hootsuite, Later) has the assets queued before close-of-week.
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