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.

5 sections 20 steps Collects data
1

Brief and Concept Development

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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.

2

Design and Layout

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

3

Copy and Editorial

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

4

Review and Approval

  1. 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.

  2. 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
  3. 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.

5

Export and Publish Prep

  1. 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
  2. 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.

  3. 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
  4. 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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Sections 5
Steps 20
Category Marketing
Price Free to start
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