14 Social Media Design Tips for 2014

In the ever-changing world of social media, visual elements are one of the most powerful ways to grab a viewer’s attention. According to Trend Reports, between 65 and 85 percent of people describe themselves as visual learners. SocialClinch compiled an infographic stating that Facebook photo posts get almost 40 percent more interactions than standard text posts.

Are you ready to start maximizing your social media design efforts? With these 14 social media design tips for 2014, you can create images that accomplish your goal and attract your audience.

1. DISTINGUISH PRINT VS. SOCIAL

When posting on social media, don’t post what’s meant for print directly to your networks. It’s very likely that the printed piece is very copy-heavy and the resolution is too high for web. Instead, repurpose parts of the printed piece and only share the most important elements.

2. WRITE LESS COPY

When creating visuals on social, the less detail- the better. Copy should be creative and short to grab the viewer’s attention. A link can be added for more information.

3. SEARCH TEMPLATES

One important factor for Social is making sure everything is created at the correct size. There are a lot of dimensions to know, but fortunately you don’t have memorize them! There are many cheatsheets out there with sizing for each of the different platforms.

4. KNOW THE GUIDELINES

Be sure you’re up-to-date on each network’s image guidelines. Currently, for Facebook Ads, only 20% of an image can be occupied by copy.

5. DETERMINE HIERARCHY

Visual hierarchy is extremely important in design. With content, your words and images need to be organized in a way that helps the viewer prioritize the message. The more important the message, the more contrast it should have.

6. PRIORITIZE TYPOGRAPHY

Typography is a huge factor in visual design. With good typography, there is potential to go beyond just words- it elicits feelings and character about your brand. For headlines, make sure they are bold and easy to read. For body copy, maximize legibility by using the correct amount of leading and tracking. Lines should be large enough to read – the shorter the lines, the better.

7. SELECT GOOD IMAGERY

Image selection is key. When choosing an image, put yourself in the shoes of the viewer: Is this something you would engage and/or share with your friends? Go with something that will evoke a reaction.

8. USE CREATIVE COMMONS

When you are adding images and other content that you did not create to your social sites, it is important to make sure that you are not violating anyone’s copyright. Use Creative Commons and Public Domain images to be safe –compfight.com, search.creativecommons.org, sxc.hu

9. DON’T FORGET ATTRIBUTION

Images from creative commons are okay to use but make sure you attribute the image with the author. Don’t use images that you don’t own or that you don’t have permission to use. Just because the image is a result from a Google search doesn’t mean you can use it!

10. CONSIDER A LOGO

When creating your own imagery, you have the option of branding your visuals. While some prefer to have their logo prominent on every piece of creative, others prefer to ditch the logo. It’s your choice, so consider both options based on the the audience.

11. USE EASIER TOOLS

While Adobe Photoshop is the best tool for designers, it can be overwhelming if you aren’t a professional. Pixlr and Gimp are free photoshop-like free online tools you can use. There are also many mobile applications that can help with design/layout including: Pic Stich, Overgram, Studio.

12. USE CORRECT PRESETS

The proper color mode for online images is RGB. RGB images display better on screens, as opposed to CMYK, which is meant for ink printing. Basically, monitors emit light and paper absorbs light. When creating an image, set your image to 72 dpi (dots per inch). This will help for faster load time, and is the standard as opposed to print’s 300 dpi requirement.

13. SAVE FOR WEB

When saving files out of Photoshop, use Photoshop’s “Save for Web” feature to create smaller images that are perfect for web and mobile.

14. BE CREATIVE

Social media is a hub of design inspiration. Be creative and think outside of the box.

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12 Tips for Launching Website Infographics

Numbers don’t lie. That’s true. But they can be really boring. When you have a lot of numbers, try to help the viewer relate to them. Infographics are very “in” these days but what are they? Simply put, they are a combination of information and graphics. Effective communication is the key when dealing with a lot of information. Although, an appealing design is crucial to attract readers, it is not everything. Here are our 12 tips for launching a new website infographic:

1. Get in the Mood:

Like when writing any editorial copy, the first step is to first understand yourself what the purpose of your content is. Is it going to intimidate the readers? Excite them? Scare them? Impress them? Read through the content and find out the mood of the infographic. Your graphics, statistics and body copy would easily align themselves if you’ve set the ground rules first.

For example, in this infographic about 10 myths about graphic design created by youthedesigner, the purpose was to countdown to the worst misconceptions people in general have about graphic design. It was aimed mainly at clients and design students so it was simple but illustrated. It creates the mood immediately. Notice how the primary colours blue and yellow give it a simple but colourful feel.

2. Context Adds Meaning:

When creating an infographic, it is necessary to make the information relatable for the reader. Numbers shouldn’t be just numbers, they should be comparisons. You can relate numbers of people with the crowds that attend concerts, go to tourist spots or can fill up a football ground. Also, there are certain phrases which make more sense than numbers such as “half a million” instead of 500, 000.

For example, the above infographic by GetOvergram.com mentions that Facebook has 10,000 times more photos than the United States’ Library of Congress! That puts things into perspective and there is a context that the reader can relate to.

3. Create a Story:

Your infographic should flow from the beginning to the end. It should be told like a story which has an introduction, a middle and an end. You can use the heading to give a clear introduction about what is going to follow. The information can then follow in chronological order or you can even prioritise according to what you think your reader would want to read first.

For example, in the above infographic by infolinks.com about the history of advertising, they follow a clear structure of historic events and pick the most momentous ones that changed the course of history forever. Each event has an accompanying illustration which makes you curious enough to read the text beside it.

4. Guide the Eye:

At the end of the day, an infographic is also a design. It should be structured in a way that it controls the eye movement of the reader and helps the reader reach the end of the graphic. You can create hierarchy by using principles of basic design such as contrast, balance and perspective or you can go old school and use arrows.

In the above example about social media personalities by mylife.com, the eye is guided through the infographic using simple arrows that aren’t too meddlesome with the design but work well with the light illustrations and text. Remove the arrows and you would lose sense of where to go first and which text to read last.

5. Relate with Visuals:

Infographics are all about making a lot of text understandable through appealing graphics. This does not mean that any wonderfully illustrated image will go well with your text. The pictures in an infographic should add meaning to the whole package. A simple test is to remove the text and see what story your visuals are telling. If it is a story that doesn’t comply with your text, or if it makes no sense, it’s time to go back to the design board.

In the infographic developed by Cygnis Media about the usage of Facebook and the penetration of Facebook in our lives, the visuals are well aligned with the stats. Even if you remove the text, the pictures will say the same thing.

6. Choose a current topic:

When creating an infographic, choose a topic that your target audience wants to know more about. More often than not, trending topics are the most popular. People want to get statistics about events going on around them so that they can know more about it and spread the word.

For example, at the end of 2012, Mashable released a tremendous infographic marking the most popular memes and social events of the year. That is a recipe for attracting eyeballs.

7. Be Comprehensive:

Consider an infographic a one-stop-shop for information geeks. Once they get into your infographic, they should be able to extract all the information that the headline promises to give them. Gather enough data and figures about your topic so you can fulfill your readers needs.

For example, soci@ljumpstart created an infographic about social media usage around the world. Now, that’s a pretty vast topic, but they did a splendid job of explaining it all with catchy graphics and comprehensive data. True, the design and typography could use more improvement, but the topic coverage is great.

8. Sift Through Information:

Even though you have to cover the topic at hand, you don’t want to overload the reader. Once you’ve collected the data, sift through it and find out which statistics fit best with your storyline. Only pick relevant information and cover the major points of focus in your topic. You can always add a little figure here and there if you feel the need.

For example, Apollo Group wanted to create an infographic underlining the importance of reading and to motivate parents to cultivate reading habits in their children. The infographic is the best example of being straightforward and comprehensive.

9. Quote Examples to Strengthen Your Point:

When you’re creating an infographic that passes some sort of judgement or is drawing a conclusive decision, quoting examples is a great way to support your point. Of course, this means doing a little more research, but the more you know, the more it will show!

SmartBear came up with an infographic titled “The Cost of Poor Web Design” in which they discussed how ignoring web design can cost you valuable money. They gave the example of Obama’s and Romney’s websites.

10. Incorporate Humour If You Can:

Since infographics are a fun way to convey a lot of heavy numbers and help readers easily digest them, it doesn’t hurt to add a little bit of humour to make it more interesting. Everyone on the web is either there for information or for entertainment. Infographics can be infotainment and deliver everything in one package.

For example, Killer Infographics created one that defined the cliche “make it pop” for different industries. Not only is the topic dripping with sarcasm but it picks up pace as you read on.

11. Master Your Type:

Infographics contain a lot of words which means that they are heavily dependent on great typography. Choose your typefaces carefully and add variation in fonts to keep it interesting.

The above is a great example of a well-typed infographic by Killer Infographics.

12. Use Wolfram Alpha:

You didn’t see this one coming, did you? But Wolfram Alpha is a search engine that relies completely on well-presented information. Yes, you read that right. If you’re an infographic addict, Wolfram Alpha is your Hawaii. Type your queries and Wolfram Alpha will instantly give you statistics, maps, locations and other details in just a few seconds!

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, infographics can be a fun way of conveying a lot of information and big numbers to your readers in a way they can comprehend. Infographics are trending because people no longer have the time to go through boring statistics. Attractive, relatable visuals, practical typography, contextual analysis and comprehensive research are just some of the things why people love infographics. When you set down to make your next one, keep this checklist of 12 tips in mind!

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Facebook becomes Twitter. And vice-versa

They might not be announced as ‘major updates’, however the new versions of Facebook and Twitter for mobile devices say a lot about today’s social media strategy.

Indeed, this week Facebook and Twitter updated their mobile interfaces, 5.2 for Facebook for iOS, 5.1 for Twitter for iOS. Okay, nothing abnormal here, the two most known social networks release updates on a regular basis. However, you might have missed something when you updated to the new versions.

“You can now share your favorite news from your newsfeed with a simple touch”. That’s how Facebook announces it. What it means indeed, it’s that you can ‘repost’ someone else’s post on your newsfeed. Still don’t get it? See by yourself. 

                

So, on Facebook, you could like or comment on a post. On Twitter you can ‘favorite’ a tweet or reply. But that’s not all. On Twitter, you can retweet. It’s why Twitter works. The ‘retweet’ button is the cause of Twitter’s success. Therefore Facebook had to do something. Of course you could already share content if you went to www.facebook.com. But what about mobiles? More than half of Facebook users check their notifications on a mobile device. Well now those users can ‘share’ a status, link, photo or video just like they would retweet a post on Twitter. It’s as simple. One click, it’s all it takes.

This is what we are facing today. Standardization. It started with design. Pinterest-like designs for everyone. Even eBay and LinkedIn got it.

Now it goes even further. The functions are alike. You can ‘retweet’ from Facebook. Oh and did I mention the new SoundCloud beta?

More, you can even see ‘top stories’ on Twitter 5.1: “Visualize popular topics from your network” and “Tweets picked just for you now appear in your feed” are two features now available in the new version of Twitter for iOS.

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