Infographics and science communication!
Do you remember, as a child we used to be fascinated by books that had more colourful pictures rather than texts? Why only childhood even now we sometimes prefer to look into images with texts more, as compared to reading the whole article in the newspaper. Why does this happen? It is because studies have shown that our brains process visuals a lot better than text. We can remember an image for the explanation of any complex phenomenon better than the texts. When you compare any article, blog or editorials on science communication with the image above, you are more likely to remember the details in the image rather than plain texts. It may also be possible that you may be reading the texts only because you liked the creativity or information in the images.
These information-laden images are called infographics which is basically a visual representation of information or data or knowledge. Infographics are a powerful tool in science communication as we can communicate complex concepts in science in an easy way to the general public. When we use visual images with texts, it helps in comprehension as well as better retention and communication of the scientific knowledge we want to spread. For instance, you might have seen the below infographics in hospitals, restaurants or public places where there are ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. You can notice that even a small child or an illiterate person or the general public who see the image can comprehend the science communication it wants to make rather than the long texts of multiple paragraphs. This is the powerful impact of infographics.
Of course, infographics can never beat the traditional form of science communication like research papers, journal articles or editorials in the newspaper but when it comes to a larger audience of different educational background, infographics works the best and helps to communicate scientific concepts more efficiently than words for any type of audience.
