How to Create an Education Infographic in Adobe InDesign | How To
This infographic looks at how organisations worldwide are battling to improve education for girls. Due to a range of factors, currently more than 130 million girls across the globe do not attend school, a number that charities and governments are hoping to reduce in the near future.
Here we’ll learn how to put together the infographic in InDesign, but you could also easily adapt the content to your own educational theme. You simply have to drop in your own text and statistics.
This is a simple and fun introduction to creating social media-friendly infographics for beginners.
Short on time? You can find lots of easy-to-edit infographic templates over on GraphicRiver and Envato Elements.
Find other infographic tutorials here:
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What You’ll Need to Create Your Infographic
As well as access to Adobe InDesign, you’ll need to download the following fonts and images to use in your layout:
- BW Modelica font family
- Flat book vector icons
Install the fonts on your computer, and you’re ready to get started.
1. How to Create Your InDesign Document
Step 1
In InDesign, go to File > New > Document.
Choose Web from the options at the top of the window, and set the Width to 870 px and Height to 2600 px.
Set the Margins to 44 px, and click Create.
Step 2
Expand the Layers panel (Window > Layers) and double-click on Layer 1, renaming it Background.
Create three more new layers—Arrows, Books, and finally, Type.
Lock all layers except Background, which we’ll work on first.
Step 3
Expand the Swatches panel (Window > Color > Swatches) and choose New Color Swatch from the panel’s drop-down menu.
Create a new RGB swatch, R=209 G=207 B=194, and click Add and then Done.
Repeat the process to create five more RGB swatches:
- R=51 G=56 B=97
- R=82 G=48 B=112
- R=237 G=164 B=192
- R=255 G=54 B=102
- R=90 G=88 B=91
Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to create a shape across the whole page, on the Background layer. From the Swatches panel, set the Fill to a 30% Tint of the grey swatch, R=90 G=88 B=91.
2. How to Create a Stack of Books
Step 1
Open the flat book icons vector in Illustrator.
On the illustration, Right-Click > Release Clipping Mask.
Step 2
Right-Click > Ungroup the second row of icons.
Then Ungroup the stack of books on the far right side.
Select only the pile of five closed books, and then Edit > Copy them.
Step 3
Return to your InDesign document and lock the Background layer.
Unlock the Books layer, and Edit > Paste the vector onto the layer. Scale it up and position it towards the bottom-right corner of the layout, as shown below.
Step 4
Head back over to the Illustrator file, and Ungroup the icon at the far right side of the third row down.
Isolate a couple of closed books, and Edit > Copy them.
Step 5
Back in InDesign, Edit > Paste these onto the layout, and then Right-Click > Transform > Flip Horizontal to flip their position.
Manoeuvre them onto the left side of the top of the pile.
Step 6
Continue to move back and forth between your Illustrator document and the InDesign infographic, selecting and copying individual piles of books, and pasting them onto your InDesign layout.
Arrange them in a zig-zag sequence, leaving gaps alternately on the left and right sides of the page.
Step 7
When you’ve built up a tall pile of books over the center of the page, select all the vectors and Right-Click > Group them together.
Select the group and go to Object > Effects > Drop Shadow. With the Opacity at around 50%, Size at 9 px, Spread at 13% and Noise at 13%, click on the colored square to the right of the Mode menu.
Adjust the Effect Color to a more subtle swatch, such as this pale pink, before clicking OK, and then OK again to exit the window.
3. How to Format Typography on Your Infographic
Step 1
Lock the Books layer and unlock the top layer, Type.
Use the Type Tool (T) to create a text frame across the top of the page, typing in the main title of the infographic.
From either the top Controls panel or the Character and Paragraph panels (Window > Type & Tables > Character / Paragraph), set the Font to Bw Modelica Black, Size 63 pt, and Align Center.
From the Swatches panel, switch the Font Color to R=82 G=48 B=112.
You can add subtitles around the main header set in Bw Modelica ExtraBold, Size 21 pt.
Step 2
Use the Line Tool () to create an optional line next to one of the subtitles.
From the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke), you can adjust the Weight to 14 pt and apply a Rounded Cap to soften the line.
From the Swatches panel, set the Stroke Color to [Paper].
Copy and Paste the line to meet at the other edges of the subtitle(s).
Then select all the lines and go to Object > Effects > Transparency, bringing the Opacity down to 60%.
Step 3
Now it’s time to start populating your infographic with facts and statistics!
Set pull-out statistics in Bw Modelica ExtraBold and the bright pink swatch, R=255 G=54 B=102.
Add supporting text around these in Bw Modelica Black and R=82 G=48 B=112.
Step 4
For longer items of information, set the title in Bw Modelica ExtraBold, R=51 G=56 B=97.
Set the body text in Bw Modelica Bold, R=82 G=48 B=112.
Step 5
You can use these two sets of text frames as a template for populating the rest of the infographic.
Simply Copy and Paste the text frames, positioning them into gaps on the left and right sides of the page, and edit the text as you go.
Step 6
You can also add arrows to your infographic to create a flow and hierarchy in the design.
To do this, lock the Type layer and unlock the Arrows layer. Use the Line Tool () to create a short line extending from behind one of the books to the edge of one of the subtitles.
Set the Stroke Color of the line to R=255 G=54 B=102. From the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke), adjust the Weight to 5 pt and the End style of the line to CircleSolid, to create a pointer effect.
Go to Object > Effects > Drop Shadow to apply a subtle shadow to the arrow.
Then you can Copy and Paste the arrow, flipping it (Right-Click > Transform > Flip Horizontal) to work for the opposite side of the layout.
4. How to Export Your Infographic
Your infographic artwork is finished—awesome work! All you need to do now is to export it to a suitable format for sharing online. Read on to find out how.
Step 1
First, check your infographic for spelling errors (Edit > Spelling > Check Spelling), and then go to File > Export.
Name your infographic image file, and then choose PNG from the Format drop-down menu. Click Save.
Step 2
In the Export PNG window that opens, set the Quality to Medium and Resolution to 72 ppi, and ensure that the Color Space is set to RGB. Then click Export.
Conclusion: Your Finished Infographic
And there we have it! Your education infographic is finished and is ready for sharing online. Why not upload it to Pinterest or Facebook and encourage your friends to share it with others?
You can download the high-resolution version of this infographic here.
To find out more about the campaign to improve girls’ education worldwide, go to the Malala Fund website.
You can find more infographic templates and icons to use on your designs over on GraphicRiver and Envato Elements.