There’s no debate about the positive effects of using infographics in your marketing strategies. From small businesses to multinational corporations, all visual, digital and content marketing strategies can benefit from an infographic here and there.
But how do you choose the right infographic dimensions for your design?
When you hear the term “infographic,” what’s the first visual that pops into your mind? I bet it’s a long, vertical infographic. It might even be so long that you have to scroll to see the entire piece of content.
Infographics have made a huge splash on social media with this ubiquitous vertical shape. It’s no surprise that it’s the first image in your head right now.I’m here to burst that bubble and expand your infographic horizons. In all directions.
Before we start, here’s a quick video on how you make engaging infographics in minutes!
Now let’s bust the first myth of infographic dimensions: Your infographics don’t have to always be vertical!
They can be horizontal, square, digital, printed, super small or as big as a billboard. Not all infographics include lots of information; there are also micro-infographics with a minimal amount of information. And those come in all sizes too!
If you were looking for was to up your infographic game, you’ve come to the right place! This guide will help you choose the right infographic dimensions for your design.
Let’s get started.
Customize this infographic template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Choose the Right Infographic Dimensions According To Your Audience
If there’s one thing we could say about choosing the right infographic dimensions, it's to trust your gut and design for your audience.
Designing for Particular Platforms
As you’ll see throughout this article, there are many different infographic dimensions. They are all valid. But what’s really important is where the infographic will be published and who will be consuming it.
There’s no better time to consider your target audience than when choosing the right infographic dimensions.
Let’s say your audience is mostly on social media. But which social media platform in particular?
- If they're on Pinterest, go with a vertical infographic dimension.
- On Instagram? Then create square infographics.
- Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin? Best to go with horizontal infographic dimensions.
Selecting Dimensions According to Your Content
The second thing to consider when selecting the perfect dimensions for your infographic is how much content you have to include. Regardless of the size of your infographic, it should never be cluttered.
When you have a list of 10 items to visualize on an infographic, a vertical infographic might be the best choice. But if you manage to minimize the text and go super visual, why not go for a square instead?
Take a look at the infographic below. This is an example from our article on how to create clutter-free infographics. It shows how using icons can cut on text content and even make things look better.
The example below could have easily been a long infographic in list form, but if the content is condensed, it works great as a square!
Image Source
Know The Difference Between Dimensions And Aspect Ratio
Alright, so you want to know exactly what dimensions to use? Before we get into that, you need to know about aspect ratio.
Why?
Because most social media channels allow the sharing the graphics with different dimensions as long as they have the correct aspect ratio.
But what is aspect ratio?
Basically, it’s the relative measurement of the width and height of a graphic, screen (like your smartphone or TV), print, photo, video and so on.
Aspect ratio is not only for creating infographics or social media graphics. It’s actually a measurement for film and screens. You’ve probably seen aspect ratios in your Netflix or YouTube player settings.
An old-school style television has a 4:3 aspect ratio, an HD flat screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio. If you still print photos, you’ve seen the aspect ratio choices the shop offers for the size and resolution of your prints.
But back to infographic dimensions. Look at the image below to see how the different aspect ratios look. Since you can technically create an infographic in any shape or size, your best bet is to stick to aspect ratio when you aren’t sure.
Customize this infographic template and make it your own!Edit and Download
When to Use Vertical Infographic Dimensions
First off, let’s talk about the vertical infographics everyone knows and loves. Where do we usually see these types of infographics?
- Blog Posts
- Websites
- Printed Posters
When it comes to infographic dimensions for a vertical infographic, there’s really no limit to its height. But what you need to consider is where the infographic will be published. This will determine how long your infographic should be.
If you didn’t already know, the Visme infographic maker has a draggable height bar. We know how it is – you never know how long that infographic is going to be until you’re actually creating it!
That’s especially true about infographics for blog posts or scrolling infographics.
Medium Height Infographic Dimensions
Up until 2019, when you posted an infographic on Pinterest, it would show at full length in the feeds and results pages.
The team at Pinterest loved all those long and super long infographics, but they were also worried about how they randomly changed the layout and made things look untidy.
Their solution was to set a maximum height for displaying results. You can still share super long infographics on Pinterest, but now they’ll show only the top portion of your infographic unless they’re clicked on.
Therefore, if you want your infographics on Pinterest to work for you, you have two choices:
- Create medium height infographics that show fully in Pinterest results.
- Create any length infographics, taking into account that only the top part will be visible on Pinterest results and feeds.
The most versatile infographic dimensions for an infographic shared on Pinterest is 735 x 1102px. This measurement has a 2:3 aspect ratio. You can make yours a little bigger if you want a higher resolution for a photo-based design. As long as it's 2:3 it’ll be fine.
The flowchart infographic below is the exact measurement for a vertical infographic that looks great on Pinterest.
Customize this infographic template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Medium to Long Height Infographic Dimensions
Infographics that are a bit longer or double the height of a 2:3 infographic are great for blog posts. A good aspect ratio for these dimensions is anything between 1:2 and 1.3.
In fact, Pinterest will also show an infographic without cropping if it has a 1:2.1 ratio. That’s only a bit longer than 2:3.
The infographic below is 800 x 1790. This looks great in a blog but will get a bit cut off on Pinterest. That’s why the header is so prominent! So people will want to click on it and see the full design.
Customize this infographic template and make it your own!Edit and Download
This one is 800 x 3220. This will also look good in a blog post. When your infographics are this long, you should add an anchor link right before it. Invite the reader to jump over the infographic if they only want to read the content of the post.
Customize this infographic template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Long and Super Long Infographic Dimensions
What about those infographics that go on and on? Those are okay for blog posts too, but you have to make sure to add an anchor link before it. An infographic with super long infographics at high resolution will also make your blog post load slower.
We recommend you add a lower quality version in the blog post and invite readers to click on the image to see the full-scale version.
The infographic below is 800 x 6025. This one is a bit too big to fit in this blog post. We published it in an article called What is Coronavirus? Open that blog post up to take a look at how we present it.
Customize this infographic template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Then we have this other infographic about Covid-19 which we created for an article about Coronavirus prevention. It’s super long! This one measures 800 x 13645!
Full-Width Scrolling Infographic Dimensions
Last but not least is the full-width scrolling infographic. These are usually long or super long, but they're also wide and high resolution. Infographics with these dimensions are not your regular run of the mill creations.
Technically, you could say they are a web page with a purpose. To inform someone of something while creating an immersive experience – sans VR goggles.
The dimension for a full-width scrolling infographic is usually at least 1920px wide with no a height limit. 1920px is a standard size for computer screens.
These infographics are not usually responsive, meaning they'll pretty much always look better on a desktop than on a mobile device.
Some of these infographics are sometimes 2200 px wide or more. It really depends on the resolution quality of the elements used.
To create an infographic like the one above with Visme, follow these steps:
- Open an infographic template or a blank canvas.
- Change the canvas size to 1920px wide. The length will depend on your design.
- Add, design and rearrange the elements into the new space. If you use content blocks, the process is easier.
- Extend the height bar until all the elements are contained.
- Publish to the web and copy the embed code.
- Paste the embed code into your website.
Sign up. It's free.Create stunning infographics with pre-designed content blocks!
When To Use Horizontal Infographic Dimensions
Now that we’ve looked at all the possibilities of vertical infographics, it’s time to get horizontal. No, not a nap! Horizontal infographics!
Did you ever consider that an infographic could be horizontal? They can be created in a number of different ways.
For example:
- One horizontal infographic on its own
- A series of static infographics, posted on social media like a carousel
- A deck of animated and interactive slides with bits of the infographic on every slide
- An infographic video with animated characters, animations or motion graphics
All the possibilities above are attainable with horizontal infographic dimensions.
But what size exactly? Once again, that depends where you'll be sharing it. To be safe, you could stick the standard presentation size. Our presentation templates are 735x1135 px.
Our favorite way of using horizontal infographics is to create one long infographic that can be cut up into parts. Then each piece can be used inside your blog, as a slideshow or as individual social media posts.
For example the ones in this article about using images legally. The trick is to use blocks that are all the same size. With Visme, you can create an infographic like this and then download it both ways:
- As a long infographic
- As a group of images
Then, you open a blank presentation canvas and upload the blocks of your infographic. One on each page. Download it as a presentation or video. Now you’ve got one infographic with many ways of using it!
There’s another way of using horizontal infographic dimensions. It’s to simply create one infographic in a horizontal layout.
The example below is a horizontal infographic with interactive features. This style of infographic fits well in a blog or web page. The interactive quality just adds more value to it.
You could even print horizontal infographics as postcards. Then send them to your client base with a handwritten message in the back. If the infographic is useful and designed well, they might even stick it to their corkboard or fridge.
The best social media platforms for horizontal infographics are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even SlideShare.
How To Use Square Infographic Dimensions
Instagram is the best platform for square infographics. You may think that this is a bit weird. Why would you share infographics on Instagram?
But you’d be surprised!
Take a look at this Instagram account, for example – it’s all square infographics.
We mentioned square infographics in an article about infographic fatigue a couple of years back. They were only just becoming mainstream then. Now they are just as common as vertical infographics and are only growing in popularity.
Why? Well, first of all, they are super easy to share!
Square infographics don’t need to be stand-alone graphics. Just how infographics with horizontal dimensions can be turned into slideshows and videos, square infographics can be posted as social media carousels. On Instagram mainly, but also on Facebook and LinkedIn.
The square infographic below is essentially a pictogram having a bit of fun!
Customize this infographic template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Non-Conforming Micro-Infographic Dimensions
Last but not least is the micro-infographic. This type of infographic isn’t ruled by dimensions but by content. The idea is that it only shows a snippet of information.
As you can see in the examples below, micro-infographics can be designed in any dimension! These also work great as social media carousels, slideshows, and video presentations! Simply add a title slide and you’re good to go!
Customize this infographic template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Customize this infographic template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Choose From Any Infographic Dimensions With Visme
When you create an infographic with Visme, you can choose any dimension you like.
If you’re going to create a vertical infographic, use one of our templates or start from a blank infographic canvas. Only the infographic templates and canvases have the draggable height bar. All other dimensions must be changed through the top left menu.
Take a look at how the draggable height bar works in Visme.
Create your own infographic today!Try It For Free
Remember, the way to choose the best infographic dimensions for your design is to take into account two important things: Your audience and your content.
Sign up for Visme and start designing your infographics. No infographic dimension is an obstacle when designing with us.
