The design world is constantly evolving — which is why it’s essential to keep informed if you want your visuals to stay current.
This philosophy is what inspired our annual roundup of graphic design trends. And while the piece is well-loved, we knew there was more to be said when it came to infographics specifically. Especially as more brands, organizations and institutions adopt them for their incredible storytelling potential.
So to do the category justice, we’ve narrowed down seven infographic design trends and data visualization predictions for 2023 — in infographic form, no less!
Keep reading to see examples from leading brands and publishers. Plus, tons of templates and tips on how to apply these trends to your own designs, too.
Infographic design trends 2023:
- Bright color palettes
- Animated infographics
- Vintage vibes
- Personalized data
- Gradients galore
- Creative lines
- Data viz as art
1. Bright color palettes
No matter how dreary the weather, expect to see a lot of bright colors carry into the infographics of 2023.
All over, we’ve noticed brands tap into the color psychology behind highly saturated tones to create designs that stimulate the senses.
Check out this recent creation from Visual Capitalist to see what I mean:
No matter the subject matter at hand, incorporating vibrant shades is a sure way to make your designs pop.
One leading name in tech that’s been sharing a ton of infographics in this style is SEMrush.
From social shares to blog posts, the SEO specialist has provided audiences with highly engaging resources, in the form of infographics, for some time.
It’s clear the company understands the value these visuals offer when it comes to educating viewers, and these peppy hues work in tandem with that goal.
That’s because bright color palettes set the tone, and bring energy and vibrance to the page. It’s not hard to see why anyone scrolling by would be inclined to stop and read these eye-catching creations.
Here’s another infographic from SEMrush that uses a peppy palette to engage.
FYI, Visual Capitalist and SEMrush aren’t the only ones who’ve shared infographics in this realm. The versatility of this trend makes it easy for anyone to try.
Take this example from Website Builder Expert:
The vivacious palette adds a bright boost to the icons, bringing each buyer behavior statistics to life. (You can check out the full size infographic here.)
Ready to try your hand at this trend? Venngage has tons of easy-to-edit templates you can 100% customize — no design experience required.
Here’s a bright, punchy palette perfect for showing off demographic information:
Have something else in mind? This eye-catching infographic design could do the trick:
A word of warning, though. If you’re trying to attract eyeballs, you’ll want to prioritize accessible colors in your designs. That way, everyone — including the 360 million people who experience color blindness — can understand your work.
Try out this free Accessible Color Palette Generator tool and use the vibrant palettes as your basis. Easy!
2. Animated infographics
In our roundup of 2023’s design trends, we identified that motion graphics would dominate new creative assets, influencing everything from social feeds to UX designs with their dynamic movement.
Well, infographics are no exception! Many animated data visualizations have risen to prominence lately, offering viewers a whole new way to glean insights from the information.
Some of them use the same engagement-boosting tactics that popular UX designs employ, altering the page content as users scroll down. This infographic piece from the South China Morning Post is one notable example that does exactly that:
With each scroll, viewers can see the expansion of China’s high-speed rail system over time. The audience then becomes directly involved in this unique, interactive experience.
Another prominent example came from Foreign Policy recently. The American news publication added motion graphics to their data visualizations comparing how White House dinner menus have changed.
To accomplish this, they arranged their data into tree maps — i.e. series of boxes varying in size and color. The more times a dish was served = the larger the box.
On the website, you have the option to adjust the slider yourself, or press ‘play’ to watch the progression pan out. Here’s a GIF so you can see it in action:
Neat, huh?
The beauty in animated infographics is their ability to add extra context and dimension to any information presented. Rather than having to compare between static images, you can see the change play out in real time.
Here’s another animated infographic that made it to the top of popular information design subreddits r/infographics and r/dataisbeautiful.
Once again, this animated chart effortlessly keeps viewers engaged, dynamically illustrating the changing market share of different web browsers.
But don’t mistake these last few examples as a sign only timeline designs can benefit. Any infographic can use some motion graphic magic to heighten their visuals.
Digital Commerce 360’s piece on the top online marketplaces did just that, animating sections to enhance the storytelling.
The bottom line: motion graphics will continue to disrupt static images in 2023. So take the hint: now’s the perfect time to add some interactivity into your infographic game.
Whether that means animating existing images (as shown in our YouTube short below), or designing movement into your pieces directly, try it out.
3. Vintage vibes
As #7 from our graphic design trends roundup identified, the pandemic influenced major change in the design world. After all, COVID had us longing for simpler, familiar times — and designers responded with ample vintage revivals.
Many of the notable infographics shared this year followed suit, taking trips down memory lane (quite far, in some cases) and using the past for inspiration.
Continuing into 2023, we’ll see a wide variety of (not-so) bygone eras come back into fashion, from colorful pop art graphics to black and white newspaper prints.
Case in point is this popular infographic from the Centre of Disease Control (CDC).
The national public health agency has been upping their infographic game for a minute — a smart move considering the incredible educational value these visual communications offer in healthcare settings. And this colorful retro graphic packs an informative punch indeed, using a memorable comic book aesthetic to instruct viewers on flu management.
In the same vein, Visual Capitalist shared this illustrative infographic that interprets our most used social media apps and messaging platforms as planets.
Beyond its nostalgic block lettering, one need only zoom in to see the retro influence: Ben Day dots, which reference the printing process of old pulp comic books.
Too subtle on the vintage front for you? This VC piece combines the newsprint aesthetic with some artful pops of color.
(I know, how meta right? Showcasing an infographic on data storytelling?)
This mixed media, vintage look is offset by bright accents that employ more Ben Day dots. It’s a smart choice that channels the theme, since the infographic speaks to data storytelling’s progression throughout history.
(If you didn’t know, aligning your theme with your visuals is cornerstone to crafting amazing infographics. You can read more about that here.)
Another popular infographic that invokes the past is this informational infographic exploring the United States’ sanctions against Russia.
Yet again, we can see vintage aesthetics in action. The greyscale images add an antiquated twist to an incredibly of-the-moment topic, and that tension keeps the infographic’s dense subject matter interesting.
Finally, it would be remiss if we didn’t talk about Visual Capitalist’s re-promotion of one of the first infographics ever.
Published by J.H. Colton in 1849, this visual is believed to be the first edition of the iconic mountain and rivers infographic map.
In the article, writer Nick Routley notes: “Today, highly detailed maps of our planet’s surface are just a click away. In times past…access to information was much more limited. It wasn’t until the 1800s that comparison diagrams and maps became widely accessible…people found new ways to learn about the world around them.”
This summarizes one of the most compelling aspects of this vintage vantage point: the way the past lends itself to the present and comforts our contemporary sensibilities.
Read to give this trend a try? Whether you’re sharing statistics or just some sentences, here are two templates you can use to throw it back in the best way possible.
Remember, these designs are 100% customizable. You can swap out the information you see with your own, and add any visual assets you wish with Venngage’s visual editor. Sign up for free to get started.
4. Personalized data
When reviewing the most widely shared, popular infographics of this year, two main players become clear. And unlike 2020/2021, neither involved flattening the curve!
First up is Spotify Wrapped.
Now in its sixth year running, this infographic compilation of users’ listening information visualizes personal data in an unique way that encourages users to share their stats. What’s more, 2022’s iteration offered even more individuating information, calculating a Myers-Briggs-esque visual to boot.
Here was mine, for reference:
(Note the bright color palettes?)
The success of Spotify’s Wrapped prompted Apple to step up their game too, offering their own recap dubbed Apple Music Replay. This year, their year-end user infographics got a “much needed redesign” too.
Even YouTube Music has its own version.
If it wasn’t abundantly clear by the amount of Wrapped images shared —and memed — across social media, these personalized visuals have captured the minds and hearts of consumers everywhere.
But they’re not the only user-generated infographics that took the world by storm.
Just weeks before, Instafest spread like wildfire, giving Spotify users the ability to visualize their listening behavior as a festival lineup.
Instafest joins a pantheon of other apps that have made the rounds for their ability to generate original visuals from listener’s information.
For example, Receiptify is an app that generates, you guessed it, a receipt based on your data.
Icebergify also made it big in the past few months. The app generates an image that plots your Spotify data on an iceberg, based on listening frequency and the overall popularity of the artists.
So, we know giving people the power to create their own visualizations is a guaranteed way to get folks talking. But what about when it comes other people’s personal data?
One need only look to another popular infographic to see why that level of personalization works.
Yes, I’m talking about the now-infamous chart visualizing Leonardo DiCaprio’s dating history.
Newly updated in 2022, the data visualization has proven a sensation time and time again. And while the original post was (mysteriously) deleted hours after its update, that didn’t stop the rest of the internet from sharing the s#!+ out of it.
Pay attention to the common thread that runs between them: both involve reimagining personal data and visualizing the results in a memorable, novel way.
So in 2023, expect data visualizations to tell our own stories, especially as the amount of personal data at our disposal only increases.
In the meantime, here are a few templates you can use to illustrate your own — or other’s — journeys, infographically.
Whether you want to play around with Kim K’s resume or build your own, these templates have you covered.
5. Gradients Galore
If you’re not gaga over gradients, you need to get with it. Because these days, gradual color blends are all the rage.
Just like this arresting infographic from DOMO’s annual report, Data Never Sleeps, demonstrates, gradients give any image a sleek, futuristic feel.
All it takes is a little light-bending, color-blending action to make any element on your design stand out.
Take this infographic from software and app development company A3logics:
Its design incorporates gradients in the images, font and background shapes. This helps carry the reader’s eyes down the page and creates a visual hierarchy. It also ties together the varying hues used throughout.
For a more pared-down example, marketing tool CoSchedule published this infographic that draws attention to best posting times using gradients.
While keeping true to the infographic’s overall monochromatic theme, the color blending adds depth, dimension and emphasis to the calendar blocks.
As we’ve seen, gradients are great for highlighting different areas while keeping the design cohesive. The same goes for this digital marketing infographic by Grazitti Interactive.
Like previous examples, this design ties together various hues present in its icons, headers and highlighted text with this technique. It goes to show that using gradients is a great choice for helping certain areas stand out without clashing — especially if lots of different colors have been used.
(Notice how the CTA gets a visual boost from the use of a gradient, too?)
Speaking of section header gradients, check this infographic from Rave Reviews for more infographic design inspiration:
Or Tailwind App’s roundup of social media design trends:
Groovy, huh?
The best part about gradients is that they’re super easy to easy to apply to your own designs. All you need to do is select from Venngage’s infographic templates that feature gradient elements, like this one:
Then, just swap out the text and icons and you’re off to the races.
Here’s another popular option for HR infographics featuring gradients (though you can adjust its content to serve any purpose).
If you’ve found a different template you want to add a gradient effect to, you can use Venngage’s visual editor to accomplish this quickly and easily. For example, there are several gradient backgrounds and icons you can select in the tool directly. Otherwise, upload an image to add your own custom gradient.
6. Creative lines
As both an aesthetic choice and a means of visualizing data, creative lines will continue making a big impact on the infographics of 2023.
Though these styles and methods aren’t necessarily new, the last few months have seen visuals that involve artistic, flowing pathways top the charts.
Of course, timelines are probably one of the first types of infographics that come to mind when envisioning creative lines. Here’s one of my personal favorites shared by Visual Capitalist in recent months:
Featuring cartoon characters traveling down a lazy river, this 10 Years of Tinder infographic brings a personable feel to what could be a long-winded story. By styling the visuals in this way, perusing the information feels more like a fun adventure than a drab rundown of staff departures and revenue.
Want to create your own inventive timeline? Here’s a template with intriguing lines to help you catch the eyes of any viewer.
Another great example of creative linework, this updated Department of Homeland Security (DHS) infographic uses a roadway illustration to compare aspects of human trafficking.
This hard-hitting graphic packs a ton of information into one educational visual. So, take this as your cue to consider how you can integrate your theme into how you design lines for maximum impact.
From a data viz perspective, a ton of infographics with creative lines have received major traction lately. Most of them fall into the territory of sankey diagrams — AKA visualizations depicting a flow from one set of values to another.
One example includes these widely-shared visualizations that show Q4 income statements from major tech companies.
Developed by App Economy Insights for their aptly-titled business newsletter, How They Make Money, these graphics made waves for conveying company revenue and expense streams in a simple, understandable chart. (You can check out others on their Linkedin).
In similar fashion, Visual Capitalist shared a Sankey diagram comparing the world’s most populated countries recently:
Pretty nifty, right?
Switching gears from sankey charts, here’s my personal favorite example of some creative linework that designer David Upshall shared on his Behance.
This stunning display showcases humanity’s increasing life expectancies since the 50s, driving home just how awe-inspiring data visualizations can get.
Speaking of which…
7. Data viz as art
Our last stop on this infographic trends list is one you surely won’t forget — especially if you love design for design’s sake.
With advances in data collection and generative design technology, the production of highly artistic data visualizations have grown ten-fold in recent years. Instead of simple bar graphs and charts, information designers are reaching new heights, manipulating these repositories of information into bonafide works of art.
For a recent example, check out this visualization of teams in the FIFA World Cup.
At once beautiful and informative, these visionary visuals show off the limitless world of data design.
A common thread you’ll see in this realm is the juxtaposition between dark subject matter and inventive illustrations.
Like this visualization of Iranians killed in recent protests:
Here’s another example that employs animated elements to produce dynamic digital art — once again, about the ongoing censorship in Iran.
As we’ve shown throughout this roundup of infographic trends, these themes are not disparate entities. Rather, they work together. For example, the data visualization project hong kong artists, women by Shirley Wu, also employs motion graphics to create a uniquely immersive effect:
Who wouldn’t get lost in this design?
With so many breathtaking creations, it’s not hard to see why these bespoke visuals have spurred the publication of entire books.
From Wu’s Data Sketches…
… to David McCandless’ Beautiful News…
…these artists have shown that the boundary between data design and high art is a blurry one at best.
Wondering how you can achieve the same effect?
While you can’t become an information design expert overnight, you can choose a creative starting point and run with it. Of course, Venngage can help you with that.
Next stop: the MoMA.
The future is friendly
There you have it — a definitive list of seven infographic design and data visualization trends for 2023.
As we’ve seen, leading organizations, publications and brands have already started implementing these styles to stay ahead of the curve…and you can too! Start by experimenting with a few of these up and coming trends using any of the 100% customizable infographics listed, or head over to our templates page for more inspiration.
You got this, trendsetter.