Get Louder!
an advokit for libraries
How to make an infographic
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Infographics for librarians, educators and other cool geeks is a Livebinder, an aggregate of websites, slideshares, blogs and other online content, complied by Caroline Jo Starkey. While some of the links are no longer live, this is definately worth a look. A particular highlight is the slidshare presentation that Starkey has made, "Introduction to infographics."
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Create stunning infographics for your library is a slideshare which offers some good tips when considering the look of your infographics. It also offers some suggestions for where to obtain images.
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10 Awesome free tool to make free infographics has a neat little checklist of things to consider when planning your infographic.
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The anatomy of an infographic: 5 steps to create a powerful visual is another good article to read when planning, as it discusses the look, the research and the story.
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To keep a bit of perspective when you are making your infographic, look at 19 warning signs your infographic stinks. With warnings like, "don’t share stats and data just because you have them”, it really encourages users to think about why they are creating an infographic, and to "tell the story".
"Inspiration", or, have a look at what some other libraries have made!
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Pinterest is a good place to look at examples. Here are some folders we found:
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One for the hipsters, and lovers of all that is retro, 10 vintage library infographics from the 30s and 40s is a look at some examples of how libraries have been using visual methods of imparting information to their users since before it was popular.
Infographics
Useful Links
Here you will find some links, hints and tips that we found useful in creating our content. Hopefully you will too!
Comics
Video
Scope your community
So you don't feel you have the skills to make a film that will promote your library? Then scope your community for people who can assist you. Here are some links to some videos produced with the assistance 'community capital’.
Day in the Life of a Mobile Library Bloke was made by some Amy Heap and Cynthia Price from the Riverina Regional Library together with ABC Open Producer Sonya Gee.
If your library is in a regional NSW you may find that having commercials produced and aired on a local television network is not too prohibitive. Contact your station and ask the question. That what we did at Wagga Wagga City Library, judge the results for yourself.
One of the best things about the web is share, share, share and share some more! This Video ‘Wagga Wagga Library’ was produced by the then Department of Immigration and Citizenship and posted on their YouTube Channel ImmiTV.
Inspiration!
Our 'need libraries' video was in part inspired by Emily Lloyd's article "Why do you love your library?" is NOT Community Engagement: Better Questions to Ask During National Library Week", which is all about asking your user's the right questions to really get a sense of what your library is used for.
We also liked this pewinternet link because it shows the breadth of activities and programs libraries are offering, and we think these are the kinds of things that libraries need to “get louder” about!
Handy software tips
For a good introductory article on Windows Movie Maker head here. Microsoft of course has fairly in depth help articles for the WMM beginner as well. And Apple has their equivalent for iMovie and Final Cut Pro X, with a good online support community.
FCPtips is one of the better websites for learning about Final Cut Pro. It is full of video tutorials for the beginner through to the advanced user, and includes tutorials on some plugin software as well.
Plus don't forget one of the best tools for learning how to use just about any software - YouTube. Quick video tutorials are an ideal way to learn the ins and outs of new software at your own pace.
Inspiration - Comic makeup
Stepping outside the comic
As comics are 2 dimensional I wanted to take the comic outside that space and see what I could do. This also added a personal element to the comic, people in the area knew it was me and that I was from the library which added to the interest. I decided to become a comic character via makeup. It was lots of fun and meant that it had a resource of imagery that could be used for publicity. The exercise also allowed me to stage photos and manipulate the background to make it easier for editing in the future. This was a lot of fun and there is possibility that youth may be interested in working with your library to create a series of images or a video in comic style.
The make up tutorial followed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ePiBW40JI
Photographs for this tutoial can be found on the comic book page.
Cost: the cost of face paint, check with the Children’s Librarian they always have some that can be used! You just need someone to be the canvas, scope your library there is always someone who is willing to don some makeup for the greater good of the library!
Time: this took a couple of hours, probably 30 minutes to do the actual makeup then some time for taking images.
Inspiration - websites
This website has a great range of comics that reference libraries, they give ideas on what can be created and humour that has been used in drawn comics. Images can be purchased from this website also, the terms and conditions are all detailed in the licensing area.
This is a fun comic creator website that would be great to use with children in the library. They could create their own comic strip using simple images and speech bubbles. The website allows you to print off the strip but not share via the web.
An article on comics in advertising
Pinterest has a wealth of great ideas for comics and posters that you can make.