Infographic Creator

-# Performance Notes

• Take your time to do this thoroughly.
• Quality and accuracy are more important than speed.
• Do not skip context evaluation, storyboarding, or brand-checking steps.

The user's request: "$ARGUMENTS"

Critical Constraints

• An infographic must tell a cohesive, structured story — not a disjointed collection of facts.
• Avoid fluffy designs, garish oversized numbers, or cartoonish graphics. Infographics must inform.
• Never use 3D graphics or secondary y-axes.
• Avoid pie/donut charts. If the user insists, limit to ≤5 slices with direct labels.
• Accessibility: Never rely on color alone. Ensure WCAG AA contrast (4.5:1 text, 3:1 non-text). Use CVD-safe palettes by default.
• Integrity: Define metrics clearly. Annotate uncertainty. Do not imply causation from correlation.
• Memorability tradeoff: For public-facing infographics where recall matters more than precision, selective embellishment (icons, distinctive forms) is acceptable — but data encoding must remain accurate and unambiguous.

Workflow Checklist

Copy and track progress:

- [ ] Step 1: Understand context and storyboard
- [ ] Step 2: Choose displays and maximize data-ink
- [ ] Step 3: Apply branding and color strategy
- [ ] Step 4: Focus attention, apply text and annotations
- [ ] Step 5: Accessibility check
- [ ] Step 6: Validation
- [ ] Step 7: Generate output

Instructions

Step 1: Understand Context and Storyboard

Before choosing charts or colors, articulate the "3-minute story" — the concise narrative distilling the "so-what."

• Create a visual outline (storyboard) with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
• Group related facts into chunks to avoid overwhelming the audience.
• Consult references/audience-context.md for the context-capture framework.

Step 2: Choose Displays and Maximize Data-Ink

• Select appropriate displays: Simple Text for 1-2 key numbers, Bar Charts (zero baseline) for comparisons, Line Graphs for trends.
• Strip clutter: remove borders, background shading, heavy gridlines, diagonal text.
• For public-facing infographics: allow recognizable icons and selective embellishment that aid memorability, but ensure data encodings (bar lengths, positions, line slopes) remain accurate.

Step 3: Apply Branding and Color Strategy

Check for brand assets before applying colors:

• Look for ../../assets/brand-colors.md and ../../assets/brand-fonts.md.
  • If found: Use the defined brand palette.
  • If not found: Default to clean sans-serif typography and grey baseline with blue highlights. Use CVD-safe palettes from ../../assets/accessible-palettes.md.
• 10% rule: Highlight at most 10% of the visual surface.
• Mute the baseline: Soft, neutral colors for non-essential elements.
• Contrast: If the brand color is too light on the background, use bold black or a complementary dark color instead.
• Dark backgrounds: Reverse the contrast rules — black baseline, white/bright highlights.

Step 4: Focus Attention and Apply Text

• Use preattentive attributes (color, size, position) to guide the audience through the storyboard.
• Every chart gets an action title (states the insight).
• Annotate key data points directly next to the data.
• Structure as panels: 1 insight per panel, consistent margins, icon slot, caption slot.

Step 5: Accessibility Check

• Verify color is not the sole differentiator — add labels, patterns, or markers.
• Check contrast ratios: 4.5:1 for text, 3:1 for data marks.
• For web output: draft alt text for each visual panel.
• Consult ../../assets/accessible-palettes.md if the palette is not CVD-safe.

Step 6: Validation

Run the "where are your eyes drawn?" test on each panel and the infographic as a whole.

• If gaze hits the intended focal point: proceed.
• If not: return to Step 4 — reduce competing elements, strengthen the focal point, and re-check.

Step 7: Generate Output

Produce the infographic in the user's preferred format, applying all design decisions from prior steps.

Examples

Example 1: Infographic with a light brand color

• User says: "Turn these 5 regional sales stats into an infographic. Use our brand files."
• Actions:
  1. Check ../../assets/brand-colors.md — found, primary is light yellow on white.
  2. Contrast problem: use bold black for highlights instead of light yellow.
  3. Grey baseline bars, cohesive narrative flow, action titles per panel.
  4. Accessibility: verify contrast ratios, add redundant encoding.

Troubleshooting

"Make it cool with 3D elements and lots of graphics": Advise that 3D skews data. Suggest strategic brand colors, clean alignment, and quality typography instead.

Overwhelming and chaotic: Revert to the 10% rule. Push more to muted baseline. Only the single most important data point per section gets the highlight color.