Draw an Infographic

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Synthesize complex data into a clear visual hierarchy that conveys an immediate narrative.

Use it when: Use when a team needs to digest dense report data, clarify a shared message, or align on key takeaways from a major update.

Skip it when: Skip when the work requires precise numerical modeling, formal design software delivery, or when the team has not yet established baseline facts.

Group arrangement: Teams of 3 to 6 participants (for example, 7 splits into 3 and 4; 17 splits into 4, 4, 4, and 5)

Timing: Source specifies 30 to 60 minutes; set to 45 minutes for a full drafting and gallery round.

Materials and tools

• 1 flipchart pad or large poster paper per team
• 1 set of colored markers (4 to 6 colors) per team
• 1 roll of painter tape
• 1 printed data packet per participant (1 to 2 pages of facts, quotes, or statistics)
• Digital whiteboard template with pre-loaded digital text cards containing the data packet items (for remote or hybrid)
• 1 smartphone or digital camera for photographing posters (for hybrid sessions)

Before participants arrive

1. Prepare the printed data packets containing slightly more information than can easily fit on one poster.
2. Set up tables with poster paper and markers for each team of 3 to 6 people.
3. Clear wall space to hang finished posters.
4. For remote or hybrid, pre-populate digital whiteboard frames with digital data cards.

Say this to open

Data by itself can overwhelm people. Your job today is to make raw information tell an obvious story. Working in teams, you will filter the packet down to what matters most, decide on a primary narrative, and sketch an infographic poster. Someone standing five feet away should instantly know where to look and what the main takeaway is.

How to run it

1. Set the challenge and review source data 7 minutes

   Deliver the opening script and distribute data packets. Give participants 3 minutes of silent reading. Use the remaining 4 minutes for each person to highlight 2 or 3 facts they consider essential.

2. Agree on a story angle 8 minutes

   Teams discuss what they highlighted. They agree on one central headline or question. Example: 'Customer wait times doubled after the system migration, but satisfaction rebounded once phone support was added.' Teams outline the visual path: what the eye sees first, second, and third.

3. Draft the visual poster 18 minutes

   Teams draw their infographic on the poster paper. Instruct them to use clear visual anchors like large numbers, arrows, callout boxes, and simple charts. Stop drafting when the timer rings.

4. Gallery walk 7 minutes

   Tape all posters to the wall. For hybrid groups, take quick photos and upload them to the digital board during minute 1. Participants spend 4 minutes silently viewing the posters. Each person identifies one visual choice that clarified the data immediately.

5. Whole-room debrief 5 minutes

   Gather the full room. Take 2 or 3 observations about how filtering and visual weight changed how the underlying data felt.

Debrief questions

• Which headline or number caught your eye first during the gallery walk, and why?
• What data did your team choose to discard, and what made that cut necessary?
• How did structuring the page change the conclusion a viewer would draw?

Finished output: Completed visual infographic posters summarizing raw data into a clear story.

Remote

Form breakout rooms of 3 to 6 people. Provide a digital whiteboard (such as Miro or Mural) with pre-loaded digital data cards. Teams arrange shapes, large numbers, and text blocks to construct their visual story on a shared frame. Conduct the gallery walk by rotating viewing frames.

Hybrid

Keep remote and in-person participants in separate teams. In-person teams draw on physical posters; remote teams work on the digital whiteboard. At the start of the gallery walk, the facilitator photographs in-person posters and uploads them to the board while screen-sharing the digital board in the physical room.

Access and participation choices

• Participants can choose non-drawing roles such as data filterer, copywriter, or timekeeper.
• Provide large-print copies of the data packet.
• Participants may browse the gallery walk seated or view photos from their seats.

If the session gets stuck

Teams spend all their time debating fine data points and do not start drawing.

Intervene at minute 12. Ask the team to pick whichever headline they discussed most recently and commit it to paper immediately.

A team writes paragraphs of text instead of making visual cues.

Remind them of the 5-foot rule: ask them to circle the 3 largest numbers and convert two sentences into an arrow or comparison chart.

Terms used here

• Infographic: A visual layout that combines concise text, numbers, and graphics to explain information quickly.
• Visual hierarchy: Arranging elements on a page so the viewer's eye naturally looks at the most important parts first.