Not all infographics are created equal, and timelines are some of the most exciting ways to present information. As databases become more advanced, they allow us to create more sophisticated infographics.
But not only is this kind of data presentation becoming more common—it’s also useful for certain subjects. It’s worth discussing what makes a timeline creator infographic an effective use of design (and why it works especially well for certain industries).
1. Visualize History
You’ll notice that many of these infographic timelines feature historical events, past political movements, or cultural changes. That’s because history is inherently interesting, even thousands of years later. One of the best ways to get someone interested in your timeline is by using historical references.
2. Show Progress With a Timeline Maker
One of the most useful features of timelines is that they show how something evolved over time—and change can be just as interesting as history, depending on what you’re showing.
For example, a timeline about gardening would likely focus on milestones in human farming practices or advancements in agriculture technology. You could even provide a visual representation of the rise and fall of different kinds of plant life around the world (this may require multiple timelines).
3. Track Innovation With an Online Timeline Creator
Timelines are also great for tracking individual areas of rapid progress, like technological innovations. These infographics represent changes over time but they also highlight moments where there was a major break from the status quo.
You could even split this type of timeline up by different technologies—a separate one for computing, medicine, and transportation, for example. You can also think about showcasing a timeline for each major scientific field (biology, chemistry, geology).
4. Illustrate a Process
As an infographic creator, timelines are useful because they’re easy to grasp at a glance. They show how something changed over time without getting too complicated. This makes them great tools for illustrating any kind of process or system that’s otherwise difficult to visualize.
For example, you could create a timeline that shows the development of written language, the evolution of human anatomy over time or map out how people migrated through different continents throughout history.
5. Compare Two or More Things Using an Online Timeline Creator
Timelines are also useful when you want to compare two different things over time. This is especially helpful for visually representing contrasting political viewpoints and illustrating how they evolved.
For example, if you wanted to create a map of political alliances throughout the 20th century, it would be pretty difficult to figure out where all of these complex systems overlapped and interacted with one another… but a timeline might make it easier.
6. Illustrate Data Over Time
The best timelines are those that can highlight specific data points over time, which makes them great tools for business-related presentations. If your infographic needs to include quantitative information about any kind of process, then you should consider making a separate timeline for it—not only will this make it more interesting, but it’ll also allow you to break down huge amounts of data by subject (one timeline for market research, another one for sales figures).
7. Show Cause and Effect Relationships With A Simple Timeline maker
Not all timelines are linear—some of them can be circular instead. These infographics represent the way that different events play off of each other over time, or they can even show how one element changed as a result of an earlier factor.
What happened in the past influences what will happen in the future… which was shaped by what had come before it.
8. Highlight Methodology
Timelines are useful tools when they illustrate how something is done or executed—especially if that thing is a process or a study. This kind of timeline is especially helpful for scientists, researchers, and other people working in highly technical fields.
To create this type of infographic, you can break down each step (the “method”) and illustrate how it fits together with the others to complete your final goal (the “analysis”). At the same time, you can show how this process changes over time as new discoveries come to light.
9. Illustrate the Evolution of Language With a Visual Timeline Creator
Your timeline doesn’t have to focus on something that happened in history—it can also illustrate how language evolves over time. You could even use this kind of infographic to show how slang words are born, gain popularity, and become obsolete.
10. Trace The Development Of An Idea Or Concept
You can also create timelines that represent the growth (or decline) of a specific idea or concept. This is a more abstract type of visual representation but it’s still easy for people to understand at a glance.
11. Map Out Economic Effects Over Time
Timelines can be incredibly valuable tools for economic purposes – especially if you want to illustrate how different economies interact with one another over time.
For example, a timeline might show how taxation rates have changed between countries, or it could even map out the effects of inflation rates on different currencies. In short, economic infographics are great for demonstrating cause and effect relationships.
12. Illustrate How Something Evolves Over Time
Finally, timelines can be useful tools for showing people how something changes as it develops over time. This is a good way to visualize anything from human anatomy to business models, but it’s also useful for illustrating trends among other things.
To create this kind of infographic, you’ll need plenty of visual examples that represent major stages in whatever you’re trying to explain—and each one needs to be clearly labeled and easy to understand.
These are just a few of the ways that you can use timelines in your own infographic designs. If you want help creating a timeline yourself, then click on Venngage, the best infographics creator out there!
