Sharp examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design

Real examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design

Let’s start where most designers secretly learn the most: by looking at what goes wrong. These are realistic examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design that show up constantly in marketing decks, pitch documents, and social feeds.

Imagine this scenario: a startup wants an infographic about their explosive growth. The designer packs in eight different charts, a gradient background, animations, and a wall of text. It looks impressive on a 27-inch monitor. On a phone? It’s a glittery headache. That’s a textbook example of what not to do.

Another example: a health nonprofit creates an infographic about diabetes prevention. They use red and green to show risk levels, with tiny type and thin lines. For anyone with color blindness (millions of people, according to the CDC), the key message becomes almost impossible to interpret. The information is important, but the design blocks it.

Keep these kinds of examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design in mind as we break down the patterns behind them.

Overloaded layouts: when your infographic tries to be a textbook

One of the best examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design is the “everything I know about this topic in one image” approach.

Picture a content marketer tasked with explaining AI in education. They cram in:

• A history timeline
• Three bar charts
• A pie chart
• Four pull quotes
• A glossary
• A list of references

On its own, each element is fine. Together, it’s visual hoarding.

Why it fails:

• Readers don’t know where to start.
• The eye can’t find a clear path.
• On mobile, everything shrinks into illegible clutter.

Do this instead:

• Pick one primary storyline: timeline, comparison, or process.
• Break the content into a series of related infographics if needed.
• Use hierarchy: one main headline, 2–4 clear sections, and a single focal visual.

If you want a data-backed reason to simplify, the National Library of Medicine discusses how visual overload increases cognitive load and reduces comprehension. Translation: too much stuff = people remember nothing.

Tiny, unreadable typography (especially on mobile)

Here’s another painfully common example of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design: gorgeous typography that no one can actually read.

Imagine a social media infographic designed in a tool that defaults to 10–12 pt fonts. On a laptop, it looks “fine.” On a phone, the body copy is smaller than the date on a quarter.

Why it fails:

• Users have to zoom and pinch to read.
• Accessibility goes out the window.
• People bounce instead of engaging or sharing.

Better approach:

• Design with mobile in mind first, then scale up.
• Keep body text large enough to read comfortably on a small screen (often the equivalent of 16px+ in web terms).
• Use fewer words and more clear labels or captions.

The U.S. Web Design System offers sensible guidance on minimum type sizes for readability. Even though it’s aimed at web interfaces, the same logic applies to infographic text: if people can’t read it easily, they won’t.

Color chaos and inaccessible palettes

One of the best examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design in 2024–2025 is color misuse: neon gradients, low-contrast text, and palettes that ignore accessibility.

Real example: a climate-change infographic uses a trendy teal gradient background with white, thin text and pale yellow icons. It looks stylish on a calibrated designer monitor. On an average office screen or older phone, the contrast is so weak you can barely see the numbers.

Another example: a chart uses red and green to indicate “bad” and “good” without any secondary indicators (patterns, labels, or icons). For users with red-green color blindness, those bars are nearly indistinguishable.

Why it fails:

• Low contrast makes text and data unreadable.
• Color-only encoding excludes users with vision impairments.
• Busy gradients distract from the core message.

Better approach:

• Check contrast using tools and WCAG guidelines (see W3C’s overview).
• Use color + another cue (icons, patterns, labels) to convey meaning.
• Limit your palette to a few consistent, high-contrast colors.

When you look at examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design, color misuse shows up over and over. A simple contrast check would fix half of them.

Decorative charts that lie (or at least mislead)

Data visualization is where many “pretty but wrong” infographics go off the rails. A classic example of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design is the decorative chart that misrepresents the data.

Picture this: a marketing team wants to show that their app’s user base doubled. The designer uses a 3D bar chart, tilts it dramatically, and adds icons of people stacked on top. The shorter bar is barely visible; the taller bar looks three times bigger even though the numbers are only 2x.

Or consider a health infographic that uses a pie chart to show percentages that don’t add up to 100%. The labels are there, but the slices are visually off. The audience gets a vague feeling that “something’s weird,” and trust drops.

Why it fails:

• It distorts the story the data is actually telling.
• It makes the brand or publisher seem careless or manipulative.
• It confuses viewers instead of clarifying.

Better approach:

• Use simple, honest chart types: bar charts, line charts, clean pies only when appropriate.
• Keep axes starting at zero when comparing magnitudes.
• Label values clearly; don’t rely on visual guesswork.

If you want to sanity-check your data storytelling, the Harvard Data Science Review often highlights good and bad data communication practices that apply directly to infographic design.

Walls of text disguised as “infographics”

Another familiar example of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design: taking a blog post, dropping it into a tall, narrow canvas, and calling it an infographic.

You’ve probably seen it:

• Paragraphs stacked vertically with tiny icons on the left.
• No visual hierarchy, just text and some colored boxes.
• The only “graphic” part is the background gradient.

Why it fails:

• People don’t read long paragraphs inside images.
• It’s impossible to skim; the eye has nothing to latch onto.
• It’s not searchable or screen-reader friendly.

Better approach:

• Treat text as supporting material, not the main attraction.
• Turn dense explanations into diagrams, timelines, or step-by-step flows.
• Use short headlines, microcopy, and labels instead of full paragraphs.

Strong infographics work like visual headlines: they hook, clarify, and invite deeper reading elsewhere. When you study the best examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design, this “text wall in disguise” format shows up again and again.

Ignoring story structure: no beginning, middle, or end

Some infographics look like someone emptied a folder of random facts onto a canvas and hit export. This is a subtle but powerful example of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design: no narrative structure.

Example: a cybersecurity infographic mixes statistics, definitions, tips, and product features in no particular order. The reader gets:

• “60% of small businesses go out of business after a cyber attack.”
• “Use strong passwords.”
• “Our product uses AI to detect threats.”
• “Phishing attacks increased by 30%.”

All interesting individually, but there’s no clear arc.

Why it fails:

• People can’t follow the logic.
• The takeaway is fuzzy.
• It’s forgettable.

Better approach:
Organize your infographic like a mini story:

• Beginning: Set up the problem or context (1–2 strong stats or a simple explanation).
• Middle: Explain causes, comparisons, or key components.
• End: Offer solutions, actions, or a clear conclusion.

Even a data-heavy infographic benefits from a simple narrative spine. When you review real examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design, the ones without a story feel like random trivia posters.

Trend-chasing without usability (2024–2025 edition)

Design trends move fast, and infographics are not immune. Right now, some of the most modern-looking examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design are guilty of one thing: chasing aesthetics at the expense of usability.

Typical 2024–2025 offenders:

• Ultra-minimalist layouts with so much white space that users can’t see connections between elements.
• Overuse of motion in interactive or animated infographics that distracts from the core data.
• AI-generated illustrations that look stylish but don’t actually support the message.

Example: a fintech company creates an infographic with animated gradients, floating card elements, and micro-animations on every chart. It looks impressive in a pitch, but when someone tries to understand the interest rate comparison, they’re distracted by everything moving.

Why it fails:

• Trendy visuals age quickly; confusing layouts age even faster.
• Motion and novelty steal attention from the message.
• Users get lost trying to figure out what is clickable or important.

Better approach:

• Start with clarity and hierarchy, then layer in subtle stylistic touches.
• Use motion only to reinforce understanding (e.g., showing a process step-by-step).
• Make sure every visual element earns its place by clarifying, not decorating.

Forgetting accessibility and inclusivity

Accessibility isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s basic respect for your audience. Yet many examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design ignore it completely.

Common issues:

• Text baked into images with no alternative description.
• Complex charts without labels or summaries.
• Jargon-heavy language that excludes non-experts or non-native English speakers.

Example: a public health infographic about vaccination uses tight clusters of icons, small labels, and no text alternative. For people using screen readers or with low vision, the entire graphic is essentially invisible.

Why it fails:

• It excludes people with disabilities.
• It hurts comprehension and trust.
• It may conflict with accessibility standards and legal expectations in some contexts.

Better approach:

• Provide a text summary or transcript alongside infographics.
• Use clear, plain language where possible; explain technical terms briefly.
• Design charts with labels, legends, and clear descriptions.

Organizations like the CDC offer practical guidance on creating accessible visual communication. Studying their examples is a smart way to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Ignoring context: wrong format for the channel

A final, very modern example of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design: creating one giant file and posting it everywhere without adapting to the platform.

Example: a B2B company designs a tall, poster-style infographic meant for print. Then they upload the same file to LinkedIn, Instagram, and their website. On LinkedIn, it’s a tiny vertical sliver. On Instagram, it gets cropped. On mobile, no one scrolls to the bottom.

Why it fails:

• The design doesn’t match how people consume content on each platform.
• Key information gets lost or cut off.
• Engagement drops because the format feels awkward.

Better approach:

• Start with a core infographic and plan platform-specific versions.
• Break tall infographics into panels or slides for social.
• Make sure titles and key stats are visible in the first screenful on mobile.

When you look at the best examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design, they’re often not about color or fonts at all—they’re about using the wrong format in the wrong place.

FAQ: examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design

Q1. What are some quick examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design?
Some of the fastest ways to ruin an infographic include: using tiny text that’s unreadable on mobile, relying on low-contrast colors, cramming in too much data with no hierarchy, using decorative 3D charts that distort the numbers, and treating a long article as a single vertical image with almost no real visuals.

Q2. What is one example of a subtle infographic design mistake professionals still make?
A subtle but frequent mistake is misaligned storytelling: the headline promises one insight, but the visuals and data wander off into side topics. For example, an infographic titled “How Remote Work Impacts Productivity” that mostly shows office furniture trends. The audience feels misled, even if the design itself looks polished.

Q3. Are there examples of infographic mistakes specific to 2024–2025 trends?
Yes. A current example of trend-driven mistakes is overusing motion and AI-generated visuals without checking readability or accessibility. Designers sometimes prioritize a futuristic look over clear charts, clear labels, and inclusive color choices.

Q4. How can I spot examples of my own infographic mistakes before publishing?
Do a quick test: view your infographic on a phone, ask someone unfamiliar with the topic to explain the main point back to you, and check contrast and text size against basic accessibility guidelines like those from W3C. If they struggle to read, navigate, or summarize it, you’ve found examples of issues to fix.

Q5. Where can I find good and bad examples of infographics to learn from?
Look at visual communication resources from organizations like the CDC and W3C, and compare their clear, readable visuals to cluttered marketing infographics you see in the wild. Analyzing both strong work and obvious failures will give you practical examples of common mistakes to avoid in infographic design and how to fix them in your own projects.