Unpacking Complexity: How Infographics Lighten the Cognitive Load

When was the last time your team read your safety manual from start to finish? Are those compliance checklists being read or just skimmed?

You may have staff, colleagues, and clients who need to digest critical information. But if you're in a technical field, or you simply have a lot of content, this is a difficult task. Dense information can send our brains into cognitive overload, so much so that nothing is retained.

When it comes to learning new information, visuals help champion your message, and some of the most impactful visual learning aids are infographics.

Helpful Shortcuts

Infographics are visuals that are purpose-built to represent data. Their goal is to facilitate learning new information through graphic design.

Through design concepts like symbolism, composition, and hierarchy, the resulting picture lets your brain make helpful mental shortcuts when taking in new content. And we need those shortcuts: cognitive load theory says that our brains have limited working memory (Sweller, 1988), so when information is presented in overly complex or text-heavy formats, retention and comprehension suffer.

Let’s look at an example of information presented via text and then presented with visuals. This is a safety assessment process used in aviation technology (Battipede, et al., 2006), presented as a sequence of steps:

Since the steps involve decisions, the resulting list is confusing. A process like this is much better presented as a flowchart:

The graphic version is much easier to follow because composition, shapes, and colours are working together to support the message. As shown in the above example, there are a number of visual tricks used to reduce cognitive load in content, which you may start to notice as you encounter different infographics.

The Strategies Behind the Infographics

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of what those “helpful mental shortcuts” can look like in an infographic:

• Chunking information: Breaking down complex processes into smaller, digestible steps

• Patterns: Using shapes and colours to highlight connections or key information

• Symbolism: Piggybacking off the context of visuals we already know, such as a light bulb, a skull and crossbones, etc. (This is where we get the expression “A picture is worth a thousand words.”)

• Hierarchy: Using the size, style, and position of elements to show the importance of information or the intended reading sequence

• Dual coding: Pairing visuals with text, so the brain can process information from multiple channels

• Distilling content: Removing unnecessary detail so readers focus on what matters

The underlying theme is strategy: infographics aren't meant for decoration (though that can be a byproduct) but are built to maximize knowledge retention. Infographics let your data tell a story... and stories are memorable.

Revealing the Story

Presenting data without context creates a high cognitive demand. For effective communication, we want to find the story hidden inside the data and present it clearly. Not only does this make data more digestible, but it also lets you reach a wider audience that might include laypeople or non-specialists.

The following is an example of using an infographic to highlight the story buried within a set of data versus presenting data without context.

Let’s say we have data showing the downtime for a particular machine on a jobsite.² The table below shows the downtime event, duration, and reason—useful information, but if you presented it to someone without context, they likely wouldn’t have the time or interest to analyze it for insights.

However, an infographic can turn this data into a helpful narrative with a clear purpose. Assume that someone took this data and calculated what percentage of the downtime occurs for what reason. They discovered that a lot of it is scheduled, which is great, but a significant portion is due to missing parts for the machine. So, they make an infographic that gets to the point:

This allows someone to make a persuasive case, such as “We’re losing money due to supply chain issues, and we should try a new vendor.” The table provides too much information and no context, whereas an infographic relays a precise message.

Telling the story makes decision-making much easier for all parties because now the information is relevant and actionable.

Real-World Applications

Infographics could be the difference between your staff constantly revisiting a safety checklist instead of memorizing it, or your client tuning out your sales pitch versus understanding the impact of your product. Wherever you need to relay something complex or critical, visuals will facilitate learning. Use them in areas like:

• Workplace safety, for items like PPE checklists or hazard flowcharts

• Project management, to show timelines, resources, or critical paths

• Technical documentation, where users need step-by-step guidance and clarity to complete tasks

• Training and onboarding, where quick-reference visuals can accelerate learning for employees

  
  

Infographics are strategic tools worth exploring, and not just for easier learning. By reducing your team members’ cognitive loads, you help them prevent errors, make decisions faster, and communicate better with any audience.

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At Scriptorium, we specialize in technical communication. This includes leveraging infographics to make your information more accessible. Whether it’s a training guide or a compliance checklist, our materials are designed to take a load off your mind.

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#Infographics #BusinessCommunication #Documentation #GraphicDesign #TechnicalWriting #ProjectManagement #BusinessCommunications

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References:

1. Battipede, M., Gili, P., Maggiore, P., & Lando, M. (2006). Risk assessment and failure analysis for an innovative remotely-piloted airship. In Proceedings of the 25th International Congress of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS). Politecnico di Torino. Retrieved December 12, 2025, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268573906_Risk_Assessment_and_Failure_Analysis_for_an_Innovative_Remotely-Piloted_Airship

2. Ocean Data Systems. (n.d.). Machine Downtime Reports and Dashboards. Retrieved December 12, 2025, from https://dreamreport.net/blog/machine-and-equipment-downtime-reports-and-dashboards/

3. Sweller, J. (1988), Cognitive Load During Problem Solving: Effects on Learning. Cognitive Science, 12: 257-285. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4