The Impact of Infographics

How do you tell the complex story of Maryland’s clean energy research, production, partnership, and impact—all in two pages? With a thoughtfully developed infographic. 

Maryland is ready for clean energy investment, and the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark  School of Engineering knows just how to make that happen. Established in 2017, the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute (MEI²) brings together business, industry and academic leaders to support the development of clean-energy technology innovations, which in turn, economically and environmentally supports Maryland. 

MEI²  guides academics through the commercialization pathway, the steps taken to turn ideas into commercially viable energy technology— a process many are unfamiliar with. To generate awareness for MEI²  and educate its potential partners, state legislators, and funders, UMD partnered with 2communiqué to develop an infographic for the school’s magazine, Engineering at Maryland. We knew immediately that we needed to think beyond the confines of the magazine spread and develop a horizontally formatted piece that would also serve as a handout to legislators, a slide in a Powerpoint presentation, and an animation for their website.

Our work began with an outline to guide the content development; we knew there was a lot to cover in this small space—confirming priorities was imperative. Our partner, Michelle Lansing, interviewed numerous key stakeholders, drafted an outline, and developed the final copy for the piece. Because there were multiple audiences, the content was customized to speak directly to the reader. 

Working with a tight timeframe, we concurrently developed three different visual directions for the UMD team to review: one that closely aligned with their brand; one that was more minimal and focused on a linear narrative; and one that was illustrative and gave a sense of community impact. The UMD team selected the illustrative direction and from there we finalized content and composition details. The final piece was brought to fruition through a partnership with BLIND Salida.