One of our clients recently created an infographic presenting data around the end-of-life support for Windows XP. It included a lot of nitty-gritty technical data that would typically make a reader’s eyes glaze over. But when the data was presented in a bold, brightly colored infographic it transformed into interesting factoids that caught our attention – as well as the journalists we pitched it to.

Lately it seems like infographics are everywhere, and for good reason. They present information in a simple, easy-to-understand format. Whether it’s step-by-step instructions, an annual report, or facts from a white paper report, an infographic is sure to make your message clearer and help it reach a wider audience.

For PR pros, infographics are a great way to get your client’s message out. They are eye-catching, embeddable and easily shared. Wondering how to create them yourself? There are several free tools that make building a professional-looking infographic quick and easy.

One of the most popular tools is Piktochart, an infographic design app that claims it requires very little effort to produce simple and high-quality graphics. I decided to test this claim by creating my first-ever infographic using the tool, and it certainly lived up to its assertion.

I simply had to choose a template, drop in my data and scale each piece to fit. Piktochart even provides graphics to illustrate your data.

It only offers a couple free themes to choose from so there are probably quite a few other infographics that look like mine, but if you’re willing to pay for a subscription your options expand immensely.

My infographic may not be the most visually innovative, but Piktographic is a great tool for people with limited design skills who want to build their own infographics.

Below is the infographic I created on what makes infographics such a powerful PR tool.