Design infographics in ArcGIS Business Analyst

A railway company operates both rail lines and intermodal facilities—locations where cargo is switched from one mode of transport to another—in Iowa. The railway's GIS manager wants to find businesses throughout the state that are likely to need and use intermodal facilities for freight shipping. In this tutorial, you will customize an infographic template in three phases. First, you will explore the infographic builder to get comfortable with the design and editing tools. Next, you will add a map to your infographic and link it to data in the other infographic panels. Finally, you will customize the style and branding of your infographic.

Note: This tutorial builds off of the basic infographic template created in the tutorial Use infographics to understand total addressable market, but can be done as a stand-alone tutorial.

This tutorial was last tested on December 14, 2023.

Requirements

• ArcGIS organizational account with a Publisher, Facilitator, or Administrator role in an ArcGIS organization (see options for software access)
• ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App

Explore the builder

Previously, you built a simple infographic called Rail Market Analysis, displaying information about grain elevators and intermodal freight facilities near rail lines in Iowa. Now, you'll add to this infographic to refine its appearance and functionality. First, you'll explore the layout of the infographic builder.

Open Rail Market Analysis in infographic builder

In ArcGIS Business Analyst, you can create an infographic using preloaded templates included with the application. You can also create your own templates, customizing them to your needs and branding. To do this, you use the infographic builder.

1. Download the Rail Market Analysis.zip file and save it to a location on your computer, such as the Documents folder. Unzip the folder.

   Note:

   This tutorial uses a basic infographic designed in the tutorial Use infographics to understand total addressable market. If you have previously done this tutorial, open your Rail Industry Market Development project and skip to step 13.

2. In a new window or tab, open ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App.
3. If necessary, sign in to your organizational account.
4. If a Welcome screen appears, click Skip This Step and Create Project. Otherwise, on the Home tab, click New Project.

   Note:

   If you have previously used Business Analyst, the app may open in an existing project. Navigate to the Home tab if it is not the active page when the application opens.

   The Create Ppoject window appears.

5. In the Create Ppoject window, for Project name, type Rail Industry Market Development and click Create.

   The process of setting up a project may take a minute or more as each of the project layers and data directories are created. A dialog box confirms that your project has been created.

6. Check the Open new projects as soon as they are created check box and click OK.

   A map appears.

7. If necessary, on the toolbar, click Clear map to remove any data from the map.

   

   This will ensure that your rail project only contains the data, sites, and maps relevant to the work in this tutorial. Next, you'll import an infographic template.

   Note:

   You can open your saved infographic templates from within any project. All infographic templates you create are saved in the Build Infographics interface on the My templates tab, accessible throughout the application.

8. On the Business Analyst ribbon, click Reports. Click Build Infographics.

   

   A gallery of templates appears. There are multiple standard templates provided by Esri, as well as templates shared by your organization and any that you've previously built. You'll import and open the template created in the tutorial Use infographics to understand total addressable market.

9. In the Start with a template page, click the My templates tab.

   

10. Click Add template from file.

    

11. Browse to the folder where you saved Rail Market Analysis.brpt and double-click the file.
12. On the Action required, click Yes to dismiss the warning.
13. In the Save Infographic window, accept the default name of Rail Market Analysis and click Save.

    

14. In the Start with a template page, point to the Rail Market Analysis template and click Open.

    

    The template opens in the infographic builder mode.

    

    You'll explore the template's panels and add more.

Explore infographic design tools

Understanding the basic anatomy of the infographic builder will help as you customize this and future infographic templates. The term infographic refers to the entire document as a whole. Each infographic is made up of a series of panels, individual elements containing data and graphics. In this section, you'll explore the infographic's existing panels to see what data is there, and what still could be shown.

1. Point to the panel with the truck icon below the table.

   

   Panel-specific editing tools appear. The Edit button allows you to change the style of the panel or data shown. The Replace button allows you to replace the current panel with a different type. The Panel options button allows you to duplicate the current panel or change the dimensions or position of the template.

2. Click the panel.

   Editing handles appear. You can resize the panel or move it to a different position on the page.

3. If necessary, above the infographic, click Undo to revert any changes you made.

   The tools above the infographic control settings for the entire infographic.

   • Theme—Choose colors, font, and images for your template.
   • Add element—Add a new panel (chart, image, text box, infographic, table, map, or nearby panel).
   • Align—Align panels on the page, or align elements within a panel.
   • Layers—View and rename panels.
   • Add page—Add another page, either blank or from another template.
   • View/scale—View template at various levels of zoom.
   • General settings—Change the page size, margins, and customize table and chart settings.
   • Undo/Redo—Undo or redo most recent action.
4. Above the infographic, click 100% and choose Fit page.

   

   The infographic resizes so you can see the entire template on your page without scrolling.

5. Above the infographic, click Layers.

   

   The Layers window appears, showing the panels currently in your infographic. When you move the pointer over an item on the Layers window, the corresponding panel is highlighted in the infographic template.

6. Double-click Infographic panel 1 and rename the panel Facilities Summary. Press Enter.
7. Rename Infographic panel 2 to Intermodal Freight Facilities. Press Enter.

   

   Entering descriptive titles for your infographic panels is a good practice for infographic design, as it allows you to easily view the components in your template.

8. Close the Layers panel and click Save.

   

9. In the Save infographic template window, click Save.

   A Confirm replace window appears, asking whether you want to replace the template.

10. Click Yes.

    The most recent version of your template saves.

11. In the Infographic Saved window, check the Set this as the default infographic in the site menu check box.

    

    Setting a template as the default infographic means it will run automatically when you click Infographics on a site’s pop-up menu in Business Analyst. It is helpful to set your default template to the one you are working on, to streamline the process of viewing your changes.

12. Click OK.

Now that you have learned about the infographic builder and the editing tools available, you are ready to customize your infographic template.

Add and customize panels

The basic infographic you have highlights two important sets of data, but doesn't include contextual, geographic, or titular information. In this tutorial, you'll add two new panels, a map, and a title. Maps can be helpful components in infographics, providing geographic context for the data being displayed. The title panel will help viewers of your infographic understand what information it provides.

Add, resize, and position a map

You can add map panels to your infographic in the infographic builder. In this infographic, the map will show the location of new clients the rail company hopes to attract. You'll add a map and place it on your template, adjusting the other panels accordingly.

1. In the Build Infographics interface, on the My templates tab, point to the Rail Market Analysis template and click Open.
2. Click 100% and choose Fit page.

   To create space for your map in the template, you'll first rearrange the panels.

3. Drag the Facilities Summary panel (the table) to the bottom of the page and resize it so it takes up roughly the bottom third of the page. Move the Intermodal Freight Facilities panel to the middle left of the page.

   

   As you move panels, guides appear to help you center or align panels. For a clean look, you'll align these panels with each other.

4. Click both panels while pressing the Shift key to select them.
5. Above the infographic, click Align and choose Align selected. Click Align left.

   

   The Intermodal Freight Facilities panel aligns with the left edge of the Facilities Summary panel. There is now space for your map.

6. Above the infographic, click Add element tool and click Map.

   

   The Browse and select maps window appears. You'll choose the basemap you want the data drawn on top of.

7. In the Browse and select maps window, choose Streets (Night).

   

   The Navigation basemap contains a lot of transportation data, highlighting roads and natural features, making it a good background for the content you will display on the map. The map panel appears in the center of the template by default. Now you'll resize it to fill the space available while considering where other panels might still go.

8. Point to the map panel and click Panel options.

   

9. In the Panel options window, expand Dimensions and change the Height (px) and Width (px) values to 500.

   

10. Expand Arrange & Position. For Left (px) type 556 and for Top (px), type 0.

    

    Your map panel adjusts and resizes as you change the values.

11. Close the Panel options window.
12. Select the Intermodal Freight Facilities and table elements and move them down so the top of the table is right below the map element.
13. Select both the map and table panels by holding down the Shift key and clicking each panel. Click Align and choose Align selected, then click Align right.

    

    Your map will now be aligned to the right margin of the table.

    Tip:

    The end goal of this panel sizing and positioning can be achieved several ways. If your infographic still has overlapping panels or awkward spacing, feel free to adjust as needed by dragging panels, using keyboard arrows, or entering manual values.

Link the map to data

Now that the map element is on the template, you'll decide what data you want the map to show. The goal of this map panel is to help answer the question “What are the market opportunities near rail lines in Iowa?" In this section, you will learn how to link the map to the grain and freight data to show where these facilities exist.

1. Point to the map panel and click Edit. Click Edit map.
2. In the Map properties window, click Add other layers.

   

3. In the Add layers to map window, click Add layer and click Associate existing nearby locations table.

   

   The Add nearby locations table window appears, displaying a preview of your infographic template. When you hover over either of the other two panels, a button labeled Add appears.

4. Point to the Facilities Summary table panel and click Add.

   

   In the Add layers to map window, the Facilities Summary panel (called Grain Facility) now appears as a layer associated with the map panel.

5. Click the arrow next to the Grain Facility symbol. In the symbols window, click the Standard tab and choose the Checkered Flag symbol.

   

   In the symbology window, you can change the color and size of the flag symbol that will represent the locations of grain facilities on the map.

6. For Size, use the slider to change the symbol size to 32.
7. For Color, click the color patch. Under Standard, choose the middle orange color.

   

8. Click Done.
9. In the Add layers to map window, click Add layer and Associate existing nearby locations table.
10. Point to the Intermodal Freight Facilities panel and click Add.
11. Click the arrow next to the Rail_and_Truck_Intermodla_Freight_Facilities symbol. Click the Transportation tab and choose the Truck symbol.

    

12. Change the symbol size to 32 and choose a light shade of blue, to contrast the orange symbol representing the grain facilities.
13. Click Done.

    

14. In the Add layers to map window, click Apply and in the Panel options window, click Apply.

The map panel now lists the layers it will show. The map will appear once you run the infographic.

Add a title to the infographic

Adding and styling a title on your infographic makes it look professional. The title provides additional context to someone not familiar with the purpose of the infographic. In this section, you'll add a title and dynamic text that will identify the site on which the infographic has been run.

1. Above the infographic, click Add element. Expand Text and choose Panel.

   

   A blank text panel opens. A text panel can contain multiple grouped text boxes and other visual elements that function (and can be moved) as a unit.

2. Click inside the text panel and type a title for your infographic: Market Analysis for ACME Rail.
3. Highlight the title. In the Text style window, style the text as bold, 48 point, and aligned left.

   

4. Resize the panel until the text box is just the height of the text.

   Before adding more text, you'll add a dividing line.

5. Above the text panel, click Add element and click Shape.

   

6. In the Shapes list, click Line.

   

   A line is added to the text panel.

7. Move the line below the text. Resize the line until it's the same width as the text box above it.
8. Point to the line and click Edit shape. In the Shape properties window, for Thickness (px), type 3. Close the Shape properties window.

   

9. Above the text panel, click Add element and choose Text box.

   A blank text box appears in the center of the text panel. This text box will contain the site name using dynamic text.

10. Drag the text box underneath the line, aligned left with the left margin of the title.
11. Point to the new text box and click Edit text.
12. In the Text style window, click Advanced text editing.

    

13. In the Add variables to text window, click the Add dynamic field or notes drop-down arrow and choose Site name.

    

    A variable named [My site name] is added.

    

    Dynamic text is linked to the data on the map, so this field will display the name of any site you run the infographic for.

14. Highlight [My site name] to select the text. In the Text Style section, style the text as bold, 24 point, and aligned left.

    

    Finally, you'll add an icon to the title panel. The icon will sit to the left of the title text.

15. Click Save.
16. Resize the Market Analysis for ACME Rail text box so there is a gap between the left margin of the panel and the text box. If the title flows onto a third line, the text box is too small.

    

17. Above the text panel, click the Add element button and choose Shape. In the shape menu, click All icons and choose Transportation. Click the train icon.

    

    A train icon appears in the center of the text panel. The icon gives more visual indication of the purpose of the infographic.

18. Reposition the icon to the left of the title, aligned left with the line and site name.

    

19. Click Apply and reposition the new title panel at the upper left of the infographic, aligned with the top of the map panel and the left of the other two panels.

    

20. Save the infographic template and on the Infographic saved window, click OK.

In this section, you added a map and title to your infographic template, linking both to data in your Business Analyst project. Now that all the elements are assembled in your template, you can customize the infographic’s colors and themes to match your desired styling and branding.

Customize the theme

The Rail Market Analysis infographic template you have created contains important information for your market development project. The final steps before sharing it are to change the theme colors. In this case, you'll change the colors and symbology of the template to reflect your desired aesthetic and present the information in a visually compelling way. In other cases, the theme can also be customized to match brand colors and styles.

Change display style of an element

Currently, information about intermodal facilities is displayed on the infographic template as a truck icon accompanied by a single number. However, to display more information about the locations on the map, you'll change the intermodal facilities information to a table.

1. In the Build Infographics interface, on the My templates tab, open the Rail Market Analysis infographic template.
2. Point to the Intermodal Freight Facilities panel and click Edit.
3. Click Switch to display as table and click Apply.

   

   The intermodal facilities information now appears as a table—with very narrow columns that make it unreadable.

4. Select the table and resize it so that the right side almost touches the map panel. Make any other adjustments necessary so the table sits comfortably in the space below the title panel.

   

   Note:

   As you adjust margins on various panels, you will notice guide lines appear, indicating alignment between two elements. These can be helpful for making your infographic template look neat and organized.

   Now that you have two tables on the page, you also want to indicate what each are listing.

5. Point to the Intermodal Freight Facilities table and click Edit. Above the panel, click More options.
6. In the More Options window, check the Show title check box.

   

   The table title is added above the table panel. Next, you will edit the title.

7. Point to the title and click Edit text. Select the existing title and replace it with Intermodal Freight Facilities. Click Apply.

   Next, you will adjust the row header height so the text displays properly.

8. For the Primary Mode of Transportation field, point to and then drag the bottom of the row down so the entire field name displays.

   

9. Resize any other rows or columns where text is cut off.
10. Click Apply.
11. Edit the Facilities Summary table to show its title as well.

Choose a color theme

The infographic template, as it stands now, uses the default Business Analyst color settings. You can refine your template’s design by selecting colors for the infographic and formatting the tables.

1. Above the infographic, click Theme.

   

2. In the Infographic template theme window, for Select a color theme for your template, click the grayscale color theme.

   

   The template preview shows the selected theme. The shades of gray aren't very visually appealing, so you'll add a contrasting color.

3. Click Advanced options and expand Table.

   

4. For Table header, click the Background color swatch and choose the dark teal color in the fifth column, fifth row.

   

   This teal color matches the gray theme, but stands out enough to provide more visual appeal. To make the text on the table header visible on the new, darker background, you'll also change the text color.

5. Next to Table header, click Change font. Change the Text color to white and format it bold.

   

   To make the table easier to read, you'll select a new background color for alternating rows in the table.

6. For Alternating row, next to Background, click the color swatch and choose the lightest gray.

   Nothing immediately changes on the example template. You'll also need to change the table panel's settings to display alternating rows in the table as different colors.

   Tip:

   To match brand colors or otherwise choose custom colors, you can manually enter a color's HEX code or RGB value under the Advanced options.

   You are done making changes to the template theme.

7. Click Apply.

   Now, you'll change the title panel to match the colors you just picked.

8. Point to the title panel and click Edit.

   You will now see each element in the panel as an individual, editable component.

9. Point to the train icon and click Edit shape.
10. In the Shape properties window, click the Fill color swatch and choose the dark teal color you used for the table headers.

    

    The train icon now matches the teal you chose for table headers.

11. Close the Shape properties window. On the text panel, click Apply.

    

    Finally, you'll style the alternating rows of the table. Alternating rows makes the text-dense table easier to read.

12. Point to the Intermodal Freight Facilities table and click Edit. Click Edit table style and number of locations.
13. Press and hold the Shift key. In the table, click the first and last cells in the third row to select the entire third row.

    

    With the last row selected, the Style and format window appears.

14. On the Style and format window, for Styles, click the drop-down menu and choose AlternatingRow.

    Every other row in the table is now a light gray color.

15. Close the Style and format window. In the panel, click Apply.
16. Edit the other table to have alternating row colors as well.

    

17. Save the infographic template.

Run the infographic

Finally, you'll run the infographic.

1. On the Business Analyst ribbon, click the Maps tab.

   You'll make a sample site to test the infographic.

2. On the toolbar, click Pin.

   

3. On the map, click anywhere in Iowa. In the pop-up window that appears, click Create site.

   

4. On the Rings tab, for Radius, type 30 in the first box. Erase the text from the other two boxes.

   

5. Click Apply.

   A circle with a 20 mile radius appears around the pin.

6. In the pop-up window, click Infographics.

   

   Your infographic runs, displaying a market analysis for the sample site you created. The map shows several flag symbols (representing grain facilities) and truck symbols (representing fright facilities). The tables contain information about these facilities.

   

7. Press Esc to close the infographic. Close ArcGIS Business Analyst.

This tutorial walked you through the steps for customizing a simple infographic in ArcGIS Business Analyst. These skills are useful for analyzing prospects of interest to the rail industry—and are also transferable skills for any project in Business Analyst. Using these design techniques and the infographic builder, you can create polished, informative displays of information crucial to your work.

Acknowledgements

• Rail and Truck Intermodal Freight Facilities: Federal User Community, Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), US Department of Transportation.
• Freight Grain Facilities: from Iowa Department of Transportation - Bureau Of Systems Planning, accessed November 24, 2022.
• Photo by Designpics at stock.adobe.com