Data: a record of related quantities
Information: organised data
Information Visualisation: schematically represented information
But that only defines what it is, not it’s purpose & why?
Purpose: “to clearly communicate information, stimulating viewer engagement & attention”
Why?: To gain knowledge (meaningfully interpreted information)
There’s a balancing act a creative must perform between form & function, plus they’re influenced heavily by the audience. An infographic is often designed to provoke discussion or promote an idea, so can afford to be more visually rich than a visualisation that’s main objection is analysis.
Personally I define the differences between Infographics and Information Visualisation as:
Infographics: present the viewer with a conclusion or a story
Information Visualisations: give the viewer a means to discover their own conclusions