First of all, definitely second the recommendation for "Visualizing Data"... recently had to track down my copy from someone who borrowed it.
Also, while I agree that most "infographics" are generally useless and belong on USA Today (where I will never have to see them), there are some uses. I find a captivating "infographic" can be a good introduction when presenting information, sort of as an overview. A clever and small "infographic" can get people interested and help provide some context for the hard data coming up. I have a similar rule with pie charts: I only use them at the very beginning of presenting a topic in order to provide some context and ease the audience in. Once I'm past the first few slides and I avoid them like the plague.
Also, while I agree that most "infographics" are generally useless and belong on USA Today (where I will never have to see them), there are some uses. I find a captivating "infographic" can be a good introduction when presenting information, sort of as an overview. A clever and small "infographic" can get people interested and help provide some context for the hard data coming up. I have a similar rule with pie charts: I only use them at the very beginning of presenting a topic in order to provide some context and ease the audience in. Once I'm past the first few slides and I avoid them like the plague.