Easel.ly said and done!

One of my favorite self-publishing web 2.0 tools is Easel.ly. This tool allows you to create professional looking infographics (i.e., a visual depiction of information) in no time; which is probably why the site's name sounds like easily. For instance, this past spring semester, a classmate and I were assigned an in-class presentation about how to read research articles and we created the following infographic in under 15 minutes. 

PROS:

• You can create an infographic from a scratch, choose a template, or even take a published example and then modify it
• All you have to do is simply drag and drop from the toolbar at the top (e.g., background, images, text boxes, shapes, charts)
• You can easily modify the size, orientation, color, and font
• You can upload your own images
• Even though there isn't a tutorial on how to use this tool, the interface is quite simple to figure it out
• You can get a free account with enough options to create a professional looking infographic 
• You can download your infographic or simply share the link to it
• You can create an infographic with group members to work remotely

CONS:

• If your topic does not fit into one of the specific themes provided, your infographic will be more difficult to create (but still possible)
• Easel.ly lacks a “How-To” introduction section to their program, and just kind of throws you into the design process right away
• You have to purchase the $3 monthly plan to have full access to all of their images, fonts, templates, themes, and to receive design help

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