7 Types of Timeline Infographics

No design can tell a story quite like a timeline infographic. But how do you choose the right format for your information? Let us help.

Hello world! I’m Mike Ploger here with Visme. And we’re here to help you pick the right timeline infographic that will visualize your information in an appealing and educational way. 

Nowadays there are numbers of templates available for you to build a timeline infographic, but how do you choose the right one? 

Well, that depends on the story that you’re trying to tell. Maybe you want to outline the history of a subject, provide an hourly timeline of an event or showcase the evolution of a company. 

Whatever your goal, you must match it with the proper template. In this video, we’ll share with you seven types of timeline infographics, each with a number of template examples available through Visme right now. Shall we? 

1. Biographical Timeline Infographic

A popular type of timeline infographic is one that’s made for historical figures or important individuals. Think CEOs, celebrities, family members or even former presidents like Thomas Jefferson. 

The father of the declaration on independence had a life made for novels. But who has the time to read hundreds of pages when they can review a summarized version of his life in an easy to read infographic. 

This infographic here highlights his most significant achievements. From the time he was born until when he passed away at age 83. 

Now if you’re looking for something with a more modern look, this infographic here could be more suited for you. Yes, it is still used for a historical figure, but why not use it to celebrate someone’s promotion or highlight a couple’s relationship before their wedding. 

The options are endless, and if you still haven’t found what you’re looking for, don’t worry. We’re just getting started. 

2. Historical Timeline Infographic

„Historical timeline infographics? Mike, you just covered those with Thomas Jefferson and Vincent Van Gogh.“

Well, yes that’s true, but here we are talking more along the line of events and concepts. Teachers, you might want to take note.

These infographics work well when teaching an audience because a viewer can easily follow along. The flow of chronological dates paired with icons and simple information make for an easy-to-remember study guide. 

The first type of historical timeline infographic that you can use is that for events in history. With this style, you can easily show your audience, for example, all the wars of the 1900s or maybe even natural disasters of a certain decade. 

A more creative way to take advantage of a historical timeline infographic is by focusing on the history of one single concept or item. 

Do you love ice cream? Who doesn’t. While I can list off maybe 30 different flavors off the top of my head, what I don’t know is the history of the popular dessert. 

This infographic here helps me understand where ice cream originated and how it has grown. And while it has a fun, free flowing design, stronger lines work better for this infographic on the history of web design. 

Whatever your topic, make sure you find that theme that matches. 

3. Process Timeline Infographic 

The process timeline infographic is meant for those attempting to layout a step-by-step study guide. What should someone complete first, second, third and so on in order to reach an end goal? 

These are great for summarized versions of business plans as we see here. You can help others visualize what needs to happen in order to launch a new product. 

Or maybe your business has a 12-month plan to launch a new product or put on an event. This infographic clarifies exactly where employee should be in the planning process ahead of the product launch. 

It’s a good idea to share process timeline infographics with your customers, that way they have an idea of where a product stands ahead of a deadline. 

And if you’ve ever planned a wedding, you’ve likely seen one of these as well. And who hasn’t needed a how to guide, instructions for a DIY project or tutorial to help you along? I almost always rely on one and that’s when I’ll find infographics just like this one. 

Don’t forget, all of these infographics I’m showing you today are available on Visme’s website right now. 

4. Company Background Timeline Infographic

Do you have an ‚About‘ page on your company website? If so, it could lead to a page filled with text that a viewer will quickly turn away from. 

One way to help that – embed a company background timeline infographic into your site that allows your company to share your history. 

If your company has been around for years, you can start with the year it was founded and then share all the projects, successes and milestones that lead up to present day. 

In our two examples here, we have one completely empty template and one infographic on Uber’s short history. Both are fully customizable on Visme’s website. 

5. Chronological Timeline Infographic

Now, when you think of a timeline infographic, you likely think of the chronological timeline infographic. These are the most common and it could be used for anything with a history. 

Take the evolution of social media. In just 10 years, we saw the evolution of Friendster, MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. 

A similar topic is the surge of live streaming. If you thought 10 years was fast for social media, try the first 5 years of live streaming. Now, millions of people are live streaming each and everyday and we can see a glimpse of how that began. 

6. Event Timeline Infographic

A big event can often be a whirlwind of a day. Take weddings for example. Guests often immediately wonder how long a ceremony would be or just guess when the reception ends. 

Rather than field questions from every single guests all throughout the day, create an event timeline infographic. This infographic is innovative, attractive and shares important pieces of information that a bridal party would need to know on the big day. 

Again, it’s available on Visme right now. It’s fully customizable to fit your wedding colors. And if you are not planning a wedding, don’t worry. These work well for concerts or business parties as well. 

7. Project Timeline Infographic

Last but not least, the project timeline infographic is all about the future. Instead of informing a viewer on history that’s already occurred, you’re setting deadlines for viewers to strive towards. 

Say you have an 8-month project. You can layout exactly where employees should be at various stages throughout the project. 

When should the first draft be finished? Is a back up plan prepared? These are questions that are answered with these infographics. If you’re a project manager, these are for you. It’s an excellent way to visualize a plan and ensure it’ll be completed on time. 

Even if you’re just pitching an idea, these are also helpful for those making the final sign off, giving you the green light to your work. 

Okay! Now that you have seen a handful of the templates Visme offers, it’s time for you to use your creativity and get to work. 

As I’ve said, all of these infographic timelines are fully customizable to fit your wants and your needs. From the colors, the graphics, fonts, icons, lines, data – it’s all yours to create. We just took care of the hard part that is getting started. 

Make sure you head to Visme.co right away to start your designs and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel. If you think we’ve helped you today in this video, I can guarantee you there are more videos waiting for you. 

Thank you so much for watching and good luck. For now, I’m Mike Ploger with Visme helping you Make Information Beautiful.