How to Make an Infographic in Canva With Charts and Icons

An infographic packs a handful of facts into one image people can take in and share: survey results, a process, a comparison, or the numbers behind your business. Canva's strength here is its infographic charts, which turn a percentage or a count into progress bars and rows of icons without any design skill. The weak point is usually the content, not the tools, so I'll cover both.

Plan the infographic before you open Canva

Write down the one thing you want readers to remember, then pick three to five facts that support it. Every fact needs a source you'd be happy to show. If you can't say the point in one sentence, the infographic will end up as a crowded poster. This step takes ten minutes and saves an hour of moving boxes around.

Make your infographic, step by step

1. Start from a template by searching Templates for infographic, or select Custom size on the homepage and set a tall page in pixels.
2. Add a headline at the top that states your main point, not just the topic.
3. In the editor side panel, select Charts (or Apps, then Charts) and add an infographic chart, such as a progress or pictogram chart.
4. Select the chart, choose Edit and type in your value.
5. Add icons and simple illustrations from Elements to label each section.
6. Use lines or arrows to guide the eye from one section to the next.
7. Add a sources line at the bottom and your logo or website.

Canva's infographic charts explained

Chart	What it shows	Example
Progress chart	One value as a filled bar or ring	Most customers rebook within a year
Pictogram chart	A value as a row of repeated icons	Your own share of visitors from social
Bar or column chart	Comparison between categories	Enquiries by service
Line chart	Change over time	Newsletter sign-ups by month

Canva says you can customise progress and pictogram charts by changing the values, icons, spacing and line thickness, then adjust colours and labels to match your style. Pictograms are my favourite for small business infographics. A row of ten little people with three highlighted is easier to grasp than the same number written in big type. People's eyes count the highlighted icons without any effort, and the pattern sticks.

Choosing a size that works

Infographics are usually tall, because people scroll down them. Set a custom size in pixels for anything going online. Canva's limits are at least 40px and no more than 8000px on a side, with a maximum of 8000 x 3125 px overall, so very long infographics need splitting into sections. For LinkedIn or Instagram, I'd go further and split it into a carousel, one fact per slide, rather than asking people to zoom into one giant image.

The AI catch with infographic charts

Canva's AI chart generator is useful for ordinary charts, but its help page is clear that AI can't generate infographic charts. You'll need to add those by hand from the Charts panel. And if you do use AI for a regular chart in your infographic, Canva warns that AI charts use sample data that may not be accurate. That's a serious risk on a graphic whose whole purpose is to share facts. Replace every AI-generated number with your own sourced data before you publish.

Canva also limits chart text styling to titles, subtitles, source text and axis titles. For big standout numbers, add a separate text box rather than trying to style the chart's labels.

Cite your sources inside the chart

Credibility is what makes an infographic shareable. Canva lets you add a source to each chart: select the chart, choose Edit, open the Customise tab, then the Text dropdown, and enter the source name and link under Source. I'd still add a short sources line at the bottom of the whole infographic too, so it survives being reshared as a flat image.

Process infographics with shapes and connectors

Not every infographic is about numbers. For a how-it-works graphic, use flowchart shapes from Elements, then Shapes, and press L to add connector lines. Drag a line's end onto a shape's edge until it snaps, and it'll stay attached when you rearrange things. Canva's Quick Flow can build the shapes and connectors for you, in every design type except Canva Docs.

Colour and type rules that keep it readable

I'd use two brand colours plus a neutral, and save the brightest one for the single fact you most want remembered. Stick to two fonts: one bold for numbers and headlines, one plain for everything else. Leave plenty of empty space between sections. It feels wasteful while you're designing, but it's what lets someone scroll past and still pick up the point.

My verdict

Keep it to one point and three to five facts, use pictograms and progress charts instead of walls of numbers, and put a source on everything. Then split it into slides for social. My Canva review looks at the wider toolset, and if some of your data reads better as rows than a chart, see my guide to adding a table in Canva.

Frequently asked questions

Does Canva have infographic templates?

Yes. Search Templates for infographic and choose Customize this template, or start from a blank custom size.

What are infographic charts in Canva?

They're chart types such as progress and pictogram charts, designed for infographics and storytelling. Add them from Charts in the side panel.

Can Canva AI make an infographic chart?

No. Canva's help page says AI can't generate infographic charts, so add them from the Charts panel and enter your own values.

What size should a Canva infographic be?

Usually a tall custom size in pixels. Canva's maximum is 8000 x 3125 px, so split very long infographics into sections or slides.

How do I add sources to a Canva infographic?

Select a chart, choose Edit, go to Customise, open Text and enter the source under Source. Add a sources line on the page too.