Infusing Infographics into the Business Curriculum: A Study of Infographic Interpretations in China, New Zealand, and the United States

The present study sought to identify whether infographics should be infused into business curriculum as a tool for improving the efficiency of cross-cultural business communication. Students from the United States, New Zealand, and China were presented with a series of 10 infographics with all text in French, a language not spoken by any of the student participants. Of the infographics, eight were designed with traditional visual relationships, one was designed based upon metaphor, and one relied upon visual relationships and incorporated metaphor. The majority of students in both samples were able to successfully interpret the information in each infographic except for the infographic that relied upon a combination of visual relationships and metaphor. Additionally, the New Zealand students struggled with the Venn Diagram. As such, it is concluded that infographics should be taught as a business communication tool, but instructors should exercise caution in training students to use color metaphor or Venn Diagrams