Due to cheaper and more powerful computing, data storage server farms, and more knowledgable workers, our world remains awash in data. Numbers in text and tabular forms are difficult to follow. Visualizing data improves understanding and leads to better questions along with more informed audience.
Start with Carrie Hill, who explains how to create a good infographic. Follow with John Patterson, who gives more details and examples. Ignore his discussion about pie charts. Finally, be sure to look at Chart Guide for what to include and exclude from your chart as well as what chart to include depending on what needs to be shown.