Structural Format Gallery
Run the Structural Format Gallery Fullscreen
About This MicroSim
This interactive infographic presents five fundamental structural formats used to organize visual information: Linear, Hierarchical, Comparative, Circular, and Radial. Each format is rendered as a miniature diagram so learners can compare their spatial layouts at a glance. Clicking any thumbnail reveals a detailed description, best-use cases, and a concrete example.
Choosing the right structural format is one of the most important design decisions when creating an interactive infographic. The format shapes how readers navigate the information and what relationships they perceive between elements.
How to Use
- Compare the five thumbnails across the top — notice how each format arranges nodes, connections, and flow differently
- Click a thumbnail to see its full description, best-use cases, and an example in the detail panel
- Click the same thumbnail again to deselect and return to the default view
- Hover over thumbnails to see border highlighting
Lesson Plan
Grade Level
Undergraduate / Professional Development
Duration
10-15 minutes
Prerequisites
Basic understanding of what interactive infographics are and familiarity with common diagram types.
Activities
- Pattern Recognition (3 min): Students examine all five thumbnails and describe the spatial pattern of each in their own words before clicking to read the descriptions.
- Match the Format (5 min): Given five real-world datasets (a project timeline, a company org chart, a product comparison, a water cycle, and a stakeholder map), students identify which structural format best fits each dataset and explain why.
- Format Selection (5 min): Students choose a topic from their own field and select the most appropriate structural format, writing a brief justification referencing the best-use criteria from the detail panels.
Assessment
Students can name all five structural formats, identify the distinguishing spatial characteristic of each, and correctly match a given dataset to the most appropriate format with justification.