alterlab-infographics

name	alterlab-infographics
description	Creates professional infographics with Nano Banana Pro AI and smart iterative refinement, using Gemini 3 Pro for automated quality review and an optional Perplexity Sonar research phase for accurate, sourced data — supports 10 infographic types, 8 industry styles, and colorblind-safe palettes. Use when the request is for an infographic, data-story graphic, statistical poster, comparison chart, timeline, process/how-to visual, or list/social graphic that pairs a designed layout with figures. Use alterlab-scientific-schematics instead for technical flowcharts, CONSORT/PRISMA, pathways, or architecture diagrams; alterlab-generate-image for non-infographic illustrations. Part of the AlterLab Academic Skills suite.
license	MIT
metadata	{"skill-author":"AlterLab","version":"1.0.0"}
allowed-tools	Read Write Edit Bash
compatibility	Requires an OpenRouter API key (OPENROUTER_API_KEY) for Nano Banana Pro generation and Gemini 3 Pro quality review

Infographics

Overview

Infographics are visual representations of information, data, or knowledge designed to present complex content quickly and clearly. This skill uses Nano Banana Pro AI for infographic generation with Gemini 3 Pro quality review and Perplexity Sonar for research.

How it works:

• (Optional) Research phase: Gather accurate facts and statistics using Perplexity Sonar
• Describe your infographic in natural language
• Nano Banana Pro generates publication-quality infographics automatically
• Gemini 3 Pro reviews quality against document-type thresholds
• Smart iteration: Only regenerates if quality is below threshold
• Professional-ready output in minutes; no design skills required

Quality Thresholds by Document Type:

Document Type	Threshold	Description
marketing	8.5/10	Marketing materials - must be compelling
report	8.0/10	Business reports - professional quality
presentation	7.5/10	Slides, talks - clear and engaging
social	7.0/10	Social media content
internal	7.0/10	Internal use
draft	6.5/10	Working drafts
default	7.5/10	General purpose

When to Use This Skill

Use the infographics skill when:

• Presenting data or statistics in a visual format
• Creating timeline visualizations for project milestones or history
• Explaining processes, workflows, or step-by-step guides
• Comparing options, products, or concepts side-by-side
• Summarizing key points in an engaging visual format
• Creating geographic or map-based data visualizations
• Building hierarchical or organizational charts
• Designing social media content or marketing materials

Use scientific-schematics instead for:

• Technical flowcharts and circuit diagrams
• Biological pathways and molecular diagrams
• Neural network architecture diagrams
• CONSORT/PRISMA methodology diagrams

Quick Start

Generate any infographic by describing it; the script handles generation, review, and iteration.

# Generate a list infographic (default threshold 7.5/10)
python scripts/generate_infographic.py \
  "5 benefits of regular exercise" \
  -o figures/exercise_benefits.png --type list

# Marketing (highest threshold: 8.5/10)
python scripts/generate_infographic.py \
  "Product features comparison" \
  -o figures/product_comparison.png --type comparison --doc-type marketing

# Corporate style + colorblind-safe palette
python scripts/generate_infographic.py \
  "Company milestones 2010-2025" \
  -o figures/timeline.png --type timeline --style corporate

# WITH RESEARCH for accurate, up-to-date data
python scripts/generate_infographic.py \
  "Global AI market size and growth projections" \
  -o figures/ai_market.png --type statistical --research

What happens behind the scenes:

1. (Optional) Research: Perplexity Sonar gathers accurate facts, statistics, and data
2. Generation 1: Nano Banana Pro creates the initial infographic
3. Review 1: Gemini 3 Pro evaluates quality against the document-type threshold
4. Decision: quality >= threshold → DONE (early stop); below threshold → improve prompt and regenerate
5. Repeat until quality meets threshold OR max iterations reached

Output: Versioned images plus a detailed JSON review log with quality scores, critiques, and early-stop info.

Core Workflow

1. Pick the type (--type) — one of 10 presets (statistical, timeline, process, comparison, list, geographic, hierarchical, anatomical, resume, social). Full catalog with examples in references/type_catalog.md.
2. Pick a style and (optionally) palette — 8 industry --style presets, 3 colorblind-safe --palette presets. Tables in references/type_catalog.md.
3. Set --doc-type to choose the quality threshold (see table above).
4. Add --research when accurate sourced data matters.
5. Configure the API key (OPENROUTER_API_KEY) and run; review the JSON log and regenerate with a more specific prompt if needed.

Configuration

Set the OpenRouter API key (read from the environment):

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY='your_api_key_here'   # https://openrouter.ai/keys

Data & privacy: prompts and research/infographic content are sent to a third-party API (OpenRouter) for generation and quality review. Avoid sending confidential, clinical, or unpublished material.

Reference Index

File	Contents
references/type_catalog.md	All 10 --type presets with runnable examples; --style and --palette tables
references/cli_and_workflow.md	Full CLI options, smart-refinement loop + Gemini review criteria + review-log schema, --research integration, prompt-engineering tips, troubleshooting, cross-skill integration, checklist
references/design_principles.md	Visual hierarchy, layout, typography
references/color_palettes.md	Full palette specifications
references/infographic_types.md	Extended layout templates for all types

Use this skill to create professional, accessible, and visually compelling infographics using Nano Banana Pro AI with intelligent Gemini 3 Pro quality review.