LESSON 2: CONVEYING MESSAGES THROUGH

WRITTEN AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION

Visual Communication
It is the type of communication that uses visual to convey information and/or
messages. Some examples are signs, imagery, maps, graphs, charts diagrams,
pictograms, photos, drawings, illustrations, infographic and even various electronic
communication.

Visual communication now occupies an important place in any environment. For

instance, during presentations, instructors, managers, doctors, lawyers, legislators
and the like use visual to transfer data into digestible information. Visual
communication has greater success in catching the attention of the audience
making the latter easily recall information.

Why are visual communications so successful?

Humans are naturally inclined towards visual communication for several reasons:

1. Efficiency

Visual communication is a highly efficient way of conveying information.

Visuals can convey complex ideas and narratives in a concise and accessible
manner, often more effectively than written or verbal communication alone.

2. Attention and engagement

Visuals have the power to capture and hold our attention. The use of colors,
shapes, and images can evoke emotions, trigger curiosity and create
more appeal. Visual communication engages multiple senses, making the
content more memorable and enjoyable to experience.

3. Comprehension and retention

Visuals facilitate understanding and improve information retention.

Research shows that people remember visual content better than text
alone. Visual communication aids in organizing information, highlighting key
points, and presenting relationships or patterns, making it easier for our
brains to process and remember the content.

4. Universal Language

Visual communication has the potential to transcend language barriers.

Certain visual elements, such as symbols, icons, and gestures, can
be universally recognized and understood across different cultures and
languages. This makes visual communication a powerful tool for global
communication and reaching diverse audiences.
The purpose of visualizing information is to make complex information more easily
understood and absorbed.

PRINCIPLES FOR VISUALIZING INFORMATION

A successful infographic will present key information visually through, charts,

diagrams, icons and other graphics. It is essential that the graphics
are meaningful and not just cosmetic for your infographic to be effective.

“Infographics are nothing more than visual representations of data and

other information”

Most information visualization theory emphasizes the need for the visuals to clarify
rather than simplify information. This is generally a good guiding principle, but
one of the important aspects of an infographic is simplification - so that the
information is understandable by non-specialist audiences - and compromise may
be necessary. In infographics, some simplification is definitely needed.

For example, a typical chart for a piece of written work may look like the first one
here, but for an infographic (or a poster) you would need to simplify as shown
alongside it:

Chart suitable for a written report Chart suitable for an infographic or

poster

COMMON VISUALIZATIONS USED IN INFOGRAPHICS

1. Graphs and charts

Graphs and charts are probably the most common and one of the most effective
way of visualizing information. Using a single image of a graph rather than the
amount of text it will take to describe the information and will use a lot less space,
whilst engaging the viewer. Consider the box plot below. Look at how much text is
needed to explain what can be seen almost instantly in the graphic version:
Using graphs has the added bonus of also providing evidence to support your key
message. The more complicated the information the more efficient it is to use a
graph (as there are more elements that need explaining). But having too many key
points in your graph reduces the clarity of your message; some people also do not
have much experience extracting information from graphs. Pairing your graphs with
a key fact or extract of text can help overcome both of these issues:

2. Diagrams
Look at the diagram on the right (or below on some devices). Imagine trying to
explain how to construct this furniture using text alone... How much text do you
think you would need to replace it? How easy do you think it would be to follow the
instructions if they were all text-only? Now think about all of the languages you
would need to translate it into for global distribution...

Diagrams can help display complex ideas or reinforce key points through visual
imagery. Remember that key points should be reinforced using multiple modes of
communication. Most diagrams include some text - even if only a caption, as such
they take advantage of both visual and language processing sections of the brain to
improve the effectiveness of communication.

Although beware of overly complex diagrams that attempt to communicate too

much in one go.

Image from Think Architect Files

Here are some examples of effective diagrams that have been created in
PowerPoint alone:
 Created using PowerPoint SmartArt

Created using the PowerPoint drawing tools and text boxes

 Created using PowerPoint Stock Images, text boxes and a white circle

3. Icons

A staple of many infographics, icons provide visual representations

of information. They tend to have a straightforward design and you can change
their colours to fit into your overall design.

Icons can be either pictograms or ideograms.

Pictograms

A pictogram is simplified visual representation of a physical object or action

which conveys it meaning directly through its resemblance to that object or action.

The icons below are all pictograms:

Departure icon Electric vehicle icon Rain icon Skid risk icon Cyclist
icon
Fire icon

Ideograms

Ideograms are icons that represent more than the object they depict. A good
example of this is the lightbulb icon - it represents more than the physical bulb; it
represents an idea. Similarly, a circle with a diagonal line in it represents stop. The
icons below are all ideograms:

Idea icon Travel icon Stop icon Love icon Search icon
Good icon

Sometimes, the context will change a pictogram into an ideogram.

For example, if you have a heading 'Healthy eating' and a picture
of an apple, then the apple represents healthy food in general -
you are not suggesting eating only apples.

You can also mix up pictograms and ideograms, for example a

stop ideogram combined with a cigarette pictogram represents
no smoking (or stopping smoking depending on the context).

How do you choose the best method of visualizing the data you have?

Determining the most suitable visualization for your data depends on various
factors, including the type of data you have and the insights you want to convey.
Here are some general guidelines for choosing visuals:
Inform about a single important data point

A single big number can

stand on its own, be incorporated
into an icon or be put next to other text to pull out the key fact.

A single big number can stand on its own, be incorporated into an icon or be put next to other
text to pull out the key fact.

A simple proportion can be shown as a doughnut or pie chart or a pictogram.

Show a change over time

Line charts can show many series over time, area charts can show a few series over
time and a timeline shows s

Line charts can show many series over time, area charts can show a few series over time and a
timeline shows specific events in time.
Compare categories or show the composition of something

Bar chart Bubble chart

Compares many Compares a few
Bubble chart
categories categories

or over time

Word cloud
Bubble cloud
Shows word
Shows composition
Pie chart frequencies
across categories Stacked bar
Shows composition
chart
Composition across
categories or over
time

Bubble cloud
Shows
Show relationships like correlations or distributions

Histogram
Shows the distribution of single
variable

Scatterplot
Shows the relationship between
two continuous variables

Scatterplot
Shows the relationship between two continuous variables

Multi-series chart
Shows the relationship between
more then one series over time
Organize items by grouping, ranking or showing processes

Simple list
Organizes elements or a shows a
process Venn diagram
Indicates

Mind map
Pyramid diagram
Indicates hierarchies and
dependencies
n have different
units
Venn diagram
Indicates grouping and how
they overlap
Ordered bar chart
Shows numerical rankings

Table
Organizes a number of variables
which can have different units

Mind map
Shows groupings and how they
connect