Making Graphics That Communicate Clearly

Graphics communicate up to 60,000 times faster than text and can increase the odds that you will win work by 43%. To take full advantage of the power of visual communication, you must first focus on your audience. Your target audience is the sole reason why you are creating your graphic.
Before you begin conceptualizing and rendering your graphic, answer the following questions:

1. What do you want to say? (Why does it matter?)
2. To whom do you want to say it?
3. How do you say it?

1. What do you want to say? (Why does it matter?)
You might be surprised at the number of graphics that fail because the author did not have a clear idea of what they wanted to communicate. Typically, an author attempts to communicate too many messages through one visual. The resulting graphic is unsightly, hard to read, and fails to communicate the intended information. How do you avoid creating a graphic that fails to communicate the right information? Decide what you want to say and know why it matters to your audience.

Put yourself in the position of your audience. What would you want to know? You would probably want to know the following:

• What does it do?
• How does it do it?
• How much does it cost?
• How fast is it?
• How long does it take?
• What makes it better than anything else?
• How will it help me and my organization?
• How much money will it make me?
• Why should I buy it?

The audience takes notice and begins to care if you can save them time and money, fulfill a pressing need, or reduce hassle and make their lives easier. The more the target audience cares, the more attention is given to the graphic. The audience will not care about your product or service if the focus is not on them and their wants and needs. Let them see themselves in your visuals. Developing an information graphic that reaches the audience on this level involves research and an understanding of the target audience's desires and challenges. If you can show that your quick service will save them 30% or $140,000 per year over their current service, then they will listen and care. Solve their problem; show them the benefits they will enjoy; and help them become enthusiastic about the subject and the prospect of having, using, or implementing it.

Use the graphic to highlight the most salient, audience-focused points. Make it obvious why the information communicated is important and valuable to the viewer. In the following example, the features, benefits, and discriminators are clearly identified and highlighted. The benefits box makes it obvious why the information communicated is important and valuable to the viewer.

Create a list of messages the graphic must communicate. Every information graphic has a hierarchy of messages. First, discern the number one message. What is the most important point to be communicated in the graphic? What one idea most supports the primary objective? Then determine the secondary and tertiary objectives. There will be instances where not all the desired information can be communicated in one graphic. In fact, it is better to communicate only the most relevant and necessary data; otherwise, you may sacrifice clarity, which usually results in the graphic's failure.

Your messages should answer your audience's questions. What you say must matter to them. Show your audience the benefit to them and you take the first step to creating a graphic that communicates clearly.

2. To whom do you want to say it?
Have you heard someone use an acronym you did not know? How about a new slang term that was baffling? Were you ever lost while learning something new? How did it make you feel? You probably felt uncomfortable or agitated. To misunderstand or struggle with new information is not fun. It results in a host of negative feelings. For this reason know your audience.

Who will be viewing this graphic? What language do they speak? What are their "buzz words"? What are their "hot buttons"? What do they like/dislike (colors, imagery, detailed explanations, etc.)? What do they really want from this transaction (to work less, more free time, more money)? If you don't know much about your audience, find out! Ask them questions. Research their organization (visit their Web site). Talk with those that know them better than you. Without an understanding of the audience, you will not know what they want and need and how best to communicate that information. The more insight you have into your audience, the greater your chances for clear communication.

For example, which slide would be more communicative to the United States Army
(A or B)?

Slide A focuses on the target audience and uses terms and imagery that they can understand and relate to. It addresses issues the Army cares about. The likelihood that the slide will clearly communicate the intended messages significantly increases. Slide B is focused on the presenter and what they want to say about themselves without regard to their audience. The presenter of slide B failed to learn more about the target audience (and the slide reflects that fact). They present slide B as if they were presenting to another business within their industry instead of catering to the potential client.

3. How do you say it?
A graphic should simplify data and present it in a way that highlights the most important points. We are presented with an increasing amount of stimuli: television shows and ads, news, movies, magazines, billboards, telemarketers, radio spots, and web sites all competing to get our attention. Some studies show that exposure to this increasing din of stimuli shrinks our attention spans. For example, Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle said that because things change quickly on television, kids' brains may come to expect this pace, "making it harder to concentrate if there's less stimulation." Considering the amount of stimuli to which your audience is exposed, your graphic needs to communicate the intended messages quickly and precisely. If the audience has to study your graphic for too long they will lose interest. The audience may become frustrated and lose faith in the presenter (the person, place, or thing most associated with the information graphic in the mind of the audience).

The following rules will result in the clearest communication:

1. Keep it clean and simple. Unnecessary visual clutter and too much data interfere with audience understanding. Focus on reaching the objective of the graphic and the most important messages that feed the objective. Your visual will fail to communicate if the target audience cannot quickly digest or is confused by the information graphic. If the graphic is too verbose or complex, the likelihood that the graphic will fail greatly increases. If needed, use another standalone information graphic to communicate what could not be included in one graphic. Avoid using too many different images, lines, shapes, patterns, textures, and colors. Limiting the number of visual elements and using a consistent style will help your information graphic communicate quickly.

The "10 second rule" has helped me create successful information graphics. There are several interpretations but I find this definition most applicable: If the target audience doesn't know and understand the main point (the most important message) of your information graphic within 10 seconds, the graphic will probably fail to achieve its primary objective.

When presenting technical data to an audience that may be less educated on the subject remove extraneous information that could distract them from the basic concept.

If the concept you are trying to communicate is abstract or likely to be confusing, use an analogy or metaphor. For example, an umbrella protecting us from the rain can help explain the purpose of the earth's ozone layer (protecting us from the solar radiation). The concept of the ozone layer can be quickly communicated.

2. Stay consistent. Internal consistency cultivates a feeling of trust because it indicates to the audience that the information presented was designed through careful consideration. Inconsistency breeds confusion. Changes in graphic style, color, shape, and iconography without the target audience's understanding of the change results in miscommunication.

3. All visual elements should have a specific role in the explanation and a reason for being chosen and incorporated. This rule includes, but is not limited to, images, icons, symbols, shapes, colors, fonts, line weight, placement, and size. All aesthetic decisions should have a reason for being chosen that contributes to the graphic's objectives.

4. As Edward Tufte, Professor Emeritus at Yale University and writer of seven information design books said, "Getting it right is far more important than being original. Successful information graphics explain that which is intended. Being innovative at the cost of clarity is not an option."

5. Use imagery and content that your target audience understands. When in doubt, err on the side of caution. Keep it simple. Always use recognizable images or quickly identify and explain any unknown imagery. If an image is introduced that is not recognized, understood, or quickly defined, the intended messages will be clouded or lost. For example, never show a low resolution, dark, or out-of-focus image that may not be identified or could be misinterpreted as something else. Additionally, never show an image of a valve switch to an audience that may not know what a valve switch is or does. If a new concept or entity must be introduced, define it. Label the visual elements. Share its relevance with your target audience. What role does it play in your messages?

6. Have the information graphic professionally rendered. This rule assumes your design resource is a professionally trained designer and experienced in the software required to complete the task (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Microsoft PowerPoint are my choices). A professional graphic designer understands how to engage an audience, communicate a concept, and generate a positive emotional state. They should render an image that is easy and compelling to read.

A government evaluator of a presentation given by a large company specifically
stated in their review that the presenter's use of clip art (flat, "canned," usually uninspiring graphics) was a detriment to their proposal and led to a decision not to buy.

I attend many professional conferences and speaking events. Those individuals who present content without compelling visuals are typically evaluated lower than those that do. Using professionally rendered graphics not only increase the audience's attention, understanding, and retention of the presented material but also tells the audience that they were important enough to warrant extensive preparation and development.

The following "before" graphic (A) would result in little to no communication.
Not only does it fail to label elements clearly but is unprofessionally rendered. The "before" graphic ineffectively mixes different graphic styles (rasterized and vector images), uses font sizes that are too small, and mixes bullet and font styles. On the other hand, the "after" graphic (B) is rendered professionally. All rendering mistakes have been repaired. The graphic style is consistent, the steps are clearly labeled, bullet and font styles are consistent, and the visuals are more appealing. This information graphic is far more likely to communicate quickly and clearly.

Experienced designers know the many variables that affect the clarity of visual communication and know what needs to be considered before rendering the graphic. Such as the following:

• The size of the graphic presented
• The restrictions of the RFP
• The medium on which it will be presented
• The location at which it will be presented
• The level of detail that can be communicated

These variables stipulate what should be included and how to render it to maximize clarity. For example, if the graphic is projected onto a 10' screen using Microsoft PowerPoint, the designer must size the text so that the audience can easily read the text from a distance. If graphic elements or labels are too small, the information graphic may fail to accomplish its objective. Imagine spending thousands of dollars to conceptualize and render an information graphic only to have the audience complain that they couldn't read it.

Be sure to choose graphic styles that are consistent with the subject matter. If multiple visuals are generated, ensure visual consistency throughout. Use the same graphic and text styles, color palette, fonts, icons, symbols, capitalization, spacing, and scale throughout the presented material. Professionally rendered graphics, if executed properly, exponentially increase the information graphic's ability to effectively communicate the right message.

Following this process and remembering the rules for conceptualizing and rendering your graphics will result in visuals that communicate the right information clearly.

About the Author

Michael Parkinson is a partner at 24 Hour Company, the premier proposal graphics design firm. To learn more about proposal graphics support visit www.24hrco.com.

Michael is also a professional public speaker and visual communications trainer. He has penned several published articles and 2 books titled Billion Dollar Graphics: 3 Easy Steps to Turn Your Ideas Into Persuasive Visuals and Billion Dollar Graphics: 40 Powerful Ways to Show Your Ideas. Contact Michael at info@billiondollargraphics.com or call 703-608-9568 for additional articles, on-site training, or for more information about Billion Dollar Graphics visit www.billiondollargraphics.com.

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