Visual communication is incredibly important and powerful.
The eyes are constantly stimulated and we respond quickly, understanding stories and personalities with just a single glance.
If you know how to attract someone’s eye, chances are you will be able to hold their attention, too.
Yes, from a young age we are told and instructed, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. But the truth is… We can’t help it! Don’t hate me, mum!
You see… It’s hardwired in us to make decisions and judgments just from a single glance. It’s the evolutionary survival of the fittest, out on the grasslands.
It’s only natural for vision to be so dominant and have so much weight on our ideas. After all half of the brain is more or less involved in visual processing.
What is visual communication?
For those of you needing a more concrete explanation of this concept… Visual communication is the expression of ideas in two-dimensional form. Photography, drawings, art, graphic facilitation and images are all forms of visual communication.
1. It’s Easier to Get Your Point Across
It is easier to recall complicated concepts if they are visually represented, especially if the image is bizarre. A lot of information can be stored within a single image. The visual symbol acts like a memory trigger or a cue. Logos and branding work on this principle, doubly powerful for being able to evoke emotions, too.
Images are shortcuts and reminders for bigger ideas. It takes a lot of effort to describe an idea, pointing to it’s a lot easier. Representing ideas visually takes less energy from your audience. You can save precious cognitive resources, if you begin relying on images rather than words.
A popular sub-genre, so to speak, of visual communication is graphic facilitation. Businesses employ the benefits of visual communication by applying it to goal formation and visualisation. The groups’ objectives and goals are outlined visually and can be referred to at any point.
2. Visual Communication is a Time Saver
Many concepts can be jammed within a single visual representation. Just with a glance, you understand the big idea.
Time is limited and this is an incredible resource.We simply don’t have the luxury of sitting down, reading, and searching for the main idea. Searching for the main points by reading one word at a time is inefficient. Visual communication, on the other hand,is close to instantaneous.
An entire experience can be condensed into a fraction of a second.
3. Imagery Makes Work More Appealing and Inspiring
If I asked you to review notes from our last meeting, would you rather sort through a densely typed manuscript or through something more visually appealing? Yeah. I thought so. Same here.
First of all, going through dense manuscripts is boring and annoying, even depressing! Definitely not the kind of spirit anybody wants lurking in their company culture.
That’s why many companies rely on a graphic recorder or corporate Illustrator Basically, graphic facilitation and graphic recording is the creation of very specialised images that represent business meetings and conversations in the form of text and images. The colourful depictions are very pleasing and energetic translations of previously exchanged ideas.
4. Visual Communication is Powerful and Impactful
Remember the saying a picture says 1000 words? Sometimes, an entire theory or philosophy can be represented with a single image or logo. If that isn’t powerful, what is?
Images are memorable and their overall impact is undeniable. Time is saved, concepts are easily and beautifully expressed. Words, on the other hand, can be elusive and abstract.
Conclusion
Consider bringing all of the advantages of visual communication to your next business meeting. Once you implement visual communication into your day-to-day processes, you will wonder how you ever survived without it. This is the reason why graphic facilitation has exploded in popularity over the last 5 years.
Visualisation can take intense and heavy concepts and make them more inspiring and engaging in a way that everyone can connect with. Memory is enhanced and time saved when complicated concepts are converted into simple drawings and illustrations. Use graphic facilitation and graphic recorders in your meetings and watch your understanding and productivity go through the roof.
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