Set against the back-drop of an increasingly fast-paced society, information overload and attention erosion, a three-part series of guest posts by professional illustrator and strategic communicator, Guy Downes, aims to spark conversation and information sharing on the combined role words and images can play in helping PR pros communicate and engage audiences more effectively.  

People’s preference for visual learning, the increasing levels of information overload and the fact that images help us process information quicker, provides a unique opportunity to PR professionals to take visual communication more seriously.  

Human beings, after all, process visuals 66,000* times faster than text, underlining the need for the public relations industry to bolster its already strong written and verbal skill set with more visual communication techniques and ‘visual thinking’.  

Together with the explosion of social media (and an ever-growing selection of visual channels, as well as the greater accessibility to technology that helps capture, create and share images (plus measure their success), the prospects for visual communication are greater than ever.  

The power of visuals  

At home, work or play, how often do you:  

• hear people say: “I get the picture”, “I see what you mean” or “The way I view it is this…”?
• find it easier ‘to see what you are learning’ with pictures in a presentation?
• refer to pictures in an instruction manual?
• read or watch a story accompanied by pictures?

Without realising it, visual communication and visual thinking is ubiquitous in our day-to-day lives. And we don’t seem to give it much thought. But in terms of effective and engaging communication, perhaps we should.  

Traditionally, in PR and communications the trusted form of written communication has dominated: reports, press releases, presentations and whitepapers, to name but a few.   

Yet studies show that 65 per cent of us are visual learners#.  

Additionally, when words, images and colour are used together correctly, they can be a very persuasive mix.  Research indicates that:  

• pictures interact with text to produce levels of comprehension and memory that can exceed what is produced by text alone^
• using visual aids during a presentation was found to be 43 per cent more persuasive than not using visual aids+ 
• besides improving readership by 40 per cent, colour also accelerates learning from 55 to 78 percent**, and comprehension by 73 per cent##. 

Visual thinking – what is it?  

Visual thinking is a wide-ranging topic but two experts in this area define it as:    

• using pictures to help you solve problems, think about complex issues and communicate more effectively (David Gray)
• our innate ability to use our eyes and our mind’s eye to discover, develop and share ideas (Dan Roam).

JWT’s 2010 Intelligence Report flags visual communication as a new trend to watch for this year. To be precise, JWT refers to it as the importance of ‘visual fluency’ (see their great video below) and defines it as the ‘growing preference and need for a graphic synthesis of information versus an avalanche of reading material’.  

 

So why do we need visual thinking?  

JWT’s definition for ‘visual fluency’ hits the mark. In today’s age of information overload, the battle for companies, brands and communication professionals to get their ‘messages’ noticed, understood and retained is greater than ever before. Consider these facts:  

• On an average day, ‘a typical worker gets 200 e-mails, dozens of instant messages, multiple phone calls (office phone and mobile phone), several text messages not to mention the vast amount of content that he/she has to contend with’ (Basex 2009) 
• Combined, the total paper and digital content in enterprises, governments, schools, and small businesses around the world will grow 67% a year between now and 2012 (IDC on behalf of Xerox, 2009).

Put simply, people are drowning in information and their attention is eroding.  

   

What do you think about visual communication and its ability to communicate effectively? Is it used often enough by professional communicators? Can it convey the subtleties of all the information we need to communicate? Where can it be best utilised? What experiences can you share of where you have used visual communication to effectively engage stakeholders? What evocative and effective illustrations/images can you share with us?  

About Guy Downes  

Guy Downes is a graphic recorder and award-winning illustrator who runs his own visual communications venture.  Guy has 10 years experience in communication and public relations, having previously spent six years at Howorth (an Ogilvy PR Worldwide company) in Sydney and four years In London working for Banner and Weber Shandwick Technologies. Guy can be contacted at guy@guydownes.com.au   

   

The second post in this series will discuss where visual communication can be useful in PR and different visual communication techniques. The final post will discuss barriers to visual communication adoption (and some solutions…). 

* 3M Research 

# Reaching the Visual Learner: Teaching Property Through Art, William C. Bradford, University of Florida – Warrington College of Business 

^ J.R. Levin, A Transfer of Appropriate Process Perspective of Pictures in Prose 

+ University of Minnesota/3M Research, Persuasion and the Role of Visual Presentation Support, June 1986 

** Embry, David, “The Persuasive Properties of Color”, Marketing Communications, October 1984. 

## Johnson, Virginia, “The Power of Color”, Successful Meetings, June 1992, Vol 41, No. 7, pp. 87, 90.

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