Worth 1,000 words

BY LESLIE SPRING

The phrase touting that “a picture is worth a thousand words” dates back to at least the early 1900s in the US, and similar expressions can also be found in a variety of languages including Chinese, French and Russian, to name a few. This validates something that we hold as a universal truth: expertly crafted illustrations, photographs, video, infographics, logos, layouts…you get the picture (pun intended) are the best way to get information across to your audiences. 

Especially true for public agencies that deliver complex and technical services, visual elements can help illuminate the value of your organization and explain what constituents need to know. Moreover, a 2019 study published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience found that 65 percent of the population prefers to learn visually, so the ability of any agency to get a point across, complicated or otherwise, is directly tied to its proficiency in telling a visual story. 

Of course, this is not a new phenomenon. While exact dates and sources are up for debate, visual illustrations of information, especially maps, date back to 25,000 B.C. What is new, however, is how we translate information into visual elements, which mediums we use, and how visuals can complement a brand’s overall message. 

Interactive infographics and animated videos are a far leap from hand-carved maps in Mammoth tusks (true story), but the need to relay information clearly is just the same -- with the added complication that nowadays one bad ad or social post could erode the public’s trust.

Considering all this, you might be wondering, how can you use visuals to strengthen your brand and tell your agency’s story better than most. 

We’re glad you asked…

Today, we are skimmers and scrollers; whether reading an email or watching a video, our eyes need motion on a page and visual cues to keep our interest. We are also a bit snobbish about our visual preferences these days. From color coordinated Instagram grids to videos with high production value, we are growing more discerning and judgmental in our visual preferences. Additionally, audiences demand clarity around why and how a piece relates to them. In other words, what’s in it for them? Why read or watch on? 

From a visual strategy standpoint, we must know the answers to the following questions:

1. What do they need to know?

2. Why should they care?

When posed to a subject matter expert, the answer to the first question is often jargon-filled and perhaps overly convoluted. The trick to untying this visual knot is determining the answer to the second question…why should they care? Once you understand the answer to this question, you can refocus the details elicited from question one because leading with your “why” helps to emphasize the benefits quickly for residents, customers and ratepayers. Even if they only absorb this bit of information, they’ll still walk away with an understanding of what your agency is attempting to accomplish and why it matters, which is a huge win.

And this, it turns out, is where the art and science of visual communication come into play because once you have the high-level strategic elements defined, you can move onto the finer visual details like: 

• Branding/style guide considerations: The visual connections needed to an agency’s overarching and/or sub-brand to be consistent.

• Visual hierarchy: The information to be shared in order of importance.

• Multimedia applications: The ultimate uses for graphics, photos and/or videos.

• Calls to action: The desired outcome from audience members.

• Formatting: The ideal method to share and communicate information.

Another important element is how things work together. We recently brought video and photography services in-house, and it’s amazing to see how campaigns, brands and initiatives can come to life across media when they’re planned together from the get-go. A great example is our own rebrand that included print, digital and video components. We started with print collateral to produce graphics that would later be used on our website, and then ultimately in our video. Before design work began, we knew how and where elements would be used, so our designers had the context needed to create visual elements that worked for all applications. It was a thing of beauty.

In the end, a striking photo and a pithy tagline will likely affect more people than a densely written narrative, and that is by design. Visuals are easier to absorb, remember and refer to, but that is not to say that writing is archaic like the Mammoth maps of yesteryear. Our opinion is that they are inextricably linked. You cannot produce engaging visuals without doing the hard work of writing, strategizing and thinking first, and alternatively, words alone can no longer tell the entire story for you. Graphics, videos and photos are critically important to help reach your audience where they are, how they scroll, and what they watch. 

It's still true that a picture is worth a thousand words, but it must be the right picture with optimized meta descriptions and designed to integrate with your visual system. When the visuals are right, your story almost tells itself, and that’s worth every pixel.