The Visual Minute: What is Visual Communication?

Summary

In this episode of 'The Visual Minute', CEO Amy Valia of Killer Infographics explores the concept of visual communication, distinguishing it from standard design by emphasizing the importance of telling stories through visual content. She explains the two main products of visual communication: visual storytelling, which provides a narrative, and information visualization, which presents data without conclusions. Valia stresses that effective visual communication should primarily rely on visuals to convey meaning, with text serving as an aid. She uses the 'caution wet floor' sign as an example, illustrating how combining universal icons with concise text can enhance comprehension by 89%. The episode encourages viewers to test their visual content by covering the text to ensure the visuals effectively communicate the message.

Takeaways

• 📢 Visual communication is a method of conveying information through visual content, focusing on telling stories or presenting data in a graphical format.
• 🎨 The CEO of Killer Infographics, Amy Valia, emphasizes that visual communication is distinct from standard design because it prioritizes visual storytelling and information visualization.
• 📚 Visual storytelling provides a narrative through visual content, guiding the viewer through a beginning, middle, and end.
• 📊 Information visualization presents data visually without drawing conclusions, allowing the viewer to interpret the information themselves.
• 🔑 A key aspect of visual communication is that it should create meaning with limited text, relying on the visual elements to convey the message clearly.
• 🚧 The example of a 'caution wet floor' sign illustrates how visual communication can effectively warn without the need for text.
• 🌐 When combined with universal icons and short text, visual communication can increase comprehension significantly, as demonstrated by the 89% increase in understanding.
• 📈 Infographics are a powerful tool in visual communication, using universal icons to tell a story or convey complex information.
• 🎞 Motion graphics, when well-produced, can also effectively use visual communication to engage and inform viewers.
• 🖼️ The primary goal of visual communication is to tell a story or convey information first through visuals, making text secondary.
• 📝 A test for effective visual communication is to cover the text and see if the message is still clear, ensuring that the visuals are self-explanatory.

Q & A

What is the main focus of Killer Infographics as a company?

Killer Infographics focuses on visual communication, which involves telling stories through visual content rather than being a standard design agency.

What is the difference between visual storytelling and visual communication according to Amy Vail?

Visual storytelling is considered an aspect or a product of visual communication. It provides a full narrative through visual content, taking the viewer through a beginning, middle, and end. Visual communication, on the other hand, is a broader term that encompasses both visual storytelling and information visualization.

How does information visualization differ from visual storytelling?

Information visualization presents information in a visual way without providing conclusions, allowing the viewer to come to their own conclusions, whereas visual storytelling provides a full narrative through visual content.

What is the key to effective visual communication?

The key to effective visual communication is graphically representing information in a way that creates meaning efficiently and effectively, with limited text used to explicate the meaning.

Why should the visual element in visual communication speak louder than words?

The visual should speak louder than words because it should be possible to understand the visual content without relying on text. This ensures that the visual communication is universally understood regardless of language barriers.

What example does Amy Vail use to illustrate the concept of visual communication?

Amy Vail uses the example of a 'caution wet floor' sign, which conveys its message immediately through the image, without needing to read the text.

How can combining a universal image with short form text increase comprehension?

Combining a universal image with short form text like 'caution wet floor' can increase comprehension by 89% because it reinforces the visual message with clear, concise text.

What role do infographics play in visual communication?

Infographics play a role in visual communication by using universal iconography to tell a story or convey information effectively.

What is the significance of motion graphics in visual communication?

Motion graphics are significant in visual communication as they can tell a story or convey information through dynamic visual content, enhancing engagement and understanding.

How can one test if a piece of visual content is effective in visual communication?

One can test the effectiveness of visual content by covering up the text and seeing if the visual element alone can fully convey the intended message or if it can be understood by others without text.

What is the Visual Minute video series by Killer Infographics?

The Visual Minute is a weekly bite-sized video series by Killer Infographics that discusses various aspects of visual communication, including infographics, motion graphics, and interactive content.

Outlines

00:00

📊 Introduction to Visual Communication

Amy Valia, CEO of Killer Infographics, introduces the 'Visual Minute' series, which will cover various aspects of visual communication, including infographics, motion graphics, and interactive content. The series aims to discuss the rules for creating successful visual projects and the uniqueness of visual communication. Amy emphasizes the difference between a visual communication agency and a standard design agency, highlighting the focus on telling stories through visual content. She explains that visual communication is about graphically representing information to create meaning, with limited text used for clarification. The key point is that visuals should be self-explanatory and more impactful than text. Amy uses the example of a 'caution wet floor' sign to illustrate how visual communication works effectively without relying on text. She suggests a test to evaluate the quality of visual communication: covering up the text to see if the visual content still conveys the intended message.

Keywords

💡Visual Communication

Visual communication refers to the conveyance of ideas and information through visual means, such as images, symbols, or graphical representations. In the context of the video, it is the primary focus of the agency 'Killer Infographics' and is described as a method that uses visuals to tell a story or present information effectively. The video emphasizes that visual communication should be self-explanatory, with text serving as a supporting element rather than the main driver of understanding.

💡Visual Minute

The 'Visual Minute' is a weekly video series introduced in the script, aimed at providing concise and informative content about visual communication. It is a platform where the CEO of Killer Infographics, Amy Valia, discusses various aspects of visual communication, including its rules and unique qualities, making it a central concept in the video's narrative.

💡Infographics

Infographics are visual representations of information or data, designed to present complex information quickly and clearly. They often use graphics, icons, and text to create a visual story. In the video, infographics are highlighted as a key product of visual communication, emphasizing the importance of universal iconography and the combination of visuals to tell a story or convey information.

💡Motion Graphics

Motion graphics are a form of visual communication that combines images, text, and animation to convey messages and tell stories. They are used in various media, including film, television, and digital content. The video mentions motion graphics as another effective form of visual communication that relies on visuals to tell a story, similar to infographics.

💡Visual Storytelling

Visual storytelling is the art of using visual content to narrate a story with a beginning, middle, and end. It is a subset of visual communication, as mentioned in the video, where the focus is on providing a full narrative through visual means. The video suggests that while visual storytelling is a part of visual communication, it is distinct in its narrative approach.

💡Information Visualization

Information visualization involves presenting data or information in a visual format to help users understand and analyze it more effectively. Unlike visual storytelling, it does not provide conclusions but allows viewers to interpret the data themselves. The video distinguishes information visualization as a main product of visual communication, emphasizing the importance of letting visuals speak for themselves.

💡Universal Imagery

Universal imagery refers to symbols, icons, or images that are easily recognizable and understood across different cultures and languages. In the video, universal imagery is crucial for infographics and motion graphics, as it helps in creating a clear and comprehensible visual communication that can be universally understood.

💡Text as an Afterthought

The concept of 'text as an afterthought' suggests that in effective visual communication, the primary focus should be on the visuals, with text serving as a secondary element to support or clarify the visual content. The video stresses this by encouraging viewers to test their visual content by covering up the text to see if the visuals alone can convey the intended message.

💡Comprehension

Comprehension, in the context of the video, refers to the ability of viewers to understand and interpret visual content. The video provides a statistic that combining universal imagery with short form text can increase comprehension by 89%, highlighting the effectiveness of visual communication when it comes to enhancing understanding.

💡Caution Wet Floor Sign

The 'caution wet floor' sign is used in the video as an example of effective visual communication. It illustrates how a simple image can convey a message without the need for text, demonstrating the power of visual communication in creating immediate understanding and警示.

Highlights

Introduction to the Visual Minute series by Killer Infographics CEO, Amy Valia.

Focus on visual communication in various forms such as infographics, motion graphics, and interactive content.

Explaining the difference between a visual communication agency and a standard design agency.

Visual storytelling as an offset or product of visual communication.

Two main products of visual communication: visual storytelling and information visualization.

Visual storytelling provides a full narrative through visual content.

Information visualization presents data visually without drawing conclusions.

Definition of visual communication: graphically representing information to create meaning.

The importance of limited text usage in visual communication to enhance understanding.

Example of visual communication: the 'caution wet floor' sign.

Combining universal icons with short text can increase comprehension by 89%.

The power of visual communication in infographics and motion graphics.

The principle that visuals should tell the story first, with text as an afterthought.

A test to evaluate the quality of visual communication: covering up the text.

The goal of visual communication is to be universally understood without relying on text.

Visual communication's role in creating successful projects.

The necessity of visual communication in modern storytelling and information sharing.

Transcripts

[Music]

hi everybody my name's Amy valia and I'm

the CEO of killer infographics today

we're bringing to you the visual minute

which will be a weekly bite-sized video

series about all things visual

communication whether it be infographics

motion graphics interactive content you

name it we're going to be talking about

the rules of how to create successful

projects and anything about what makes

visual communication unique to really

kick off this series I think we should

start with the basics what the heck is

visual communication our clients often

ask us that because we consider

ourselves a visual communication agency

not a standard design agency that's

because we really like to focus on

telling your story through visual

content

some people say visual storytelling but

we personally believe that visual

storytelling is an offset of visual

communication or a product of visual

communication in fact there are two main

products of visual communication visual

storytelling and information

visualization visual storytelling is

about providing a full narrative through

visual content where you're really

taking somebody through a beginning

middle and end information visualization

is about presenting the information in a

visual way without providing any

conclusions and instead letting the

viewer come to their own conclusion but

what is visual communication in the

first place visual communication

graphically represents information to

efficiently and effectively create

meaning now here's the real key with

visual communication when necessary

limited text is used to explicate the

meaning what we mean by that is you

shouldn't have to rely on the text to

understand the visual instead the visual

should always speak louder than words so

let's think about an example think about

the caution wet floor sign that sign on

its own without the words caution wet

floor lets you know immediately you

could slip you could break your back you

could hurt yourself really bad if you'd

go across that floor that's wet just by

looking at the image you know that you

don't have to read the words caution wet

floor to understand that's visual

communication now when you combine that

very good icon that ends up being a

universal image and you combine that

Universal image with short form text

like caution wet floor you actually can

increase comprehension by 89% and this

is why visual communication is so

powerful infographics take universal

iconography and combine that iconography

to tell a story or to get information

across motion graphics that are produced

very well do the exact same thing any

type of visual communication that you're

focusing on should rely entirely on

telling the story with visuals first and

letting the text be the afterthought so

to test that out try covering up the

text on your next piece of visual

content and see if you can fully

understand it or see if your neighbor

can if they can you've created a quality

piece of visual communication

you