Visual communication is more vital than ever with so many businesses and organizations now working online and remotely.

To maintain team collaboration and enthusiasm, all employees must believe they are working toward the same purpose. This includes ensuring that everyone is on the same page regarding corporate objectives, updates, and activities.

But how can you make vital information available to employees in a way that they can quickly consume, comprehend, and remember? Your most effective tool would be visual communication. Especially when studies show that images are processed in the brain 60,000 times faster than text.

All You Need To Know About Visual Communication

Whether you’re a CEO wanting to align your team on new organizational practices or a marketer looking to stand out on social media, you may be wondering how to use visuals to truly connect with your audience.

This article will show you everything you need to know about visual communication, its advantages, and how to use it effectively.

What is Visual Communication?

Visual communication is a technique of employing design visual elements to convey ideas, information, and statistics or generate an emotional response.
In visual communication, there are numerous sorts of material, including infographics, interactive content, motion graphics, and others. The options are limitless.

Visual Communication Strategy

When you think about visual communication, you may immediately think of design-heavy content such as social media graphics or infographics. While visual communication is important in some instances, it also includes a wide range of other types of content.

You can use data visualization techniques to highlight the impact of your work, and illustrating relationships, processes, and flows with shapes and lines can also help you optimize your organization’s visual communication strategies.

Some effective visual communication tactics include making information more memorable by using symbols and icons, using facts and visuals to convey tales, and using colours to emphasize and call attention to vital information.

Among the most common visual communication strategies are:

  • Make use of data visualization to demonstrate the impact of your efforts.

  • Outlining connections, processes, and flows via shapes and lines.

  • Making information more remembered by using images and other symbols.

  • Telling stories with images and data.

  • Using colour to emphasize and capture attention.

The Importance of Visual Communication

Visual communication allows us to spread knowledge without using words. We can transmit and receive this information because we recognize unique qualities, symbols, and images with precise meanings.

Here are a few reasons why visual communication helps in communicating a meaningful message.

1. Saves time by relaying messages more quickly

Statistics suggest that pictures are processed significantly faster in the brain than words. Getting your point over fast is a terrific way to save time and money.

Images and video provide a more immersive experience than text-heavy information alone. In a cluttered media landscape, capturing and retaining readers’ attention is difficult.

As a result, readers frequently prefer to scan text rather than read it word for word. Keeping your information visually rich is a certain technique to convey your message in less time.

2. Leads to higher knowledge retention

According to scientific evidence, incorporating relevant pictures helps the viewers recall the information more successfully.

All information sent to the brain is 90% visual. And, as previously said, pictures are processed in the brain 60,000 times faster than text.

Whether your communication is internal or external, and regardless of the topic or technique, retention should always be a goal.

3. Guarantees that a clear message is conveyed

Your message can be lost when there is a lot of text in an email. The recipient of your note may struggle to understand your argument and will be a waste of time. Instead, utilize visual elements!

Collaborating on projects with remote colleagues can be difficult. Short, simple films or animated GIFs are an excellent method to quickly iterate on recommended adjustments among your team and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

GIFs are also an excellent way to brighten the mood. Working can be stressful, so introducing entertaining GIFs that not only present a clear message but also entertain and help with communication.

4. Contributes to a shared, consistent experience

Branding is a crucial aspect of offering a consistent visual experience. Many firms have set brand colours that should be utilized in all marketing activities in addition to a logo.

Logos, colours, fonts, images, symbols, and imagery, together with your company’s voice and tone, help to distinguish your brand. When entering a new market, using consistent visual communication is a terrific approach to capitalize on your brand’s value.

Whether your business has one person or 100 employees, is a start-up, or has a lengthy history, ensuring that everyone is utilizing the same established brand elements is a fantastic way to start driving recognition and building brand awareness.

5. Can improve your brand’s credibility

If you have a brand, you must have a brand design. People nowadays do not trust a company that lacks a logo, brand colours, and brand identity.

Several infographics with the same or similar style that adheres to a consistent set of brand colors have been shown to build trust with your readers.

The Elements of Visual Communication Design

Design is merely a part of the larger field of visual communication. Designers often use visual communication elements to produce designs that convey messages to the intended users.

Use these elements to produce effective and appealing visual content that will drive visual communication and help your organization transform.

1. Colour

Colour contributes to the tone of your composition. Colour is the sensation that a person has when light waves strike an object and reflect the optic nerve in their eyes.

Colour is used by artists and designers to express and characterize their subjects. It is also used by designers to portray mood, light, dimension, and point of view. Colour schemes are created by designers using the colour wheel and the ideas of colour theory—a set of standards for mixing, combining, and manipulating colours.

2. Line

A line is a path that two points in space take to unite them. Lines, whether horizontal, diagonal, or vertical, can help direct attention to a certain place in your image. Texture can also be created by integrating different types of lines, such as curved or patterned lines, rather than just straight lines.

3. Texture

Texture is a design element that is used to depict how an object appears or feels. Tactile texture refers to the physical feeling of touch, whether rough, smooth, or ribbed. The imagined feel of the graphic texture, on the other hand, might add visual interest as well as a heightened sensuous sensation.

4. Form

The way a shape or physical structure occupies space is referred to as its form. Designers generate the appearance of form on a flat surface by using light, shadow, the look of an object’s contours, negative space, and the surrounding objects around the subject, rather than producing form through a three-dimensional physical shape.

5. Shape

A shape, in its most basic form, is a two-dimensional area bordered by an outline. Other features, such as line, colour, value, and shadow, can be used by graphic artists to give a shape the appearance of being three-dimensional. 

Organic shapes exist in nature, geometric shapes are those that are angular and mathematically consistent, and abstract shapes are those that represent things in nature but aren’t precisely representative.

Also read: Production Design: Definition, Importance, and Process

Visual Communication Design Principles

These are the five most important rules to remember once you begin using visual communication tactics to grow your organization.

1. Value comes first, followed by speed.

Don’t just include graphic design and videos in your material simply because you know they work. The media type must complement the rest of the material, and to do so, you must take the time to select or design the ideal visual.

Many people have encountered visual content pieces that lack ideas, quality, and even a hint of flare. You’re establishing a connection between graphic elements and text here; take your time to achieve an optimum and seamless balance.

2. Leave room for imagination

You don’t want to present all the information at once. Allow for suspense and inventiveness to entice your viewers.

Many brands believe that by including graphic design, they would be able to offer more information. Visuals should be a tool for refinement, appeal, and balance.

When the message of your image and text is clear and consistent yet not overpowering, you have achieved the correct balance. With pictures that complement your brand language, you may pique your audience’s interest in your products or services.

3. Be clear in your message

It is not always necessary to use words to express themselves.

You can also express yourself with appropriate photos. The disadvantage is that if your message is unclear, the pictures may not express exactly what you need to say. Worse, it might say something altogether different than you intended.

Make sure your message is clear enough for your intended audience to understand. When using visual metaphors or symbols, keep in mind that your viewers should be familiar with their context as well. Otherwise, you risk creating misconceptions between yourself and your audience.

It is highly recommended that you use well-known concepts, relevant jokes, or stories in your visual communications approaches.

4. Aim for your intended audience

The more, the merrier—if many individuals identify with your visual content, you’ve scored a significant triumph. However, this should not be your main concern.

If you arrange your visual communication methods to appeal to everyone, you risk generalizing your messaging and failing to reach your intended audience.

91% of people prefer to buy with brands that provide personalized offers and recommendations. This is the essential phrase: pertinent. Use graphics that are relevant to or appealing to your target audience to provide a personalized experience. Getting folks from beyond your target market to use your services is a major plus.

Of course, you can develop imagery that appeals to everyone but keep your intended viewers in mind.

5. Allow your visuals to tell a story

Symbolic or representational designs that substitute text are one of the most crucial parts of meaningful visual communication. Allow each graphic to convey a tale about who you are and what you stand for, even if it has to be read between the lines.

Visual storytelling creates a unique image for your viewers. Who can resist a story that speaks to them? When a user connects with the story you’re conveying, they’re more likely to return to you.

This has a significant impact on you as a business. When you create a visual story about your brand, whether it’s about consumer experiences, internal problems, or success stories, you’re charting a road for it to maintain its identity wherever it goes.

Here is a short video as an example of a story-telling visual:

McDonald’s Family Mental Wellness Ad

When you include visual elements in your material, the reader can analyse the images to figure out what you’re attempting to say. You must convey a story with these aspects consistently. It’s fine to leave certain details up to your audience’s perception, as this creates a stronger connection.

Types of Visual Communication 

The opportunities for incorporating visual communication into your marketing activities, professional presentations, onboarding and training programs, or teaching strategies are limitless. Some examples of visual communication content are:

1. GIFs

GIFs help to lighten the mood of your presentation and are an effective technique to keep your audience engaged. They’re an excellent way to inject fun into otherwise monotonous information, provide directions for a product or process, and much more.

2. Animation

Animated movies, photos, or phrases capture the interest of your audience considerably more successfully than a static or text-only image. Another strength of animation is its capacity to simplify and connect difficult topics to every viewer that comes across it.

3. Whiteboard Animation

Whiteboard animation is popular for instructional or explanatory videos, generally displaying a visual representation of an unseen narrator’s verbal explanation. This is an excellent medium for explaining a product, procedure, or point of view.

4. Screen Capture or Recording

Trying to educate tech? A screen video demonstrates exactly how to perform what they need to do as well as how to navigate a new platform or user interface.

5. Graphs

A graph is unrivalled in its ability to simplify and assimilate complex information. These are frequently used to express numerical or categorical data, such as demonstrating company growth or comparing statistics to a competition.

Graphs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, such as bar and line graphs and pie charts. If you need to convey a great amount of information, you can even merge several graphs into a single infographic chart.

Also read: Kick Start Your Marketing Campaign with Animated Infographic

6. Data Visualization

Visualizing data will elevate infographics to a new level. It visualizes large data sets that might be difficult to understand trends, waves, and correlations between variables, allowing users to zoom out and see those interactions play out in front of them.

Tips for Using Visuals Communication

The most efficient communication plan will differ depending on the company’s qualities, such as the professionals at its disposal and the goals it wishes to achieve. Companies that have access to great talent and advanced resources will naturally have an advantage in this sector.

However, by following a few simple guidelines, you may build a strategy that meets your company’s budget and goals. Here are tips on how to use visual communication

1. Understand Your Target Audience

Every communication strategy must centre on the recipient of the message. You must personalize your efforts to your target audience’s requirements and objectives, or you will never get their attention. As a result, creating a persona is the first stage in establishing your visual communication.
This semi-fictitious figure will help you make judgments during the content creation process. The goal is to use the most relevant tools and triggers to capture and hold the audience’s attention while also facilitating their comprehension.

2. Keep Your Identity Consistent

Remember when we talked about Mcdonald’s and its eye-catching colours? Can you envision the brand releasing products or advertising with different dominant colours? I’m guessing not. The reason for this is that the American multinational understands the need of keeping brand identity consistent.

This includes not simply colours, but all visual aspects in a piece of material or document.

3. Quality is Important

When it comes to visual messaging, quality is everything. More than originality, you must have the resources to create content of the quality that your audience expects. So, once you’ve defined your persona and visual brand, begin looking for ways to gain access to top resources and expertise.

Conclusion

Less is more when it comes to visual communication, whether it’s a design, a movie, or a brand. The simpler you can tell a tale, the greater its impact on your audience. People don’t have infinite attention spans, and you just have a few seconds to capture their attention.

Visuals stimulate the viewer’s ideas and emotions, eliciting an unavoidable reaction. In short, visual communication has emerged as a significant component of marketing strategy. Make the most of these media opportunities to build a connection between you and your audience.

If you’re not sure where to begin using images to help you communicate more effectively, Superpixel is the answer for you. This animation studio excels at creating a wide range of visual communication designs, including animation, GIFs, infographics, and many more.

Contact us here and we will help you find what is the best visual communication design for you.