How to Convey Ideas Visually?

Got a powerful idea you want to visualize
but don’t know how?

Well, here is the backstory behind an infographic I created to express what I see as marketing evolution.

You can easily apply to your ideas.

You know how it’s like, you notice a shred of evidence here. A few interesting developments there.

And one day in one splash a unique perspective just dawns on you.

You can’t wait to share it, but how do you convey your idea visually?

Outside photos and videos, sometimes you want to sketch out or use illustrations to communicate a complex message through an infographic.

What is an Infographic?

Oxford Dictionary says:

“a visual representation of information or data.”

Yep! You read it right – not just data

Sometimes your infographic could be based not on quantitative data but on a conceptual idea you might have about a trend in your market.

How so?

Take a look at the infographic below.

Following the news, chatting with guests on my podcast and client work, I have noticed a unique pattern emerging.

What spiked my attention?

Looking at the journey brands have travelled in closing the communication gap with audiences, it made me wonder how the next phase might look like?

What’s your guess?

The gist

I used a simple metaphor of “closing the gap” to make the visual easily accessible and then demonstrated it with three steps:

1. Silos: The traditional model of one-to-many communication where brands use TV, print, radio, social networks, and even spending $2.4 million to buy a metaverse land to reach their audiences.

It’s the classic siloed approach where brands “rent attention” by complying with media platforms’ rules, through organic, paid or earned initiatives.

2. Brand as Media: At some point, we’ve started seeing brands getting tired of the old model, and taking full control by behaving as their own media companies – one degree of separation from audiences.

Here you’ll find brands’ in-house newsrooms, film studios (Patagonia), TV shows (Anheuser-Busch), video games (Burberry), and even a full streaming service (Salesforce+).

3. Audience-Generated Media: But the message still came from the brand filters. So, in an attempt to create an authentic 100% customer voice, we’ve started seeing the emergence of user-generated content (UGC), influence marketing, crowdfunding, – and with blockchain – adding ownership: social tokens and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO) tactics.

Yes, but…

Naturally, it’s not an either or situation as most brands – like adept drummers – play on all three categories.

It’s more about the addition of these new tactics to the marketing evolution rolling story.

The takeaway

When you create an infographic or use other visual formats you provide a simplified view perspective to amplify an idea your audience would appreciate.

Your idea could come organically (like in my case) or proactively going after it.

Naturally, you want to make sure your story is aligned with your brand purpose and visual identity.

For more inspiration, check out VSI’s Instagram.

How are you using infographics or other visual types to convey your conceptual ideas?

You’d be surprised how a simple, yet unique visual message can emotionally resonate with your audience on social, Webinars, proposals, pitches, NFT marketplaces and more.

In the meantime, keep your visual stories coming and inspiring!

Need help visualizing your ideas for your brand?
Feel free to throw your availability on my calendar.