Visual Communication

Learning Objective

• Use design principles to create visual aids that delight viewers.
• Follow an iterative design process to receive and incorporate feedback.

Why this Activity?

A visual aid can communicate a message at a single glance. There will be projects, both in class and at work, when you will present information and deliver a call to action. A visual aid—a slide deck, diagram, infographic, poster, etc.—can help your audience quickly understand the message you wish to communicate.

Yet you may have seen a poster with a font too small to read or a slide presentation that hurt your eyes. There are fundamental design principles that contribute to an effective visual experience. As you learn about these principles, you can create visual aids that are pleasing to the eye and motivate your audience to engage.

Criteria for Completion

These are the steps that you should complete to earn this toolbox activity:

1. Consider the Context: Identify a situation at work or in this class where you could better communicate information through a visual graphic or aid. Consider the message you wish to convey and the needs of your audience.
   
   • Who is your audience?
   • What is the main takeaway you want your audience to walk away with?
   • What are the reasons they might not buy into your message?
   • What information will strengthen your message?
   • What information would be better understood if presented visually?
   • What ideas or concepts might be difficult for the intended audience to understand?
2. Choose a Medium: Based on your analysis, determine how you might visually communicate the information and message. Will it be a diagram summarizing the main points from the analysis? Data presented as a graph? An infographic that breaks down a complicated concept? A slide deck? Choose a method for presenting the information and justify why that method is best suited for your audience.
3. Learn about Design Principles: There are many resources available online that discuss best practices for visual design. Spend some time learning about best practices for three of these elements of design:
   
   • Layout
   • Color
   • Font
   • Images and Graphics
   • Accessibility
   • Etc.
4. Good and Bad Examples:  As you learn about the principles, look for an example that effectively incorporates design principles and a design that does not. Compare how the design principle, or lack thereof, impacts the effectiveness of the design.
5. Initial Design: Use the principles you learned about to create an initial draft of your visual aid. You may wish to start by sketching out ideas with pen and paper or design directly in the technology of your choice.
6. Feedback and Revision: Receive critical feedback on your design from at least three people. To do this, identify which aspects of the design you would like feedback on (readability, emotional impact, font and color choice, etc.). Then, identify questions that will focus on those aspects and a method for receiving that feedback. For example, if you wish to understand the readability of the design, you may ask, “what is the first thing you see when you look at the graphic?” This step should be iterative. So you may create an initial draft, receive feedback, then revise your design. You can then repeat this process with a new person until you feel like you have fixed major issues.
7. Final Design: Create a final version of your design that follows best practices for layout, color, font, images and graphics, and usability.
8.  Reflection: Consider the key lessons you have learned while completing this