Images speak louder than words. You can probably instantaneously recall the iconic pointing finger of Uncle Sam, the grey moustache and beard, the red, white, and blue suit, and the iconic top hat. With the “I want YOU for the U.S. Army” words underneath, it’s an extraordinary example of simple, powerful, and unforgettable visual communication that evokes emotions and calls to action through a single poster.
To learn all about the power of visual communication in marketing and advertising, we consulted our design experts, who shared their insights in the article below.
Table of Contents
What Is Visual Communication?
Visual communication conveys a message — information and ideas — via colors, images, typography, and symbols. It’s a powerful way of communicating, as it can evoke feelings without necessarily requiring words or explanations. It rises above language barriers and engages audiences faster than plain text. It effectively retains attention, making it a preferred means of communication in digital marketing across the board.
Today, visual communication has become an integral part of our lives. Digital mediums, graphic design, motion graphic tools, design software, digital cameras, and other media platforms have transformed visual communication into a primary storyteller in our digitally interconnected world, making lasting impressions and igniting emotions.
Why Is Visual Communication Important?
Design experts understand that the human brain processes visuals around 60,000 times faster than text. Today, in the age of information overload, visual communication is a powerful asset for any brand that wishes to navigate the vast ocean of content on the internet effectively.
For example, people are more likely to pause while scrolling through your social feed if they see a great image or a clever infographic that simplifies complex data. In just a few seconds, you get the key idea without having to go over the details of an entire research paper.
Visual communication adds personality and depth to your content. It also plays a crucial role in branding. A clever logo design can effectively represent your brand values, a business card can exude confidence and expertise, and a well-designed poster can garner excitement for an upcoming event.
Here are some of the benefits of effective visual communication:
- Improved understanding: Visuals can simplify otherwise complex data and information, making it easier to consume and understand. Visual communication can break down complex concepts and processes effectively.
- Enhanced engagement: Data suggests that articles with images get 94% more views. Visuals can be highly engaging and capture attention far better than simple text. Images, colors, fonts, and other multimedia elements garner more attention and hold interest for longer, making the content more impactful.
- No language barriers: Textual communication requires your audience to understand the language of the message. Visual communication is language-fluid, with universally recognizable images, icons, and symbols, enabling you to communicate with a diverse linguistic and cultural audience.
- Better at conveying experiences and emotions: Visuals can convey experiences and evoke emotions more profoundly that words can’t on their own. With the ability to create moods, feelings, and narratives, visual storytellers can create more intensive experiences for their audiences.
- More room for innovation and creativity: Visual communication supports creative thinking and offers innovative ways to reach out to your audiences. Creating something that grabs attention quickly and conveys messages instantly stimulates imagination, promotes innovative ideas, and encourages problem-solving.
Types of Visual Communication
Let’s dive into some of the main examples of visual communication.
Graphics
When talking about visual communication, graphics utilize visual elements (layouts, logos, etc.) with various tools such as animation or photography to convey comprehensive messages. Graphs can help display and simplify complex data correlations (like pie charts or bar graphs). They can be used alongside text when you’re presenting your findings or can even be a standalone element, to make an even bolder statement.
Maps
Maps are one of the best examples of visual communication. Even before GPS and Google’s electrified maps, they were paramount tools in traveling and discovery across human history.
Photographs
Photographs are also key elements of visual communication. They can communicate various emotions, from nostalgia to joy and excitement. They can also convey vital information in the form of evidence and showcase breathtaking landscapes or the tough realities of the world.
Models
Models of organs and skeletons can be of immense help for medical students to understand human anatomy. 3D models can help designers better visualize and showcase how complex machinery works, and can also represent houses, buildings, and other real estate with more clarity for wider audiences than complex technical drawings.
The Essential Principles of Visual Communication
While visual communication can greatly aid verbal communication and can double as a messenger without text, designers and artists should adhere to specific communication principles to avoid clutter and excess information in their visual creations.
Here are the five essential principles that help the effectiveness of visual communication:
Clarity
The success of visual communication depends on the receiver’s interpretation and perception of the message. To make things easy to understand, the message should be clear and simple. Overly complicated visual mediums may lose their value if their target audience can’t understand them entirely or quickly enough.
Contrast
Visual messengers should also create a balance between their elements. To communicate well, the different visual elements should be arranged in a way that allows them to complement each other. More precisely, designers must understand how different textures, shapes, colors, and sizes harmonize. This can help in creating highlights and focal points.
Design
It’s vital that all the elements balance each other out. No matter whether it’s graffiti in the street or a social media ad, its design should consider factors such as viewpoint and target audience experiences and understanding.
Proximity
Proximity involves the meaningful relationship between elements that interact with each other. As connected elements, their goal should be to achieve greater clarity. For instance, students may often study the ideas of Aristotle and Plato in relation to each other to add more context to their philosophies and make them easier to memorize.
Rhythm
Rhythm in visual communication refers to the notion that all elements within a composition should connect and flow seamlessly without any obstacles. Rhythm creates a sense of harmony and movement which guides the viewer’s eye across the design in a balanced way.
Notable Examples of Visual Communication in Marketing
We’ve already talked about Uncle Sam and how he symbolizes the US government and even American people. Below are some less patriotic, but similarly excellent examples of visual communication done right.
Coke’s Share a Coke Campaign
The Share a Coke campaign was launched in 2011, targeting individuals instead of the general public. The campaign allowed the brand to interact with its customer base on a more personal level, strengthening the bond between them. The notion was straightforward: display people’s names on bottles and market them. This simple, yet effective marketing gimmick had a positive impact on revenue, improving sales by 11% in the US alone. It’s also the best-performing marketing endeavor for the brand to date.
The FCK Campaign from KFC
A bit of humor can make even the most uncomfortable apology advertisement more lighthearted. KFC’s UK operations ran out of chicken in February 2018. To apologize for the inconvenience, the fast-food chain ran a full-page ad in the Metro newspaper rearranging the brand’s three initials to provide an amusing response to the shortage. The bucket featuring “FCK” instead of KFC was an explicit but truly genius way of grabbing attention and conveying the apologetic message.
Humor and authenticity are often the best ways to apologize. Through the campaign, the restaurant chain managed to neutralize all negative press, leading to the release of 700 press articles and TV debates and reaching over 797 million people on traditional media channels and an additional 219 million people on social media globally. It also boosted KFC’s positive brand attention to 29%, which stood at only 7% before the mishap.
The Steps Campaign from IKEA
Ikea’s Steps campaign was launched in 2018, with the idea to promote their environmentally friendly new Greenwich store. It urged customers to visit the new store on foot instead of driving, urging people to reduce their carbon footprint and supporting sustainability.
The campaign featured 80 posters across Southeast London, displaying the number of steps remaining to the new store and highlighting the nearest public transport routes. There was also a promotional video showcasing a time-lapse of the journey to the store, which took 3590 steps.
Visual Communication: Key Takeaways
Visual communication can often convey information, messages, and ideas more efficiently and memorably than written text or speech alone. It has the power to simplify complex concepts and ideas, enhancing understanding and evoking emotions in audiences.
Transgressing boundaries, languages, societal context, and culture, visual communication is a powerful messenger, art form, and marketing tool when used correctly.
Visual Communication FAQs
What is the scope of visual communication?
Visual communication has a vast scope spanning across various industries and disciplines. Graphic design, marketing, film, advertising, arts, web design, user interface design, television, and film all use visual communication. IT also uses a wide range of visual tools, such as symbols, typography, images, layouts, and colors to engage with audiences.
Is visual communication important in our daily life?
Visual communication is an integral part of our everyday life. In the form of traffic signs, it helps us commute safely. In the form of ads, it helps us consume marketing materials and in the form of art, it helps us express ourselves or interpret emotions. It also enriches entertainment experiences via digital media, movies, and television shows.
Is visual communication crucial for digital marketing?
It’s safe to say that there are no effective digital marketing campaigns without visual communications. From web design to running ad campaigns with branded product images, and from using hero images for your blog articles to posting memes on your social channels, visual communication has become a critical element in digital marketing.
