GRAPHICS

How can graphics aid your publication? Emmy Jokinen of P3 Nyheter (newsroom for a younger audicence) provides some tips.

PEOPLE ARE VISUAL​

Visual material appeals to us. We stop and look and want to know, watch or read more. For example, many products don’t get sold until they are made visually appealing.

WE REMEMBER MORE

​Visual material can strengthen a publication and make it more likely that we will remember it. 

According to Jerome Bruner from New York University there are studies showing that we remember 10 per cent of what we hear, 20 per cent of what we read and 80 per cent of what we see and do (sources in the bottom of the page). When news is made visual, it is therefore possible that more people will remember it.

CREATE YOUR BRAND IDENTITY ONLINE

Because we remember what we see, the brand will be easier to remember. We are visible, we are heard and people recognise us as the sender. This is brand awareness.

GRAPHICS GENERATE INTERACTION

As consumers of social media, we like to share content that might be useful for friends and followers. Info graphics or info videos, for example, are often very shareable – and in the best case, they invite interaction through dialogue.

INCREASED COMPREHENSION

Being told something with graphics increases comprehension. For example, talking about refugee routes while using animation to show exactly which routes we mean increases comprehension and informs the audience.

ACCESSIBILITY

Using graphics also increases the accessibility of the material. The combination of text, audio and visual content together mean that information can reach a wider variety of people, regardless of any disability, for example. This combination also clarifies the message. If you use a visual symbol along with a text, your message will reach more people.

Sources:

• Lester, P. M. (2006). Syntactic Theory of Visual Communication
• Merieb, E. N. & Hoehn, K. (2007). Human Anatomy & Physiology 7th Edition, Pearson International Edition.