1. Visual
Communication
Principles
Effective visual communication depends on the
successful incorporation of both skills and tools. In
many cases the tools receive more attention (and
concern) than the skills that support the fundamental
use of any tool. An example of this is the
apprehension many people feel about learning &
keeping up-to-date with tools for drawing—3-D
modeling software, graphics packages, and even pen
& pencil sketching. Understanding and mastering the
skills that motivate how and why any particular tool
is used is more important to the repeatedly
successful visual communication.
Visual communication relies on manipulating
fundamental graphical elements—shapes, lines, color,
text—as well as well expressing thematic content—
the message motivating the work. It is a complicate
challenge that requires not only knowing what you
want to say, but also crafting an expression of that
message visually. This is a 24 hour-per-day demand:
visual communication has to work even when you are
taking a break.
Each of the following principles supports a body of
skills that serve expert and novice visual
Clarify to Amplify communicators. They each require individual practice
and as such should be approached with an
understanding that at any given moment it will be
difficult to focus on them all simultaneously.
Consider the Whole above Eventually they will all function in harmony in ways
that support any given tool relevant to the state of
the Parts the practice: regardless of the technology at the time,
you can be an effective visual communicator by
understanding principles complement available tools.
Use Treatment to Convey
Meaning
Add an Analogy
Design within a Structure

2. Clarify to Amplify
Distill the content & messaging of your
communicated product
to the smallest set possible.
Why does it work?
Frequently your visually communicated product has a
tiny window of impact opportunity: people are on the run
or attention spans are dreadfully short. Maybe your
message is one of 50 or 100 being considered for a
project. Crisp articulation of a single vision helps Consider the Whole above the
communicate effectively. Parts
Clarity does not forego detail. In fact, it might be license Thematic coherence is critical to the overall
effectiveness of communication. Small details and
bits of glory are important too(!), but they must
support a larger intent.
Why does this work?
The overall intent of your work (the “Whole”) will dictate
when and how specific efforts can really shine. Consider
any large effort in visual communication as a multi-
course meal. While a particular course may stand out as
Use Treatment to Convey a delight—an appetizer of bacon-wrapped shrimp or a
Meaning flamboyant baked Alaska—it will not compensate for
thematic variability or inconsistency in presentation.
The visual elements when viewed from afar can
Cartoonists are exemplar practitioners of considering the
communicate content as effectively as the particular
whole above the parts: their practice is to first “rough
intellectual content of the work. Treating visual
out” images by blocking in general shapes with pencil or
elements such as font, color, line type, and graphic
pen. The next steps include taking more time and effort
elements as a suite is critical for cohesive
to flesh out details of action and characters. The process
communication.
continues, using more refined tools such as ink & color.
Why does it work?
People instinctively make associations among elements
and they equivalently attribute meaning based on those Add an Analogy
associations. Take a pirate map for example: a hand-
scrawled font, dotted lines, faded and crinkled lines, and Leverage easily understood concepts & successes
graphic elements (e.g, an “X”, skull & bones flag), all from others to communicate your work more quickly
work together to communicate a theme. & compellingly.
Consider how and when you might want to use
treatment to support your message. If you were Why does it work?
designing an income tax form for first-time filers, the
pirate treatment would not necessarily support the Visual communication faces the threats of time and
meaning & instruction critical for success. However, the comprehension. An audience will frequently only offer
pirate treatment might be effective in communicating the gift of time with a complementary increase in
adventure and discovery at a science center display or comprehension. Analogies can make new and
for messaging to school kids going off to summer camp. complicated concepts more palatable to audiences. A
slide rule is like an abacus; a calculator uses the same
principles as a slide rule; a computer is essentially a
more powerful calculator; a micro-computer is the
machine on your desk shrunken to a tiny chip.

3. Design with a Structure
Use the physical configuration of your content to
support the message; erratic graphical structure can
distract focus.
Why does it work?
Humans are excellent at recognizing patterns among
elements as well as attributing meaning to those
patterns and groups.
Structural features, such as an aligning grid, and
consistent style structure, such as font type & sizing
hierarchy, all present information in a repeated and
predictable pattern. Generations of repeated formats
have created platforms that can serve visual designers
today. An example in western culture is the tendency for
text to begin at the upper left of a page and progress to Use Type as a Visual Object
the lower right. That now “simple” characteristic is an
incredibly powerful tool in the design of visual Type and text are every bit as important as graphics
messaging: people will begin the engagement of your and colors.
text at the upper left unless you do something to force
the engagement in a different sequence.
Why does it work?
Type matters because you can see it. That’s pretty
simple, but it is often under-recognized. Take a
“normal” textbook, for example: content is very often
separated into verbal messaging and graphical
messaging. You read the words and you see the
pictures. The sneaky part is that you see the words too.
Use that fact to your advantage—people who design
logos, icons, and signs use this fact to their advantage
all of the time.
Use Contrast Get familiar with multiple font families and pay attention
to the ways in which they are used. Some fonts “feel”
Contrast is simply the difference between things. better in particular ways than other do: by making a
This difference can be graphic—light and dark, thick choice about a unique font, you are making a unique
or thin—or it can be thematic—silly or serious, statement within your messaging. Does you font look
expensive or cheap. Knowing how and why to use
contrast is the single most important skill in visual
communication.
Why does this work?
The innate human capacity for identifying patterns
comes from the ability to discern differences (contrast)
between elements. It is instinctive to see differences
among multiple elements. Knowing that an audience will
automatically clue into differences is the first step in
understanding how to present information.
Contrast can be as straight-forward as using black text
on a white background (visual contrast) to using only