Visual thinking is using visuals to make it easier to see, understand and remember information.
We see manifestations of it when we see road signs on the road, watch infographics or design new products during Design Thinking workshops.
However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Visual thinking can be successfully used in medicine, sketchnoting, or – and this will be the topic today – in business.
Why visual thinking is important
We all know that everyone today is bombarded with a huge amount of information every day. We don’t have time to read every email, article or presentation that comes our way.
If we prepare for materials that we would not like to consume ourselves, employees or clients will probably switch off in the process.
Visual thinking allows us to compress the transmitted information into short and easily digestible knowledge pills, so that the information we want to convey reaches the addressee and is not rejected at the very beginning.
6 levels of visual thinking
Visual thinking can be implemented on several levels. The simplest improvements can be made practically without much preparation. The most complex ones require a lot of knowledge and experience.
Level 1: Supplement text with images or icons
One of the simplest methods is to add a photo or an icon that complements the message. This way we make it easier for the reader to connect the dots.
Of course, the visual element must be chosen appropriately or it won’t serve its purpose.
In this slide a picture summarizes and complements what is being said with the text
Level 2: Translating numbers into graphs
This is probably the most popular manifestation of visual thinking. Numbers in a table “don’t tell” readers much, but when they are translated into a graph, the conclusions are suddenly obvious.
The number of TikTok users in the table:
The number of TikTok users in the graph:
A graph is much easier to understand than a list of numbers alone
Level 3: Organize text visually
If you are talking about something complex like a business or marketing strategy, you can build a mind map to organize the whole topic.
Level 4: Compress the text into one visualization
This task is more difficult than the previous ones.
While in Level 3 we simply visualize a topic. At level 4, we have to remove unnecessary elements to fit everything into one visualization.
An example of this compression is SWOT analysis, a simple breakdown of strategic information that helps you quickly catch the essence of a company’s strengths and weaknesses. Source of illustration: link
Level 5: Translating abstract concepts into visualizations
This level usually requires even more knowledge. This is because we wrap the whole thing in a concise visualization that must be created according to design principles.
Although this food pyramid is now considered outdated, it has helped to summarize a vast amount of dietary knowledge in a single graphic that has reached hundreds of millions of people. Source: link
Level 6: Translating information into powerful data visualizations
This level is a combination of all the previous levels.
In a Level 6 visualization:
– we match appropriate icons,
– we illustrate the data with adequate graphs,
– the most important categories are highlighted,
– unnecessary information is removed, and
– it is all summarized in a single graphic.
This visualization was created for entertainment purposes, but it is an example of great data and information visualization. Source: link
Now that we know the levels of visual thinking, let’s move on to specific business examples.
What visual thinking looks like in business: examples
Business is full of abstract concepts.
“Strategy,” “cloud,” or “customer-centricity” are such broad concepts that they often become empty platitudes. Visual thinking allows you to ground them in concrete examples, making it easier for your audience to understand “What did the author mean?”
Here are some examples of how to use such methods.
Infographics
Internal communication
Imagine you want to tell employees about your company’s strategy or values or how to avoid empty platitudes? You can dress up your message with infographics.
Our remix of an infographic telling the story of Tesla’s business strategy
External communication
Want customers to understand the benefits of your offering in seconds? Then show it to them.
Afragment of website for 3S PLAY Group that we designed
An example of a hand-made infographic that we used to educate TESCO’s customers about the company’s efforts not to waste food
Infographic for 3S PLAY Group
Animations
Internal communication
If you have the ability to display video, you can also reach your employees with animation, as Coca-Cola did when discussing their content strategy.
A discussion of Coca-Cola’s content strategy
External communication
You can also tell customers about the product in the form of a short story. Just like we did for SHARP.
SHARP’s explainer video
Slides
A lot of companies communicate with slides. The problem, unfortunately, is that many of the slides are an unpleasant wall of text. Instead of fitting into 10 or 15 slides, presentations stretch into dozens and sometimes hundreds of slides.
Visual thinking helps to compress information, so it also helps to reduce the number of slides.
Internal communication
Slide which was a part of a presentation on digitalization, given by the president of a Polish bank
External communication
Infographic for BPS Paribas
Slide that tells investors about planned market development
Cartoon
Sometimes an abstract message is best expressed with a simple comic story.
Internal communication
Abstract principles can be transferred to stories illustrating the so-called DOs and DONTs, i.e. what we should do and not do.
Mondelez created comic strips to educate its salespeople about merchandising
External communication
Coca-Cola cartoon to inspire customers to recycle
Graphic Recording:
Graphic Recordings are visual notes made in real-time. They help to organize meetings, list the topics discussed and serve as a reminder and summary of the material. There is more about this topic in the text What is Graphic Recording and Graphic Facilitation.
Internal Communication
Notes from the workshop for the American Embassy in Warsaw on the concept of American Spaces
External communication
Graphic Recording can also be used to summarize conference speeches and podcasts.
Summary of a speech at a conference in Warsaw
What to consider when thinking visually
As you can see, there is a big difference between adding an icon to a slide and creating a complex visualization that summarizes your company’s strategy.
The more advanced visual thinker you are, the more you can do. Information about the elements you should consider before you start:
- Understand your target audience and context
Health lessons will look different when targeted to teenage athletes than when targeted to 50-year-old bankers.
The color scheme (rich colors instead of muted colors), form (e.g., drawings instead of computer graphics), and language will change.
It is also worth knowing the broader context, i.e. where the material will be shown, what has been most difficult to understand so far etc.
- Gather all the information in one place.
In order to connect the dots into a meaningful shape, you first need to collect those dots. This is why it is so important for a visual thinker to have access to all the necessary information.
3. Understanding the gist of the message.
Without getting to the heart of the message, it is difficult to visualize that message. Therefore, a visual thinking professional will often ask a lot of questions before proceeding.
- Organizing the information.
What is most important? What can be left out? What do we talk about first and only at the end? These questions need to be answered.
- Use good design and/or storytelling practices.
Once you know what you are communicating, it is then time to choose the right visual form. Here you need to have knowledge in the field of design, so that the image is clear and visually attractive.
- Preparing the material for publication.
Depending on whether the material will be sent, presented or displayed at an event, you need to choose an appropriate form for it.
3 ways to implement visual thinking in your business:
1) Implement on your own
If you want to educate yourself on visual thinking, we recommend the following books:
“Draw Your Thoughts” by Dan Roam,
“Slideology” by Nancy Duarte,
“Visual Thinking in Business” by Karolina Jóżwik and Szymon Zwoliński
“Visual Notes” by Natalia Mikolajek
You will find helpful icon portals at:
And stock photo portals:
free unsplash.com
And applications for creating graphics such as:
Canva
Figma.
2) Training with a company that specializes in Visual Thinking
We can help you or your colleagues to master visual thinking.
We had the pleasure to promote this trend in Poland in. Over the years, we have worked for companies such as Google, IKEA and ING.
3) Outsourcing projects based on visual thinking to an external company
If you want to implement graphics, animations or workshops, you can outsource it. We’ve been providing this service since 2010 and we’d love to help you with your projects.
Over the years, we have carried out over 350 initiatives in 19 languages, working for small companies as well as corporations such as Carlsberg, Pfizer and Santander.
If you want to find out how we can help you, you can read more here.
He has studied psychology at the University of Warsaw, and business at Warsaw School of Economics, as well as at University of Cambridge Judge Business School. During his studies, he has researched how people think when they are overwhelmed by information.
It has inspired him to focus on communication that explains complex subjects in a simple way. In Explain Visually, he has lead projects for companies such as IKEA, Carlsberg, Pratt & Whitney, Orange, and Pfizer. Fan of rational, science-based approach, and building marketing and sales on robust fundamentals.