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NEW VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION


In PR, one of our biggest challenges is helping laypeople understand complicated subjects.  Whether it is the science behind plant emissions, a complex financial issue or, really, any kind of communications related to change, helping people understand scientific, technical and mathematical concepts is among the toughest jobs we have.  Early on, a big hero was Edward Tufte, whose classic book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information created a cult following devoted to the importance of design, graphics, and integrity in creating understanding in these situations.

Alas, Tufte is a professor and his work was always a little difficult to apply directly to mainstream communications.

Today, the big trend is the infographic, which is the popular and cool cousin to Tufte's work.  Infographics apply many of the same principles, but are driven by the idea that the graphic is being created, as Derrak Richard of Market Strategies says, to "entice and entertain."

This is not, as Richard says, an excuse to devolve into "chartjunk."  It simply means that we recognize that we are communicating in an attention economy and not an ivory tower.  (Tips on how to develop quality infographics can be found in Richard's article.)

To me, the greatest area of unexplored potential for infographics is internal communications.  Everyday, corporate communicators have to educate their workforce about financial and technical issues.  While these employees are not laypeople per se, they are also not likely to have daily familiarity with complicated business issues.  Furthermore, the attention economy is as real for them as it is for any consumer.

Infographics can help to answer this challenge with compelling and engaging graphic communications.  The key for communicators is to remember than the basic fundamentals of infographics are the same as they are for any type of communication.  You have to know your audience, and then you have to think really hard about what you need them to know and understand.

As always, clarity and relevance will win the day.