Tag: technology

The Power of Infographics

Capturing imagery + text in an intertwined relationship is fascinating work. There’s something about mingling elements, contrasting colours, and purely expressing a message that excites me.

Infographics are a great example of this type of communication. Well done work leaves me breathless (in a good way). So, to jump right into it, here are some things to consider when creating powerful infographics.

First, a basic definition:

in·fo·graph·ic

/ˌinfōˈɡrafik/

noun

An infographic (information graphic) is a representation of information in a graphic format designed to make the data easily understandable at a glance.

Why do we use them?

Infographics are a great way to communicate ideas quickly and effectively. They help to simplify the process of presenting a message or data and help to establish connections, patterns, and relationships that allow us, as the viewer, to gather specific information.

Why are they important?

Poor content incites boredom. What’s poor content?

Anything that’s too wordy, difficult to understand, or mind-numbingly full of roundabout detail. And it’s not about getting a quick fix. Some of us—me on occasion—enjoy digesting a mouthful of words. Still, no one can deny that pictures make everything easier to take in! 

In 2019, 74% of marketing content contained a visual element. That’s not surprising, considering a whopping 90% of all information transmitted to the brain is visual.

Leaving us to believe that when you come across visually appealing content, you are much more likely to retain it. You might even share it with someone else after you’ve frolicked in its delight. 

Shareability is huge.

Taking inspiration from that which is shareable is also a thing.

I often create based on how much I liked LOVED something. I am graphically illuminated so much easier these days with all the impressive infographics to learn from!

They’re important, guys, for so many different reasons. But to summarize—infographics are important because they help us tell a story in a way that’s accessible to our audience.

Just the words below will let you know why.

Words that your infographics should be –

What’s the blox. way to create infographics?

Follow these steps:

1 – Find an appropriate ‘chunk’ of content you would like to translate pictorially, or that is so dang interesting, it’s already sparking imagery in your head.

2 – Follow your brand guidelines—typeface, colour, spacing, tone etc.

3 – Create to your heart’s content but make sure each element flows into the next. Continuity is critical, or you risk altering the message or even worse, spreading an inconsistent idea.

4 – Aim to make your infographics attention-grabbing and playful. People are much more likely to engage if they’re looking at something that incites positive emotion.

5 – Incorporate text carefully and precisely The text you add should uplift and reinforce your main message. Make sure it supports the imagery you are using!

Now, the fun part.

Here are some infographics I created for Clearbridge Business Solutions.

I am so excited to share these because designing them was such an enjoyable experience. I feel like I achieved what I was going after—visually describing our work and what we want to be known for (our #bestwork). I hope you like them! If you have any suggestions for modifications, let me know, I am always happy to make things #better!

Yearning for more design content? Check out these blog posts:

A Design Thinking Process

Blogging Graphic Design Process

Logo Design

AI

Strategy

According to Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms, authors of Understanding “New Power”, cooperation is “rewarding those who share their own ideas, spread those of others, or build on existing ideas to make them better.” This may be false. Cooperation is a tricky territory to navigate, especially within an environmental or technological domain. Still, a significant paradigm shift to consider – if we are moving forward, we must let go of ownership and authority to create a new wave of energy. This energy or humanistic data governance (AI) describes every interaction (digital and human) we make, and we should comply accordingly. As a writer, this can mean less writing. As a business owner, this could be thinking more dynamically. Energy is a force. It is in itself a superstructure.

New power models will always have limited influence and impact unless they are operating within a superstructure designed to play to their strengths. 

Governance

The idea of new power is not new. For centuries, humans have searched for ways to influence society, and it is no different today. One thing’s for sure, in environmental technology (purposeful applications that utilize digital environments to authenticate realities), a ‘superstructure’ is required to transform high-level ideas into physical products. We lose product direction without a proper process (energy) in place.

AI is fluid, though noninterchangeable and can digress. A physical product is a term best used to describe an outcome. In digital reality, a new power takes actionable items related to spatial and non-spatial information to influence a decision-making process, which leads to a result.

An example of this is a dream. So, on a larger scale (the dreamscape), new power (our human ability to dream) can affect human mentality (how we feel when we wake up), it can direct human conversation (self-banter), and ultimately, it can change the way we do things (feeling sad instead of happy). Product direction requires a dream, one that can be unlocked following precise steps, as if when you awoke from your dream you could remember every vibrant detail.

New power operates differently, like a current. It is made by many. It is open, participatory, and peer-driven. It uploads, and it distributes. Like water or electricity, it’s most forceful when it surges. The goal with new power is not to hoard it but to channel it.

Branding

I wouldn’t put it any differently. New power disables groupthink. The main distinction is that peers are not forced to agree with ideas, but rather can propose alternatives or contrasting ways to look at situations. Energy has a voice and the voice has a force. Individually, we can select bits and pieces then take what we choose to be the most vital outcome or result.

It is easy to hoard ideas, hence why we share ideas through various modes of communication (social media, ads, websites). At the moment where ideas surge (individual brands becoming a full brand suite), we can use the opportunity to address a group of topics so that a more specific and arguably necessary topic can arise (how do we take a humanistic behavioralist approach to products).

Digital branding takes us back to a commonplace, to a dream, in an abrupt fashion (it is constantly changing). The current social atmosphere lets us choose how our human mind responds to digital anomalies (do we create or does creation make us), and when we are rendered incapable of seeing (becoming incapable of interpreting data), we know that it is time to try a different strategy.

As new power models become integrated into the daily lives of people and the operating systems of communities and societies, a new set of values and beliefs is being forged. Power is not just flowing differently; people are feeling and thinking differently about it. 

Security

This is AI. Models, in essence, switching established paradigms into new sets of values and beliefs. It impacts people and precisely their emotions, behaviours and insights. We can sense the change; we just haven’t figured out how to contextualize it. Digital branding gives us the power of autonomy – it integrates into our daily lives, and it is the marketer’s responsibility to make the message loud and clear – we are not scared of machines, we are still in charge.

Recent Work – Presentation

Hi everyone!

At my new job, we run group presentations every Friday. This is my first contribution, which talks about 2 useful acronyms that can be leveraged in content marketing. Let me know what you think!

 

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Project Future – Can Something Become Practical in Theory?

Hey gang!

I am futuristic and that’s final. My mind lives in the future. Theoretically, I train envisioning that we can live in an entirely digital space. Practically, we live in this space doing regular things, but we also fend for ourselves using our brains. Oh, so this is life! Let’s put a couple of examples into perspective. Note: this post is starting to examine the concept of ‘internet of things’.

Abstract – thing / being / human / agreeance / motion

We live on a physical planet where issues like climate change are just beginning to surface. This a real and serious thing. A 16-year-old climate change activist from Sweden, Greta Thunberg is fighting with global politicians pleading, “How dare you!” Her statement is full of impatience. Does this quantify or qualify the time it has taken to have a crisis like climate change in focus? Now envision, in an utmost technologically advanced society, affecting the outcome of global issues via thought. Think about this – do Thunberg’s words permeate:

an action / integrity / longevity (experience) *creativity +strength

or

a brand / transparency / visuality (capability) *productivity -weakness

In certain applications that are already in place, we could debate the efficacy of an activist’s approach. However, would there be more power in advertising or marketing a cause if the objective considered certain design elements or art attributes? How do we implicate values like belief, trust and faith into a balanced and harmonious solution? And what would be the outcome of such an act? More opportunities? Less threats?

Think ads, television, movies, radio, books.

If those in charge of operating the goods either 1 – don’t fully comprehend new technologies due to incumbent roles and desires of maintaining diplomatic consensus or 2 – need to allocate funds to get everything in place, this does not mean they’re not participating in or understanding at all. And I’m talking highly established and evolved grey matter here! Executives of all sorts know, but the argument could be that we may potentially lack tacit knowledge and this is required to engage with younger generations or for that matter, older ones too. Throes of people that might already comprehend digitization (including all levels of being – thing, human etc.) are waiting for two things – a revolution and massive change. How is it going to pan out?

An example of Global Comprehension at work –

Do you remember when Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg endured a 2-day congressional inquisition on the possibility that his company helped to fix Trump’s election campaign by intentionally (or unintentionally) releasing Facebook user data?

  • What was that all about?
  • How would you explain it to a Baby Boomer, Millennial or Digital Native?
  • How did this issue affect us in terms of technology?
  • How did this issue affect us in terms of marketing and advertising?
  • How did this issue affect us in relation to design?
  • Does it bear any importance?
  • How do we begin to explain these types of situations without being merely journalistic or too afraid to elaborate in a caption?
  • Should it matter and why?

We are honourably asking, what does Facebook incentivize and why? Personally, I think they are doing something amazing and are truly planning for our future.

In spite of everything, both Thunberg and Zuckerberg bear weight and responsibility representing modern dilemmas that many people don’t want to talk about. Or perhaps won’t or can’t.

Q: So, what are these dilemmas that require Global Comprehension?

A: Critical mass (Thunberg example) and artificial intelligence (Zuckerberg example)

Hypothetical Solution: recognizing power in unanimity (Thunberg example/things in agreeance) and leading with a ‘Productive Creative’ brain (Zuckerberg example/things in motion)

Note: the term Productive Creative is explored in Hustle & Float, a book by Rahaf Harfoush, a strategist, digital anthropologist, best-selling author and Executive Director of the Red Thread Institute of Digital Culture. She also teaches “Innovation & Emerging Business Models” at SciencesPo in Paris. This quote explains Productive Creative further –

But what happens when the product or service we are providing becomes more intangible in nature? The economy’s gradual shift to include more knowledge work meant that creativity was suddenly a highly desirable trait. That’s where the Productive Creatives came in: to stay relevant and profitable in a rapidly evolving economy, companies desperately needed problem solvers, strategic thinkers, and idea generators. This new type of work created a ripple within traditional workplaces, which now struggled to apply the same clear-cut approach to the creative class. Organizations had to adapt the decades-old systems that developed standardized organizational capabilities to ones that cultivated individual experts who could respond to market conditions with agility.

It would be time to show people – from all walks of life – what is actually going on. There is no need to be livid or paranoid or just plain complacent; if we just had Global Comprehension in place!

So let us say that today, we have the power, we have the goods, and we most definitely have the stage to set our differences aside and come up with new and inventive ways to approach our problems. So, the question becomes – can we altruistically and artificially fix problems like climate change? Could all the world’s brains come together and compute a solution that’s entirely technical (it could just be code of us walking around – engineering a practical application of semantics and proxemics really), but that would emote a creative shift in the planet’s thought processes, all things included? Without the desire to push our creative and technical limits, we will not progress. We will not move forward with fundamental ideas like artificial intelligence or critical mass.

If we can understand the essential framework of these new systems, future generations can develop and implement changes. Gen Y will test and research, then together, all generations can draw some very much needed transparent, accurate and responsible conclusions. The funny thing is, when the revolution (arguably renaissance even) is over and done with, what will be left? In other words, if there is no dilemma, did the dilemma even exist in the first place? This is my theory on Practicality – one planet, 1 human!

Uh-oh!

Today, let’s be practical (according to http://www.dictionary.com):

  • relating to practice or action
  • consisting of, involving, or resulting from practice or action
  • of, relating to, or concerned with ordinary activities, business, or work
  • adapted or designed for actual use; useful
  • engaged or experienced in actual practice or work
  • inclined toward or fitted for actual work or useful activities 

This is a timely discussion and we are all a part of it. How does this make you feel? Worried, scared, unusual? Would you be interested in exploring these ideas further if they were presented differently? As a note, I am always speaking to a mainstream audience. I think connections need to be made for each and every one of us, not only for those residing in an academic pool.

Great work, talk soon!