Draw a Better Business. Cara Holland

WHY?

      it’s more effective

      A picture is worth a thousand words. I’m sure

      you’ve all heard this saying, and it’s true. That’s

      why we already use images when we know

      communication is critical, urgent, or both. If a

      manufacturer doesn’t want you to drink the liquid

      because it’s poisonous, then writing this in text just

      isn’t going to cut it. You’ll have drunk the darn

      poison before you get through the small print!

      In our fast‑moving world, we need images that are

      instantly understandable. That grab our attention,

      whoever we are and whatever language we

      speak. Research has shown that it takes just 250

      milliseconds for a visual symbol to be processed

      and understood.

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      look at the image below, then the

      word. can you feel how even this

      simple, single word takes a tiny bit

      longer to process in your mind?

      50 DRAW A BETTER BUSINESS

      it’s stickier

      You will not only be able to understand information

      quicker, and remember more of it because it’s

      visual, but you will also be able to remember it for

      longer.

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      Recent research published in the Quarterly

      Journal of Experimental Psychology, showed a

      significant recall advantage for words that were

      drawn instead of written.

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      It all seems a bit too good to be true, but I promise

      you it is.

      it’s more inclusive

      Whether you are mainly communicating internally

      within an organisation, or externally with clients,

      you can’t afford to assume everyone has the

      same ability to understand, absorb or retain written

      information.

      More than ever before we work globally with

      people who speak a range of languages. Our

      potential audience has increased in size and

      diversity, and knowing that, you can be sure

      the literacy level of your staff and clients is also

      hugely varied. Did you know, in the UK over 10%

      of adults are functionally illiterate,

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      almost 8% of

      the population has English as a second language

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      and 10% of the population are dyslexic?

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