Killer Visual Strategies

Killer Visual Strategies

by Amy Balliett
Released June 2020
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119680222

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Book description

Discover the foundation, power, and necessity of visual communication with this essential guide

Visual communication has changed. It’s gone from being an optional medium for relaying information to an important method for building connections and increasing understanding. We now use visual storytelling to help us establish and strengthen relationships, engage distracted audiences, and bring clarity to complexity. Killer Visual Strategies examines how visual communication has transformed how brands connect with their customers and colleagues alike. It looks at the growing audience demand for quality visual content and how organizations must meet this demand or risk being left behind.

Killer Visual Strategies traces the history of visual communication and explores why it now plays an integral role in our daily lives. As Amy Balliett tells the story of this evolving medium, she naturally incorporates visuals, such as timelines and data visualizations throughout. In addition to providing actionable rules to follow for creating high-impact visual content, Balliett also explores the latest trends, including visual search, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR). Then, she looks forward to what lies ahead in this dynamic field.  The book’s topics can benefit readers in a range of professions where visual content is now vital to sharing a message.

  • Learn best practices for visual communication
  • Gain inspiration from countless visual examples
  • Stay on top of the latest trends in visual communication
  • Understand visual communication for marketing, sales, design, HR, and more

Killer Visual Strategies provides a clearer picture of the evolution of visual communication as a fundamental part of how a story is told.

Table of contents

  1. COVER
  2. FOREWORD
  3. INTRODUCTION
  4. HOW TO READ THIS BOOK
    1. THE ACCIDENTAL AGENCY
    2. PART 1: VISUAL CONTENT IS KING
    3. PART 2: 8 RULES OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION
    4. PART 3: YOUR VISUAL STRATEGY
    5. APPENDIXES
  5. THE ACCIDENTAL AGENCY
    1. FIRST LESSON LEARNED:BEING IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME IS LUCK,NOT SKILL
    2. THE WORST INFOGRAPHICS OF ALL TIME
    3. MOVING FROM BAD TO KILLER
    4. ENTER KILLER INFOGRAPHICS,THE AGENCY
  6. PART ONE: VISUAL CONTENT IS KING
    1. CHAPTER 1: ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES AND THE RISE OF VISUAL CONTENT
      1. ENTER A NEW MILLENNIUM AND THE RISING DEMAND FOR VISUAL CONTENT
      2. 2007: THE YEAR THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
      3. A DECADE DRIVEN BY VISUAL MEDIA
    2. CHAPTER 2: VISUAL CONTENT AND HUMAN NATURE
      1. THE BRAIN SCIENCE OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION
      2. SPEAKING VISUALLY IS NATURAL—AND NOW, IT'S EXPECTED
    3. CHAPTER 3: QUALITY VISUAL CONTENT REIGNS SUPREME
      1. SO: BEAUTIFUL DESIGN REIGNS SUPREME?
      2. TODAY'S AUDIENCES HAVE TWENTY-FOUR-KARAT-GOLD EXPECTATIONS
  7. PART TWO: 8 RULES OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION
    1. CHAPTER 4: RULE 1: ALWAYS THINK ABOUT CON-TEXT (IT'S A CON WHEN THERE'S TOO MUCH TEXT)
      1. EXERCISE: HOW LONG WILL COMPREHENSION TAKE?
    2. CHAPTER 5: RULE 2: SMALL VISUAL CUES HAVE A LARGE IMPACT
      1. TWITTER'S INFAMOUS STAR-VERSUS-HEART WAR OF 2015
      2. EXERCISE: EMBRACING UNIVERSAL IMAGERY
    3. CHAPTER 6: RULE 3: THERE'S NO GOLD AT THE END OF THAT RAINBOW
      1. CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLORS FOR YOUR VISUAL CONTENT
      2. EXERCISE: DO THESE COLORS MATTER?
    4. CHAPTER 7: RULE 4: GOOD VISUAL STRATEGISTS ASK “WTF?!”
      1. WHAT'S IT SAYING?
      2. EXERCISE: FONT ASSOCIATION IN ACTION
    5. CHAPTER 8: RULE 5: AVOID THE STIGMA OF STOCK
      1. THE GROWING AVERSION TO STOCK IMAGERY
      2. IT'S NOT JUST STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY: STOCK ILLUSTRATIONS POSE RISKS TOO
      3. EXERCISE: WHEN STOCK IMAGERY IS ALL YOU CAN USE
    6. CHAPTER 9: RULE 6: STAND OUT AT THE COCKTAIL PARTY
      1. YOUR AUDIENCE WANTS CUSTOM, PERSONALIZED CONTENT
      2. EXERCISE: WHICH APPLE APPEALS MOST TO YOU?
    7. CHAPTER 10: RULE 7: USE PROPER DATA VIZ THROUGHOUT
      1. CASE IN POINT: DON'T SKIP THE SCALE
      2. ADHERE TO THE COMMON LANGUAGE OF DATA VIZ
      3. DRESSED-UP DATA VIZ CAN DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD
      4. EXERCISE: TOP DATA VISUALIZATION MISTAKES TO AVOID
      5. EXERCISE RESULTS: HOW TO CORRECT DATA VISUALIZATION MISTAKES
    8. CHAPTER 11: RULE 8: COMMIT TO THE TRUTH AND PROVE IT
      1. TRUST IN BRANDS CONTINUES TO DECLINE
      2. EXERCISE: PROPERLY SOURCING INFORMATION
    9. CHAPTER 12: RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN
      1. BREAKING RULE 1: ALWAYS THINK ABOUT CON-TEXT
      2. BREAKING RULE 3: THERE'S NO GOLD AT THE END OF THAT RAINBOW
      3. BREAKING RULE 4: GOOD VISUAL STRATEGISTS ASK “WTF?!”
      4. BREAKING RULE 5: AVOID THE STIGMA OF STOCK
      5. BREAKING RULE 6: STAND OUT AT THE COCKTAIL PARTY
      6. BREAKING RULE 8: COMMIT TO THE TRUTH AND PROVE IT
  8. PART THREE: YOUR VISUAL STRATEGY
    1. CHAPTER 13: YOU CAN'T CREATE GREAT CONTENT WITHOUT A GREAT TEAM AND PROCESS
      1. CREATING GREAT VISUAL CONTENT IS LIKE BUILDINGAHOUSE
      2. FINDING YOUR CREATIVE CONTENT TEAM
    2. CHAPTER 14: GOING THE FREELANCE ROUTE
      1. RATE OF PAY IMPACTS QUALITY OF SERVICE
      2. FINDING THE RIGHT FREELANCER FOR YOU
    3. CHAPTER 15: BUILDING AN IN-HOUSE TEAM
      1. THE CHALLENGES OF BUILDING A GREAT TEAM
      2. FINDING A TRUE VISUAL COMMUNICATOR
      3. THE COST OF IN-HOUSE
  9. POST-SCRIPT
  10. Appendix A: TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
    1. VISUAL COMMUNICATION
    2. INFORMATION VISUALIZATION
    3. VISUAL STORYTELLING
    4. VISUAL IDENTITY
    5. VISUAL LANGUAGE
    6. VISUAL STRATEGY
    7. VISUAL COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN
  11. Appendix B: TOOLS
    1. THE ADOBE CREATIVE CLOUD
    2. LINKEDIN LEARNING AND LYNDA.COM
    3. THE NOUN PROJECT
    4. LOST TYPE
    5. DRIBBBLE
    6. COLOURLOVERS
  12. Appendix C: PRODUCTION TIME ESTIMATES
  13. Appendix D: A TIMELINE OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION
  14. RESOURCES
  15. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  16. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  17. INDEX
  18. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

Product information

  • Title: Killer Visual Strategies
  • Author(s): Amy Balliett
  • Release date: June 2020
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119680222