Have you ever come across terminology or indices in an article that make the information uninviting? If you have, you may know how it may prevent you from engaging with the information or message because it takes more time to process it than it is worth to you.

Therefore, it is important when you are presenting your own information to step back and think of ways that you can make it more quickly understandable, while making sure you keep the integrity and accuracy of the information intact.

Below is an example of some simple information graphics I created for Kim Skobba’s Housing Sense blog that help to illustrate this point.

Which do you think is easier to understand? Both represent the same data.

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Example 1:

Twin Cities Metro Area

Year

2000

2006

Housing Opportunity Index*

70.6

60.4

Home Ownership Rate

72.4

75.2

*The share of homes sold in that area that would have been affordable to a family earning the local median income, based on standard mortgage underwriting criteria

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Example 2:

In 2000: According to the Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), 7 out of 10 Twin Cities metro area residents making the local median income could have afforded a home sold in that year.

In 2006: While six years later, only 6 out of 10 Twin Cities metro area residents making the local median income could have afforded a home sold in that year.

During that same time homeownership rates increased by nearly 3% during this same time period.

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If you would like to learn more about this topic or others, please check out Kim Skobba’s Housing Sense blog that explores housing trends and makes sense of housing research.
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Where to begin?

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by all the information you’ve collected that you don’t know where to begin when it comes time to present it? Or maybe you are too close to a project that it makes it difficult to simplify the information so that other people will be able to understand it? If you have, (believe me) you are not alone. I have found this to be the case many times with clients.

This tends to be a good time to step back to basics. What are the key ideas, messages, or findings that you want to get across to your audience? If you feel like you are too close to the project, it might be a good idea to ask someone else to take a look at the information or ask them to listen to you explain it out loud. Once you determine the key ideas you want to present, it is much easier to fill in the supporting information.

Below is an example of a short summary presentation that I had compiled for Urban Land Institute Minnesota using this principle. Start by simplifying the information. You can always build in more complex and detailed information as necessary. I think you will find this to be a successful strategy. You may also find with a little extra attention your summary piece can serve as a unique project overview for audiences as well.

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This past weekend I attended the HandsOn Twin Cities Volunteer Expo at the Mall of America. At the Expo there were 133 Twin Cities organizations working to support a range a causes with lots of great ways to get involved.

While checking out the different booths one annual report caught my eye. I thought it was so well designed it was worth passing along. Click here to check it out.

The first thing you will probably notice is this doesn’t look like your typical annual report. Instead The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Upper Midwest came up with a very clever way to highlight what they do. They designed their annual report to look and read like a children’s book. I thought this was an effective concept because it immediately represents that their focus is on children. Plus, it was a great little storybook they could hand out to the kids at the mall, which in turn their parents would most likely end up reading.

Now I know that drafting your annual report to read as a children’s book will clearly not work for most organizations, but I thought it might serve as some creative inspiration as you approach your 2009 annual report.

How can you best highlight your work? What format is most effective for your target audience?

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Would you like to create simple animated graphics like the one above?

I have drafted an overview to how you can using Adobe Photoshop. You may find that is easier than you think. (Don’t be intimidated by the long list of directions. They basically repeat themselves.)

Creating Animated GIFs

  • Adding frames
    • Open the “animation” panel
    • Add frame (icon left of trash can icon)
  • Tweening (fading in and out)
    • Make a second frame
    • Select the first frame. In the layers panel uncheck “propagate Frame 1”
    • Change opacity to 0%
    • Select frames 1 and 2 in the animation’s panel
    • Click on circles icon to add tweening layers
    • Make sure all parameter boxes are checked in the tweening window
    • Adobe Photoshop will create new layers in between the two frames to create a fading effect
  • Tweening (position & layer effects)
    • Make a second frame
    • Select the first frame. In the layers panel uncheck “propagate frame 1”
    • Change the color overlay in frame 2 and move object outside the frame
    • Select frames 1 and 2 in the animation’s panel
    • Click on circles icon to add tweening layers
    • Make sure all parameter boxes are checked in the tweening window
  • Save your document
    • Save for web and devices (has to be GIF)
    • Save as images only
    • Post to your website or send as an email attachment

If you have any questions, please send me an email at elissa@myvisualvoice.com.

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Color is important tool you can use to help you more effectively communicate information and messages, but you may find is difficult to choose the appropriate colors.

Luckily there are a number of website that can help you experiment with different color schemes. One free website I have found particularly helpful is Kuler.adobe.com. This website provides you with a number of predetermined color schemes as well allowing you to create your own based on established color rules.

If you don’t know very much about different color schemes, here is a quick overview of few classic color schemes to help you get started (thanks to color-wheel-pro.com).

Monochromatic Color Scheme

The monochromatic color scheme uses variations in lightness and saturation of a single color. This scheme looks clean and elegant. Monochromatic colors go well together, producing a soothing effect. The monochromatic scheme is very easy on the eyes, especially with blue or green hues.

Analogous Color Scheme

The analogous color scheme uses colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. One color is used as a dominant color while others are used to enrich the scheme. The analogous scheme is similar to the monochromatic, but offers more nuances.

Complementary Color Scheme

The complementary color scheme consists of two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. This scheme looks best when you place a warm color against a cool color, for example, red versus green-blue. This scheme is intrinsically high-contrast.

Triadic Color Scheme

The triadic color scheme uses three colors equally spaced around the color wheel. This scheme is popular among artists because it offers strong visual contrast while retaining harmony and color richness. The triadic scheme is not as contrasting as the complementary scheme, but it looks more balanced and harmonious.

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Lynda.com

Do you want to create engaging presentations, graphics, graphs or websites, but don’t know how to use the different software programs? I would recommend checking out the Lynda.com website.

It offers a number of online training courses ranging from learning web design to Excel. You do have to pay to get access to the online trainings, but in general they are still an affordable alternative to other training options (and you can take them anytime you like).

The courses won’t teach you how to design, but they will help give you the tools to start creating them.

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Paper or plastic?

What do you think is more useful for your work—paper (a.k.a. print materials) or plastic (a.k.a. interactive graphics on your computer)?

I am fascinated by the possibilities of interactive graphics. At the same time, I believe there is value in having something you can hold in your hands.

Here are a few things I like to consider when determining the best project format, but am also interested in hearing your thoughts on the subject.

If you answer “yes” to these questions, you may want to consider using print materials.

  • Do we want to capture a snapshot in time?
  • Do we want people to have something to physically take with them to remember our product, presentation, or organization?
  • Will people want to print this information?
  • Will we be creating a piece with a lot of text (reading on the computer can be tiring on the eyes)?

If you answer “yes” to these questions, you may want to consider using interactive or online graphics.

  • Is our target audience computer savvy?
  • Are most people accessing our information through our website or email?
  • Do we have large quantities of information we want to represent on one visual?
  • Do we want our audience to be able to actively engage or manipulate the information?
  • Will we need to update the information frequently?
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As a follow-up to the graph discussion earlier this week, I am passing along a link to page compiled by the organization Many Eyes. This page outlines different graph types, when it might be best to use each, and how the different graphs work.

Below is one example. Click here to see others.

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See the difference

See the difference in the two graphs in answering the below question. Both used the same dataset.

Which of these cities has the lowest percentage of renter households?

Data source: U.S. Census, 2006-2008 American Community Survey 3 Year Estimates

- Graph 1 -

- Graph 2 -

Answer: Phoenix

Why is Graph 2 easier to understand? Let’s take a look at this example in more detail.

Consider your audience. We synthesized the information in Graph 2 to make sure it provides the most relevant information for our audience. This is the most critical thing that we changed.

We were able to do synthesize the information in this way because we could assume the Visual Voice reader understands percentages and the two main types of housing (renter occupied and owner occupied). We can assume they know what states the 10 largest U.S. cities are located, so we don’t need to include that information as well.

It is important to remember that these assumptions would not hold true for all audiences, so make sure to consider yours.

Simplify your graph. We eliminated unnecessary lines and borders. We got rid of the 3-d effects.  We combined the two datasets into one, which eliminated the need for the key. This gave us more space to make the bar chart area larger.

Make relevant information easy to find. We labeled information directly on the graph, so you don’t need the y axis to determine values.  At a glance you can see the percentages for each city.

Place data in a meaningful order. Rather than placing the cities in order of their population size, we have arranged the data from the city with the highest percentage of renters to the lowest.

Choose your colors wisely. General rule of thumb, yellow is hard to see on a graph.

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