Telling a Story with Graphics Ain’t Easy

There are so many considerations when it comes to telling a story with graphics. Does it make sense? Is it fun to look at? Does it get the viewer to want to learn more? And then in the case of a work project, does it match the brand?

What I’d like to know is, can I create a formula to make sure that I’m ticking all of these boxes each time I create? And should I? Today I’m taking a closer look at how I create graphics for the company blog. Digging into the thought process and strategy, as well as whether or not I think they’re a big piece of crap once I’m done.

But first a quote, to set the mood.

“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.” — Some Smartass

A really useless quote I know, except for the fact that it makes a point. Sometimes we get so grand with our explanations of things when they could be so simple. I have limited real estate when I’m creating graphics for our blog. The way it’s set up, it’s just one frame. It has to be simple.

Easy peasy.

So where do I even start?

Read the damn thing!

Typically I want to read the article first. Kind of pick out those details that a reader would scan for anyway. If I can show how this article will be of interest to them by showcasing some key element in the graphic, they’ll dig in and want to find out where it talks about that, right? I hope so. That’s kind of the idea.

Do you want to look at it?

Next I might highlight the key points that would be the most visually interesting. Like a preview for a movie, you don’t want it to tell the whole story. How many times have you watched a preview and said “well, I guess I don’t have to watch the movie now.” It’s not meant to replace reading the blog, just support it, and pique interest. And when it comes to graphics, visually interesting is where it’s at, so take advantage.

Feel free to skip this section, it’s not related

Confession that has nothing to do with anything but just a fun fact about me is that I will immediately stop watching a preview the moment I know I want to see the film. For some movies that I already know I want to see, like they are a sequel or involve Spider-man or someone super attractive that I’ll watch in anything, I’ll never watch them. Don’t need to, don’t want to. I have extreme paranoia when it comes to spoilers. In that I think everything is a spoiler.

Did you just say the name of the movie in front of me!!?? Jerk!

If I know you’ve already seen a movie that I want to see, I don’t even want to talk to you until after I’ve seen it. Bye! Go! Now!

But I love movie posters. I’ve never seen a movie poster and gone, man, now it’s spoiled. They’re just my cup of tea I guess. They are what I can handle. Guess that’s why I’ve found myself in this line of work. Not a therapist, don’t know for sure, but probably.

Now back to it.

Unique does not always mean better

I always spend a bit of time looking for inspiration. If a specific topic or element is always presented a certain way, I want to capture that, and show it in my work. Now, while I‘d feel real clever putting the structural formula for oxytocin in my blog graphic about love, I’d probably lose a few people. Show those same people a cute red heart and they get it. It’s not boring. It’s clear.

We’re not camping, filter the thing

I’m single handedly trying to make “We’re not camping!” a thing people say to mean that something should be done the right way, not the make-it-work-because-we’re-camping-and-have-limited-access-to-tools-and-amenities-and-things-that-make-things-better-and-easier way.

So as a final step, I run the whole thing through a filter. And this is where brand standards come into play. Everything I created can be adjusted.

Switch up the blue so it’s the brand blue. Don’t use a stroke for illustrations, only icons. Add those squiggles we like to use.

Perfect. Or we just ruined it. I’ve heard it both ways.

This last step is always a tricky one. Sometimes a perfect masterpiece is ruined by brand standards. And that’s okay. At the end of the day, a blog graphic has a job to do. I will express my ultimate creative freedom elsewhere and all will be right in the world. Or I’ll add it to my portfolio the way I wanted it to look in the first place. Either way, everyone wins. And while I may have to cover my face as I hand over the final product, because it’s not exactly what I wanted, I did it!

Now your turn.

If you follow these steps, you too will be clearly conveying the story in a single frame, while still supporting the growth of your company. Get it, girl!