Foreword by Guy Kawasaki
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Cover and Interior Design: Killer Visual Strategies
Cover Illustration: Killer Visual Strategies
Author Photo: Jennifer Findlay
Figure F.1 [ ]
I first came across Killer Visual Strategies, the visual communication agency founded by Amy Balliett, in 2011. That year represented a critical juncture—not just for the fledgling Seattle company, which was just getting their footing in the market, but in the history of visual communication. Smartphone usage was rapidly expanding. A social media platform called Instagram was fresh on the scene. More and more of our information came from nontraditional sources like Facebook and YouTube. And the content we were sharing was overwhelmingly visual.
Amy had launched her company, then called Killer Infographics, to meet a fast-growing demand for infographics from organizations in just about every industry. In fact, Killer first came to my attention when they designed an infographic—now a classic in marketing circles—that pitted me against fellow marketing guru Seth Godin in a tongue-in-cheek standoff (Figures F.1 and F.2). The way in which this and other pieces of visual content—including a motion graphic adaptation of the infographic in 2012—spread virally across the web piqued my interest. These new types of visual content were perfectly suited for posting and sharing on emerging platforms. And people were engaging with them much more than they were with text.
Our world is transforming faster than ever, and visual communication is at the heart of that transformation. Ever since I worked for Steve Jobs as an evangelist for Macintosh, and later for Apple, I knew that good design was fundamental to business success. It wasn't just about the words we used—it was about how we told our story as a company. And that story was about envisioning a better future—with an emphasis on “vision.”
For any individual or company looking to make a real difference, storytelling is not just powerful—it's essential. In my career as a venture capitalist, I've heard more pitches than I can count that used hot-button words and jargon, but failed to really deliver a sense of the company's value. To succeed, every organization needs to focus on their purpose, not their product. They must be clear on how they will contribute to a better, brighter future. And communicating that purpose requires visual storytelling.
That's why, in 2014, I became the chief evangelist of Canva, an online service whose goal was to make graphic design easy for people without access to a dedicated design team. Visual content has become intrinsic to how we all communicate, and I knew there was potential in a company that could facilitate such communication. As it turns out, I was right—demand for visual content from consumers and brands alike seems to be growing exponentially. We now expect brands to communicate visually; anything less is not enough.
Today's marketing is therefore visual by necessity. Quality visual communication—from motion graphics to interactive experiences to social-media micronarratives—is no longer an option for brands. Whether you're taking a photo of your office, preparing a pitch deck for investors, or designing an ebook, you're putting content out in the world that represents your brand. And it needs to represent your brand well.
Visual content doesn't just offer a way for you to build brand recognition. High-quality content will demonstrate your company's commitment to delivering real value. And, perhaps most importantly, the right visual identity for your business will empower you to tell your story in a way that attracts and retains your audience's attention. Because in the end, no brand will succeed without building meaningful relationships with customers and potential customers. Visual communication shows them how their story aligns with yours and envisions what you can accomplish together.
More and more, I'm seeing brands embrace visual content in their internal communication efforts as well. From video training and interactive professional- development modules to company newsletters and boardroom presentations, visual content is driving meaning-making in every aspect of our lives. Branding, meanwhile, is now a company-wide endeavor. Everyone from the CEO to the summer intern should know what your brand identity is and why.
A decade after Killer Visual Strategies was founded, this agency remains at the forefront of innovation in visual communication. They produce more types of visual content than I can count, but they offer much more than that. The Killer team specializes in producing visual content that achieves our goals as marketers. After all, visual marketing is only successful when it's on-message, channel-optimized, and audience-centered.
At the helm of this ship, Amy Balliett has become a global leader in visual communication and visual content marketing, and I can think of no book right now that's more relevant to marketers, designers, and brand leaders than the one you hold in your hands. No matter where your story takes you, this book will be a worthy touchstone along the way.
—Guy Kawasaki
Chief Evangelist of Canva
Figure F.2 [ ]
I am not a graphic designer. I am a visual strategist.
This may seem like a small detail, but it's an important one to get out of the way at the onset of this book. Like a food critic who isn't a chef, my skills do not lie in the execution of design, but rather in a unique understanding of how the ingredients of good design come together to create exceptional visual content that is far more palatable than simple eye candy.
While this book will include myriad takeaways for designers, visual communication should be mastered across all avenues of an organization. In fact, this book is made for business professionals of all kinds. It is as much for marketers, brand-builders, educators, and communicators as it is for designers.
This isn't to suggest that designers are not a necessary part of the equation—far from it. If you're like me, and graphic design is not your strong suit, then you'll still need to find a great design partner to fully realize the lessons gleaned from this book.
If you don't have that partner yet, then this book will give you all of the tools and understanding you need to find the right designer or agency partner for your needs. More importantly, it will help you own the outcome of that design work and forge a strong client-vendor partnership to ensure success in the work you do together.
We have entered a world in which 91 percent of today's audiences prefer visual content over any other form of content, according to Demand Gen Report. This means that anyone charged with communicating information in any organization, whether internally or externally, must rethink how they deliver that information. Visual communication, when properly executed, has the power to greatly increase engagement, comprehension, and follow-through. So if your goal is to meet the visual content demands of your audience, then this book is for you!
With the help of this book, you'll learn how to connect with your target audiences in new and unique ways. You'll gain insights into the shared instincts that subconsciously drive our impressions of brands today. And you'll learn practical strategies to harness the power of visual communication, thus revolutionizing your own content and brand strategy.
You don't need to be a graphic designer to read this book, but when you're done, I hope you will proudly call yourself a visual strategist!
This book is not meant to be an academic beast of information about the scientific application of visual communication and storytelling. There are dozens of books out there that already fill that need. Instead, this book is actionable. It is written for all levels of understanding with the goal of being easy to digest so that you're empowered to take immediate action within your organization.
This book is broken into three parts, each building on the last without being dependent on it. This means you can start reading at any part of the book; that way, you can gather the information that you find most relevant to your immediate needs. Of course, if you choose to read it cover-to-cover, you'll gain an even more thorough understanding of the subject matter.
To lay the foundation for this book, I begin with the story of how my company, Killer Visual Strategies, got started. This story offers a setting for the narrative that follows.
To prepare you for the lessons ahead, this section provides critical context that will be applied to the rules outlined in part 2 of this book. It includes a thorough overview of the environmental factors that have contributed to our present-day consumer demand for visual content by summarizing key moments in recent history that have shifted audience expectations.
Part 1 continues by delivering insights into key elements of audience psychology that inform visual communication today, along with some examples of the varying use cases for visual strategy. This section concludes by exploring the expectations and motivations of audiences today and how this impacts their perception of quality in visual media.
The second part of this book is intended to be both a practical reference guide and a deeper dive into each topic, allowing for either continued reading or immediate application, depending on your needs.
Every chapter in part 2 explains a key rule in visual communication design. You can read these chapters in any order, and do not need to read them all the way through to learn how to apply each rule to your own visual content. Each chapter is broken into three distinct parts that can be read independently of one another or together, depending on how deep you want to delve into the topic. Those parts are as follows:
You may choose to read just the rules in part 2 and save the exercises for another time. Or you may choose to only read the key takeaways and start applying the lessons to your own content strategy. Ultimately, this section is presented in a way that allows for quick referencing throughout the content development process.
The final narrative section of this book will draw from the lessons in parts 1 and 2 to define a process for developing great visual content. You'll also learn about the different types of teams you can build to achieve your visual strategy. At the end of each chapter, you'll again find a set of key takeaways. This section is designed to be read from beginning to end to obtain full context, but the key takeaways can also act as easy points of reference for daily use.
This book concludes with appendixes comprised of multiple quick-reference materials. You'll find a breakdown of key terms used in visual strategy; tools used for developing great content; production-time estimates for different types of content; and a detailed time line that will take you through the history of visual communication.
Finally, if you ever feel lost, take advantage of the detailed index on the final pages. These will help you find answers quickly so that you can start meeting today's demand for visual content immediately!