Visual Imagery as mental hooks

Why are visual images needed as mental hooks?

Yesterday, I discovered a great website resource from BizGraphics On Demand which is a great collection of professionally designed graphics that will help enhance the visual appearance of presentations.  See yesterday’s post for more details about BizGraphicsOnDemand.

What’s the purpose of a visual diagram?

I used one of their graphics to turn a list into a visual diagram which served the intended purpose.   The initial purpose was to make a boring list look more interesting because I am going to have to refer to that list of units for best part of a year so I’d rather look at something visually appealing than something boring.  I also needed to work out which order I will study the units following certain rules.  As you will see from the visual diagram, I have inserted two milestones (AWARD and CERTIFICATE) which are qualifications in their own right that I will be eligible for by obtaining Units 7001 and 7004 respectively.    As I read about each of the Units I made choices about the order of study and dragged and dropped the text from place to place  until I had everything in an order that suited me.

So, as I say, this original visual diagram served yesterday’s original purpose of turning a linear list into a visual map of study:-

However, when I looked at it again this morning, I started to contemplate the many books which I will need to read  so I have started to research books and websites and have begun the process of inserting pictures of those books/websites as “mental hooks” as reminders of what I need to do.  For example, I own some of the books but others need to be ordered.  No point buying them all up front so I will use the “mental hooks” as reminders to order the books as and when I need them.

The purpose of the visual has changed

When I first downloaded the graphic from BizGraphicsOnDemand it had contained icons to remind me that visual images help the brain to “see” key stages.

Keep reflecting on “the purpose of the visual” and amend it accordingly

This morning, as I say, I’ve started researching books and have started to include images of those books as my own “mental hooks”.  I have also inserted images to denote the milestones where I could stop studying and achieve a Level 7 AWARD and / or a Level 7 CERTIFICATE if I decide not to complete the entire DIPLOMA.

As you will see from the graphic below it now makes it very clear  that the DIPLOMA is vast in comparison to either the AWARD or the CERTIFICATE (even though the work is of the same level) simply by looking at the gap between the first and second Rosettes compared to the huge gap between the second and third Rosettes.

The next step will be to insert a hyperlink to my www.amazon.co.uk account behind each book image where I will save these books in my Shopping Basket.  That way, when the time is right, all I’ll have to do is to click the hyperlink and order the appropriate book.

So, yesterday it was a boring list of units to be studied.  By the end of today it will be a visual study plan, containing various “mental hooks“, with hyperlinks to books and websites of relevance.   There’s a lot of studying ahead of me to achieve this next qualification but I know that having a eye-pleasing visual, containing relevant hyperlinks, will enable me to stay the course and to not feel overwhelmed.  By knowing that the future is planned, my mind will be able to focus on simply tackling the current unit, one unit at a time.

Purpose and intended Audience

Whenever you create any visual diagram you must always keep reflecting on purpose and intended audience and by so doing you will create visuals which are “fit for purpose” and which help the intended audience to “see the bigger picture”, even if that audience is just yourself.   These are lessons which I learnt by reading Jamie Nast’s book Idea Mapping and they are valuable lessons for everyone to take on board.

BizGraphics On Demand

 

 

I discovered this website resource today which is a great collection of professionally designed graphics that will help enhance the visual appearance of presentations.  Here’s a brief extract:

 

The Problem
“You need a great presentation, proposal, marketing slick, or document but you have very little time or money. (Sound familiar?) You have a great solution but you need to turn it into a powerful graphic that quickly shows you have the best solution. You know graphics will help your document shine and up your chances of success. Unfortunately, the only graphics you have, if you have any at all, miss the mark. What do you do? Use Billion Dollar Graphics’ solutions to solve your problem now.”

Solution – PowerPoint Graphics
“Introducing BizGraphics On Demand. Search and download from an amazing library of editable graphics. Lower your risk and cost, speed development, and increase the success
of your presentations, proposals, sales materials, and much more with this one tool.”

(c) BizGraphics On Demand

http://www.bizgraphicsondemand.com/

I have downloaded one which I have used to create a study plan for a Management Qualification that makes the whole journey seem much more interesting than a traditional list.  Compare the list to the visual below:-

Unit 7001: Personal Development as a Strategic Manager – Oct 2011

Unit 7004: Strategic Information Management – Nov 2011

Unit 7002: Strategic Performance Management – Dec 2011

Unit 7009: Strategic Project Management – Jan 2012

Unit 7013: Being a Strategic Leader – Feb 2012

Unit 7014: Strategic Leadership Practice – March 2012

Unit 7006: Organisational Direction – April 2012

Unit 7003: Financial Management – May 2012

Unit 7005: Conducting a Strategic Project – June 2012

 

For me there is absolutely no doubt that the visual, below, is vastly more interesting than the list, above, and I would much prefer to see visuals (rather than boring bullet points) when attending presentations.

This is an excellent resource for anyone who has to create a presentation and who needs some help making it more visually appealing and interesting.