What is “Visual Persuasion”?
VISUAL DESIGN has historically been viewed in predominantly esthetic terms, how it looks. That is fine if you’re an artist, interior decorator or an apparel designer, and your goal really is to make something look attractive. Otherwise, it can be disastrous.
However, if you are in business, education, the non-profit sector, or any field involving advocacy and persuasion, merely “looking good” can undermine the effectiveness of your communications.
On the other hand, we have persuaders who think primarily in terms of words and explicit arguments and narratives as their persuasive tools. They are missing out on a whole toolbox of techniques for boosting the effectiveness of their messages.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how come so many are mute? -Nigel Duckworth
Visuals can have a visceral and almost immediate impact on us, triggering powerful emotions and thoughts, lust, laughter, or horror and revulsion.
It’s important to know when and how to use graphics.
What Is Visual Persuasion?
Here is my working definition:
Visual persuasion is the use of graphics such as photos, illustrations and graphics, to amplify a message in order to motivate the receiver to act a certain way.
A picture by itself is not persuasive. It’s the way it interacts with the message, to either magnify its effects (or dull it by implying a contradictory or different message).
Let’s take a common example from marketing. A widespread practice in marketing is to show the product itself in the most positive light possible. “Hero” shots of products, are one example. Think Apple.
Another example is photos of the target market enjoying the product or service. Think Coca-Cola and young vivacious people, smiling and drinking on the beach. Or the very successful ad above, “For men who want to Quit Work some day,” which shows a man enjoying his retirement presumably thanks to his retirement investment plan by Phoenix Mutual.
Factors Affecting the Power of Visual Persuasion
Viewer’s knowledge. It’s important to note that visual persuasion occurs within a context. A graphic by itself carries no power to persuade. When we use visual persuasion we are relying on the context of the audience to supply vast amounts of knowledge, and to decode the visual and draw conclusions. Two people with different background knowledge and different values, can have completely different or even opposite reactions to a message.
Visual content. A more obvious factor in visual persuasion is the content of the visual, what it actually depicts. The content of the graphic could support the message in many ways, depict the product, show a unique feature, demonstrate a benefit, or a number of other possibilities.
Graphic style. The style or way in which the graphic is done also affects the persuasive power of the overall message. A style that is congruent with the message will reinforce the message subtly, while a style that clashes with the content of the message will dilute it and perhaps even make it unintelligible.
Relationship to copy. This is multi-faceted, but in general the meaning of the graphic and it’s relationship to the copy should be obvious and forceful. Many “arty” ads violate this principle, leaving the viewer confused. Confusion does not inspire conviction and it certainly doesn’t sell. Don’t try to be clever.
In sum, the visuals and the copy should form a cohesive message, each reinforcing the other.
Poorly done, a graphic can undermine the message and even repulse the viewer. Choose your visuals carefully.
If you found this post useful, I have created The Visual Persuasion Checklist, which contains some of my personal notes. It covers more ground, and goes into more detail, and gives you helpful checklists that can boost the persuasive power of your work, 5, 10, even 50% or more. These are my personal notes so they are rough, but they’re also effective. Get my visual persuasion notes here.
