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Visual Communication
Roger here. Writing this intro from the heart.
I wasn't sure whether to send our dispatch today (its scheduled release day). I'm a little shaken at the moment. Maybe you are too. And I doubted it was the right time to send out a monthly round up of lighthearted newsletter insight. In the face of cataclysmic events, Show & Tell's work seems very small indeed.
Businesses today are genuine. They are guided by authenticity. They reek of honesty.
Isn't it awful?
This issue of our dispatch celebrates lies, deception and falseness.
We have adopted these as our new values.
Bad news.
Our dispatch readership is getting smaller.
What could be causing it?
Perhaps the problem is we have too many subscribers?
If your audience isn't listening, you're addressing a crowd that's too big. There are people in it who shouldn't be. (Maybe you shouldn't be reading this even?)
It's a liberating thought.
This past week, we thought about effective messages.
We agreed: short is best.
Are you new to our dispatch? You are very welcome.
Are you a returning friend? You are always welcome as well.
Here is insight for first timers (it is available to repeat visitors too):
Once upon a time, we decided we wanted to give you useful information, every week, delivered in a format that surprised and delighted you. We swore we'd deliver our best work. We promised that we would trip up your eyes and ears, and this dispatch would cling to you after you closed it and lived happily ever after.
Last week, Paul wrote to you the day after Brexit (which was based on feedback from UK citizens about EU membership). I'm writing this dispatch the day after another political feedback loop: the general election in Ireland. The feedback from this election is surprising and disturbing for many people. (For others, just like Brexit, it is welcome news.)
I’m thinking of you on the day after Brexit. Say what you like about Brexit, but it's certainly bold.
In Ireland bold means naughty. In the UK it means fearless.
Whatever your business, being fearless attracts attention. People admire courage. Confident communications carry further. Bold works.
We’re writing this on Chinese New Year's Day—the Year of the Rat—more precisely Year of the Metal Rat. Some of your customers, staff, suppliers may be Rats. You might even be a Rat, like
Gwyneth Paltrow, Al Gore, William Shakespeare, TS Elliot, George Washington, Pope Francis, Nigella Lawson, Ralph Steadman, Hugh Grant, Diego Maradona, Bono, Erin Brockovich, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Katy Perry, Andres Iniesta, Prince Harry, AB de Villiers...
Unmemorable news!
I'm sitting at my home office desk, safe from falling trees*. The tree that was threatening our granny annexe has been safely cut up. (The family has firewood for the winter.) The manly men with chainsaws told me the tree was only being held up by the electricity cable it was resting against. The threat is gone. A happy end.
Brooklyn Beckham, the 16-year-old son of famous parents, has been asked by Burberry to take photographs to market its new fragrance. Photographers are up in arms about this. They say it further diminishes the craft of photography, and is disrespectful to professional photographers who have honed their creative skills over many years, decades even. How could a 16-year-old possibly be competent enough? “Sheer nepotism” is how one photographer described it.
Do you know what a golden plover is?
It's a game bird, i.e. a bird that is shot for sport—though it seems a fairly uneven sport, if you ask me. The odds don't exactly favour the bird.
Or do they?
You see, the plover is quick. Very quick—as you would be if someone were trying to shoot you.
Stop lying!
Seriously, what is wrong with marketing people? Do they think we're all stupid or something? Maybe we are. I dunno. Maybe we've all become so pacified that we'll accept anything they say, as long as it's said with confidence.
Take this bit of promotional blurb from a company that promotes content marketing (I won't name them; I don't wish to be cruel):
Digging around the internet to learn more about visual alphabets (we all have our quirks), I was drawn deep down a peculiar rabbit hole. Would it be possible to create a language based purely on visuals that could be understood by everyone?
One of the key advantages of using visuals to communicate is that they are quick. People can understand a visual in the blink of an eye.
