“Visual communication of any kind, whether persuasive or informative, from billboards to birth announcements, should be seen as the embodiment of form and function; the integration of the beautiful and useful.” – Paul Rand
The potential that resides in human endeavor presents elementary motive power to the world of modern commerce. Startup businesses, trans-national concerns, legacy enterprises, franchisees, small and medium business operators, and Internet-based influencers – to name a few – constantly endeavor to connect and communicate with their immediate eco-systems comprising investors, stakeholders, vendors, consumers, buyers, and regulators. In this context, visual communication plays a central role in conveying intent, modulating a perspective or standpoint, and transmitting targeted messages to a variety of recipients. Several methods have emerged to harness the visual communication benefits that flow from a calibrated engagement with the listed elements. Interestingly, the flowchart represents a prime analytical paradigm that empowers the creation and dissemination of different modes of visual communication. These diagrams may appear simple to the casual observer; however, they continue to retain sizeable significance when users seek to ideate, design, position, and transmit communication on different planes.
Commercial signage that indicates large discounts on certain types of on-shelf products can attract significant footfalls inside retail shopping destinations. The decision to mount such signage finds validation in the design of flowcharts that spotlight visual communication benefits. In line with this, designers can populate various stages in a flowchart with business imperatives such as a large inventory of products, the results of market research indicating positive consumer sentiment, the prevalence of a festive season, weekend surges of shoppers and casual visitors, etc. The progression of these elements can steer the commercial establishment to invest in emphatic and attractive signage that embodies visual communication benefits. Similar exercises, when initiated on a large scale, help validate and drive the establishment of visual communication in a variety of contexts.
Symbols, sketches, diagrams, maps, and assorted graphics can assist designers realize the visual communication benefits that distinguish various modes of transmitting knowledge. When positioned inside a flowchart, these elements allow for the creation of unique messages that can target the public domain. For instance, an intelligent depiction of graphics and symbols can transmit relevant information and guide travelers when they negotiate hubs of modern transportation such as airports and railroad stations. The benefits of such non-verbal communication include lower decibel levels inside these hubs, clear instructions to passengers and transit individuals, faster movement of human beings resulting in fewer avenues of congestion, on-time movement of mechanized transportation such as airplanes and trains, etc. These instances of visual communication benefits can be listed inside a flowchart to bolster further usage of such techniques in modern times.
The syntax, grammar, flavor, and tenor of certain forms of new communication spotlights distinctive visual communication benefits. Social media and its prevalence in modern societies has helped evolve certain elements of new communication based on graphical representations. The emoji traces its origins to the final years of the last millennium and now dominates conversations on social media. In terms of sheer presence, the use of a range of emojis adds momentum to online conversations, expands the visual flavor, and aptly conveys human sentiment in the digital domain. In response, designers could organize such graphical elements and bucket different forms of emojis inside a flowchart. Such an initiative could take shape as an academic exercise and fuel the development of future editions of new emojis. This instance clearly underlines visual communication benefits in different contexts of modern cultural practices and paradigms, mediated as it were by the development of digital technologies.
Color comprises a significant operational component of modern visual communication. In line with this, designers and architects could explore the power and impact of deploying colors inside a flowchart. An assessment of the visual communication benefits emerges when readers discern the fact light colors recede into the distance, while heavy tints and shades serve to reinforce a visual element (or a certain form) inside an image. Additionally, different areas of the flowchart could posit a range of colors and shades that promote, for instance, visual messaging for a variety of stakeholders. In addition, the visual communication benefits include the ability of the modern graphic to vault language barriers by harnessing a combination of colors, forms, shapes and assorted visual representations. Further, bespoke shades and colors can emerge inside the flowchart to power innovative new aspects of visual communication for use in academia, education, public spaces, and mass media.
Audience engagement remains one of the cornerstones of visual communication in modern commerce. In line with this, the proprietors and operators of an e-commerce website can position a focal point inside flagship digital entities as part of efforts to boost engagement with digital audiences. The ensuing visual communication benefits include smoother navigation that benefits website users and multiple opportunities for website operators to direct the attention of users to different segments inside the app or website. At this juncture, a flowchart can assist website designers etch the various mechanics of navigation inside the app or website, reinforce the concept of applying UI (user interface), and thus directly contribute to the accrual of additional visual communication benefits. Further, different editions of such a flowchart can help designers create detailed guidance paths for use inside each page of a website or different segments of an e-commerce app. This instance allows us to appreciate the use of a systematic illustration that leverages visual communication benefits in a digital context.
Significant reductions in costs follow when entrepreneurs enlist visual communications as part of organizational policy. Digital displays mounted on walls or desktop-bound apps in the workplace can serve to inform business associates about the various lines of market information that animate stock trading, for instance. Such a scenario remains par for the course in the modern workplace, and serves to spotlight the visual communication benefits that flow from such a stance. In this regard, flowcharts can be utilized by business planners to expand such a policy wherein digital technologies are mated to visual communications as part of efforts to boost productivity and efficiency, while curbing waste in the workplace. Such diagrams can also assist in policy implementation and further the corporate charter of embracing a common platform that hinges on heavy use of visual communication technologies.
Training modules and onboarding programs for fresh employees and new hires can incorporate significant segments powered by visual communication. Trainers could use such techniques to communicate the hierarchy inside the sponsor organization, demonstrate the operation of various work processes, illustrate the finer points of an organizational culture, define the market position of an organization vis-à-vis the competition, etc. The outcomes could include faster onboarding times and higher levels of engagement in new employees. These visual communication benefits also empower the sponsor organization to create a definitive impression in the minds of fresh hires, while accelerating the mission to incorporate new talent at a brisk pace. Further, flowcharts and allied diagrams can help refine and re-purpose such techniques to create refresher training modules for employees at different levels of the organization.
The different aspects of deploying flowcharts to sketch strategies that hinge on visual communication have been clearly outlined. Each instance can undergo refinement and reconfiguration when designers seek to expand the use of visual techniques. The cascading benefits that attend each model allow the modern enterprise to shorten the learning curve for an organization and its members, thereby forging a matchless competitive advantage in competitive markets.
