Amy Balliett is the founder and CEO of Killer Infographics, a visual-content marketing and communication agency. Today, Killer Infographics is the industry leader with Amy at the helm, devising visual strategy and running campaigns for global organizations. You can follow Amy on Twitter at @AmyBalliett and @killervizcomm.
We are excited to have Amy share her insights as the keynote speaker at Cloudinary’s upcoming annual digital-media conference, ImageCon. The presentation focuses on her belief that the future of content is visual and suggests a strategy that ensures that visual content is part and parcel of coherent and effective campaigns. Amy’s keynote will arm you with the how-to for such a strategy.
As prelude to that keynote, we recently posed to Amy a few questions on visual communication. See her answers below.
Killer Infographics is the leader in visual communication design. What does visual storytelling mean and how does it affect the web?
Visual storytelling is a product of visual communication, which conveys information graphically. Wrapping that information with a narrative makes for visual storytelling. In other words, you‘re telling a story through visuals, often through an animated video, an infographic, or an ebook—always with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
The opposite of visual storytelling is information visualization, whereby, instead of taking the viewers to a conclusion, you present them with clear data so that they can draw their own conclusions.
Your keynote will focus on what the future of visual content holds. Can you give us a taste of the topics you'll explore in your talk?
The future of visual content rests on what is in demand today. Overwhelmingly, 91 percent of all consumers prefer visuals over other forms of content. The demand is there for us to meet, sharp and clear.
We’ll all be producing visual content for a long time but its quality is the key for the future. People want stellar, story-driven content. They desire all visuals be custom and original because 94 percent of first impressions are formed on the design of the first piece of visual content one sees.
You emphasize the need for a visual language for campaigns. How is visual language any different than brand identity?
A visual language is a codified, aesthetic direction for a campaign or area of business, not an overarching look and feel. Such a language considers much more than a typical brand identity. It focuses on icon styles and data visualization styles, also the ways in which to use them, which often aren't considered in typical brand identity.
How has the shift from written to visual content influenced the way companies promote their products?
In 2018, 83 percent of marketers chose visual content as their top method for marketing. Why? Because 91 percent of audiences prefer visuals to other forms of communication. That’s no surprise, given that our brains are hardwired to interpret visual information 60,000 times faster than text-based information. Not that text is dead, but today's audiences crave high-quality visuals above all else. Once you’ve hooked them with visuals, they'll dive into the text that follows.
Why should companies establish a visual-content strategy and how should they start?
If you invest in search-engine optimization (SEO), you’re likely thinking that the Googlebots are all reading text. That won’t hold true for long, though. Visual search will take over soon. That means Google will be prioritizing superior visual content over text and will be able to read visuals far better than ever. The time and money you put into quality visuals will pay off in spades in search results. So, plan ahead and do the right thing for your business.
Check out the agenda to learn more about the fabulous lineup of speakers for ImageCon 2019.
