{"id":4030,"date":"2022-03-23T10:53:01","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T14:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/?p=4030"},"modified":"2022-03-23T22:43:04","modified_gmt":"2022-03-24T02:43:04","slug":"white-paper-writer-tip-4-think-visually","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/white-paper-writer-tip-4-think-visually\/","title":{"rendered":"White paper writer tip #4: Think visually"},"content":{"rendered":"
Every white paper writer must\u00a0be able to imagine\u00a0powerful graphics to help tell their\u00a0client’s story.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Why? Because white papers are\u00a0getting brighter, bolder, and more colorful. Great pictures and graphics are a must-have.<\/p>\n For best results, you\u00a0must learn how to dream up images\u00a0that communicate your key\u00a0points\u00a0at a glance.<\/p>\n Here are some tips on how white papers writers can think visually.<\/p>\n More than 50% of the human cortex\u2014the surface of the brain\u2014is devoted to visual processing.* That’s why most people agree that sight is the\u00a0most powerful sense.<\/p>\n Remember, the human species\u00a0evolved as hunters and gatherers, predators who ate animals but were also prey for larger carnivores and competing tribes.<\/p>\n Our survival was linked directly to how well we perceived the prey we were stalking or the predators sneaking up on us.<\/p>\n Most researchers agree that motion is the first thing we see.<\/p>\n That’s why any moving picture or animation has a magnetic pull on our eyes.<\/p>\n After that most people\u00a0notice\u00a0color, shapes, and then finally, lines.<\/p>\n Our vision works the same whether we’re scanning\u00a0the landscape for danger\u00a0or looking at a graphic in a white paper.<\/p>\n Our eyes and brains see instantly\u00a0and holistically, meaning we pick up the big picture without any conscious effort.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n So if people can take in the big picture with no effort, why not give it to them?<\/p>\n After all, most white papers are supposed to help the reader understand an issue, or sketch in a richer mental map of some market space.<\/p>\n As a white paper writer, it can help to sketch out the big picture you’re trying to convey.<\/p>\n Making a quick sketch\u00a0can help you organize your thoughts, see patterns, map out relationships, and capture\u00a0the essence of a white paper’s topic.<\/p>\n The key to creating a graphic is to stick to the main points and drop any\u00a0fine details that take a lot of words to explain.<\/p>\n Simplify, simplify, and simplify some more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When you’re sketching out ideas, you don’t have to be neat about it.<\/p>\n Many ideas for new products or services have\u00a0been sketched out on a scrap of napkin\u00a0over lunch.<\/p>\n When you’re sketching, feel free.<\/p>\n Use whatever tool is at hand when inspiration hits:<\/p>\n Make a bunch of scribbles, and throw most of them in the recycling bin.<\/p>\n The point is to come up with one good visual idea that you can wrap your white paper around.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just as\u00a0there are many different forms of text, there are many different types of graphics.<\/p>\n For example, do you know what\u00a0a swim lane diagram<\/a> is?<\/p>\n Or how to\u00a0diagram a logical argument<\/a>?<\/p>\n One fabulous source for different types of graphics is the Templates gallery<\/a>\u00a0from software-maker SmartDraw.<\/p>\n This free catalog shows 29 different categories\u00a0of graphics, with lots of\u00a0different examples of each type. Just a few are shown above.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re wondering what type of graphic would work best in your white paper, you can\u00a0quickly check out these free samples and\u00a0zero in on the type that would present your material best.<\/p>\n And while you’re at it, you might want to sign up for SmartDraw.<\/p>\n For 10 bucks a month, you can create unlimited graphics starting from their pre-drawn templates that get you most of the way there before you even start.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In this blog, we include visuals with each article.<\/p>\n Since our topics tend to be abstract, related to some aspect of B2B marketing, we often\u00a0have to dream up a metaphor.<\/p>\n Searching stock photo sites for an abstract idea turns up lots of\u00a0visual concepts.<\/p>\n Of course, most of them won’t work.<\/p>\n But sometimes we find a stock photo with\u00a0a fresh approach we would never have come up with on our own.<\/p>\n By the way, one of\u00a0the best-indexed sites we’ve found is istockphoto.com<\/a>,\u00a0although their prices are not the best.<\/p>\n The site\u00a0we use most often is Bigstock.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Check out our article here for more on stock photo sites<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do you have any\u00a0tips for thinking visually for\u00a0a white paper? Please leave your comment below.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n * The Mind’s Eye, Rochester Review, University of Rochester, March-April 2012<\/a><\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
Visual thinking tip #1: Understand how our vision works<\/h3>\n
Visual thinking\u00a0tip #2: Give your reader\u00a0the big picture<\/h3>\n
Visual thinking tip #3: Don’t try to be neat<\/h3>\n
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Visual thinking tip #4: Learn the different types of graphics<\/h3>\n
Visual thinking tip #5: Search stock photo sites for\u00a0ideas<\/h3>\n
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