The Art of Visual Storytelling in Academic Research
Understand how to communicate messages, narratives, and information from your research using visual elements to reach your audience on a deep and lasting level.
As a researcher, you want your research to reach more people, both in the academic community and outside it, a wider audience.
For this to happen, the first step is to know your target audience, adapt the message of your research to them, and choose the media in which the content will be distributed.
One of the ways to ensure that the content of the research you disseminate generates more interest, curiosity, and engagement in your audience is to invest in visual elements, especially visual storytelling.
Visual storytelling is the art of communicating messages, narratives, and information in a way that reaches viewers at a deep and lasting level. It comes in lots of shapes and sizes, making the information easy to understand.
To apply visual storytelling, designers and researchers need to work together on a few things, such as the message, the concept, and the main points of the narrative. This way, they can make knowledge more accessible and impactful to nonacademics.
This article outlines the best strategies for visual storytelling in academic research and how to apply them to spread the word on your website, social media, and other digital platforms.
Why use visual storytelling is important
According to research conducted by Microsoft in 2015, the average attention span was only eight seconds. So, you need to know the best ways to make your content attractive and engaging.
As everyone competes for attention on the web, and you just have eight seconds to grab a person's interest, visual storytelling is an essential tool for anyone creating digital content and a powerful tool for sharing research.
Bernadette Jiwa, an expert in storytelling, says, "Don't make people click. Find ways to make people care." Using visual storytelling is one way to make this sentence concrete so that your audience doesn't just click on the material about your research but cares about what is being shown. And that goes for your website as a whole.
Why apply visual storytelling to your website
The home page is the "front door" of a website, serving as the main entry point for visitors. Having attractive visual content on this part of the site makes a good first impression on the user, especially if they can interact with this content.
Your website needs to make people feel like they belong. It turns out that when people feel like they belong, they want to return and to become members, customers, and advocates.
- Bernadette Jiwa
Making people feel like they are part of your website through good design and visual strategies that tell a story and pique the user's interest is a better long-term strategy than using any image to get people to click.
Some common strategies in visual storytelling that you can use:
Showing the impact of your work by using data visualization
Outlining processes and flows by using shapes and lines
Creating more memorable experiences by information design
Telling stories through visuals and data
Harnessing color to illustrate importance and attract attention
Before you start creating this material, think about the purpose of your story and, most importantly, who your story is for (your target audience). This allows you to align your visual storytelling techniques with the expectations and expertise of your persona.
5 tips to start visual storytelling in your research
Strategies for weaving visual narratives into academic research start with your story
Identify the core narrative of your research. What is the key message or insight you wish to convey? Begin with this foundation and consider how visual elements can best illustrate and enhance this narrative.
Embrace diversity in visualization
Utilize a variety of visual formats—charts, graphs, infographics, animations, and video—to cater to different learning styles and preferences. This diversity not only enriches the presentation but also reinforces the message through multiple channels.
Design with clarity and purpose
Every visual element should serve a clear purpose and contribute to the overall narrative. Avoid overly complex or cluttered visuals that may confuse rather than clarify. Simplicity, aligned with creativity, often yields the most potent visual stories.
Engage with emotion
Visuals have the unique ability to evoke emotions. Use this to your advantage by crafting imagery that resonates on an emotional level, making your research not just understood but felt.
Iterate and evolve
Like any aspect of research, visual storytelling benefits from iteration and feedback. Seek input from your audience, refine your visuals based on their experiences, and continue to explore new ways to tell your story visually.
Adopting visual storytelling can transform the way academic research is presented and perceived, creating knowledge that reaches and resonates with a broader audience.
If you have data, use it
One of the most powerful elements of visual storytelling is the potential to use data effectively. If you have data to share, use it and put it at the heart of your story.
And I'm not just talking about an infographic. While this approach isn't bad, the best visual stories use more advanced techniques to present data to the reader.
Here is an example of a visual narrative using data that we created for the Bertelsmann Foundation - North America to track COVID-19 vaccine donations in 2021, in which users can find information dynamically and quickly: dose-of-good-news.bfna.org.
Examples of visual storytelling to apply in academic research
1 - Map Explorer
2 - Timelines
3 - Interactive Reports
No matter what techniques you use, pay attention to your visual narrative. As a researcher, your mission goes beyond the mere accumulation of knowledge; it's about making that knowledge accessible and engaging.
If you want to learn more about how to tell a great visual story, sign up for our list.
CCM has helped research teams, and organizations create compelling visual stories using the best user-centered design strategies. Let us know if you need a hand.
Claudio- I love visual storytelling. I think more should do it. So I appreciate this reminder. Hope you're well this week? Cheers, -Thalia