The Visual Communication Guy germinated in 2013 from a crazy little idea I had: share communication wisdom though visual information. Now a decade later, with a little passion and a lot of luck, the site has emerged into one of the internet’s premier communication portals for students, educators, business owners, and professionals wanting to improve their communication. I’m not totally sure how we got here, but the site is what it is today because of you! Keep sending ideas, sharing your favorite content on the site with your friends, and I’ll keep improving it.
Meet The Visual Communication Guy
So who am I? An all-around communication nerd, infographic junkie, travel aficionado, and father of four. I’m also a university professor, writer-designer, public speaker, corporate consultant, and author of a textbook on professional and business communication (Sage, expected in 2024). Currently I serve as a Clinical Associate Professor of Strategic Communication at the University of Utah. Previously, I was an Associate Professor of Communication at Westminster College in Salt Lake City where I oversaw the super cool Master of Strategic Communication (MSC) program, mentoring graduate students in visual communication, brand strategy, and integrated marketing communication. In this role, I was lucky enough to travel with students around the globe to places like Peru, South Africa, Cambodia, Hungary, Poland, Morocco, and Iceland producing film campaigns, marketing projects, and websites for non-profit organizations like the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, Sustainable Cambodia, Peruvian Hearts, the Institute for Leadership and Communication Studies, and Top of Iceland.
In addition to my role at the university, I’m a live online trainer and author for O’Reilly Media where I deliver workshops in data visualization, leadership communication, public speaking, and slide deck design to thousands of corporate professionals around the globe. I deliver courses, workshops, and presentations on all kinds of topics related to communication. Some of my past and current clients and events include
- EA Ignite (Baltimore)
- Havas Health Plus (New York)
- Administrative Professionals Conference (Chicago)
- Discover Financial Services (Delaware)
- Indeed.com (Austin, TX);
- New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (New York City)
- Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (China)
- Mountain America Credit Union (Utah)
- Leavitt Partners (Salt Lake City)
- Utah State Legislative Auditor General (Utah)
- International Association of Business Communicators (Nebraska)
I was honored to have been awarded the Excellence In Communication Consulting Award by the Association for Business Communication in Detroit, Michigan.
Having taught at the university level since 2006, I have developed dozens of communication-related courses on topics such as visual communication, integrated marketing, technical writing, public speaking, business communication, principles of advertising, public relations, infographics in popular media, website development, wayfinding design, blog monetization, branding, proposal writing, portfolio development, advanced editing, emergent media, and many more.
I’ve authored peer-reviewed journal articles on entrepreneurship communication, self-directed learning, and competency-based education and I’ve presented scholarship at a diverse range of academic conferences including Association for Business Communication (ABC); National Communication Association (NCA); Association for Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW); International Symposium on Self-Directed Learning (ISSDL); Symposium on Communicating Complex Information (SCCI); Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC); and many others. I have a PhD in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design from Clemson University in South Carolina.
What is Visual Communication?
In a nutshell, visual communication is the stuff (neon lights, parking signs, cereal boxes, bumper stickers, resumes, olive oil labels) around us that persuade us to buy or to move or to act because of how our brain reacts to what our eyes see. Our reactions to visual communications can be visceral, emotionally charged, culturally-influenced, logically concluded, or affected simply by personal taste. After all, I’ll be the first to admit that I choose my shampoo based on how the bottle looks (and my wife just rolls her eyes at me!).
But good visual communication isn’t just about duping people into emptying their pockets on commodities like shampoo (at least, not entirely—that’s for the marketing wizards). Good visual communication, simply put, is good for people. It makes us all feel better about our products, our choices, our lifestyles. Good visual communication is good for safety (think easy-to-read road signs), multicultural communication (like when you’re in Paris, and you look for the restroom signs, but don’t speak a lick of French), and learning (like completing instructions or viewing a diagram in your organic chemistry class.) Good visual communication also sends a message of professionalism and commitment to the people we are communicating to—just as much as grooming and cleanliness communicate attitudes and interest in others. Visual communication affects our moods, our expectations, and our choices. Think about the ease (or pain) of navigating an airport or museum. The placement of signs within an architectural space is an important form of visual communication called “Wayfinding.” Good signage makes us feel comfortable and we, even tacitly and unconsciously, appreciate it. And so it goes for all good visual communication.
Why Create a Website about Visual Communication?
Because visual communication is cool. It’s also very important, but a widely forgotten literacy skill taught in schools. I have come to realize that while there are plenty of good resources out there for aspiring and professional graphic artists to improve design, there isn’t a great central location for everyday communicators, like you and me. I don’t consider myself a professional graphic designer, but I communicate visually everyday with the stuff I produce (anything from course syllabi to instructions). For professionals and regular Joes and Janes alike, I hope this site can bring a community together to boost our visual literacy.
When we consciously think about how we communicate visually, we realize the impact on the people we are communicating to. Some of the impact is visceral and fleeting. Much of the impact, though, affects how people literally act and feel. If our visual communication is poor, think about what that makes people do and how that makes people feel! I want people to make good choices, ones they feel confident in, and I want people to feel good when being communicated to. Don’t we all?