Measuring proposal graphics and visual communication

Visual communication is more effective than text. Studies show that graphics get read first and lead to faster and better message comprehension. Most proposal specialists know that and seek to use a lot of graphics. They usually start by asking questions like “How many graphics should I have in my proposal and where should they go?” Some don’t get any further because if you don't have the skills needed to create the graphics, it seems difficult and time consuming. Plus it's hard to make it high enough up Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs applied to proposals so you can focus on graphics.

People toss around ratios, like one graphic for every three pages, or even one graphic per page. If I could make my entire proposal a graphic, I would. While those are good goals, the truth is they are artificial and the message should drive your use of visual communication and not some ratio. And besides, the ratios don’t help you conceive the graphics.

Proposal Content Planning helps you figure it all out

When we developed the how to actually draw the graphics. Once you identify the graphics, getting them rendered is a solvable problem. If you don’t have the resources to do it yourself, you can always outsource it to a company like the 24 Hour Company. But when you use Content Planning, you can flag all the potential graphics, and then render only the ones that you are capable of drawing or have the time for. Out of all the potential graphics, you can pick and choose which ones to take on.

Flagging potential graphics in the content plan means that when reviewers compare the draft to the plan, they also see whether people followed through on the development of the graphics. It also gives you a better way to evaluate the quality of your graphics, by assessing how well they reflect the messages you want your proposal to convey. And instead of this being a matter of opinion, this can be assessed by comparing what got written to what was put in the content plan.