Sense making visuals
Back in April we did a bit of research into communications produced for the alternative vote referendum in the UK. We saw the referendum as a once in a generation opportunity for voters to change the voting system which should produce some hard hitting comms, getting voters switched on to the referendum’s importance and the two voting systems on offer.
After not too much googling we found Victor the Vote Counter, an animation explaining the implications of the existing and alternative voting systems. Given it was produced by The Electoral Commission and therefore had to show both sides of the voting argument equitably, we thought the animation was pretty good. Something quite difficult to explain was done so effectively with imaginative choice of medium and simple scripting:
http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/referendum_2011.aspx
We thought about the animation again this week as we embarked on a challenging new project with a public sector client, who asked us to help them visualise policy. Our client is active in pushing the boundaries of public sector communication beyond Powerpoint and leaflets. He wants to go further to ensure those implementing policy and those affected by it truly comprehend what policy statements mean. A debate on the subject has been raised in the DotGovLab, innovation hub:
https://dotgovlabs.direct.gov.uk/Page/ViewSector?sectorid=2291&
The innovation hub post profiles a fantastic animation produced to support a lecture by Sir Ken Robinson. Sir Ken talks about the need for a paradigm shift in education, using everyday language to engage. But the engagement is so much greater still because of the animation.
The visualisation project we’ve just started will build out of a series of workshops with policy owners, in which they’ll be asked to unpack the meaning behind policy statements and the outcomes expected of changes taking place. As they hone their thinking they will gradually be led to the task of visualisation, picking out the priorities, actions and outcomes that their colleagues and business partners need to understand most. The marker pens will be in their hands.
This process will create fantastic material for us to work with, aiding the creation of a distilled policy statement in visual form. What we have to take out of the process, however, is not only the simplification of policy but the subtleties that must remain. Visualisation does not mean dumbing down. Check out the Ken Robinson lecture to see just how brilliantly intelligence can be retained: