Working Visually: The Power of Symbols

Keep an open mind and humor us with a quick exercise. Below are two abstract shapes. One is smooth and rounded, and the other is jagged and sharp. If we were to tell you that one is named “Bouba” and the other “Kiki,” which name would you assign to each shape?

This phenomenon, known as the Bouba-Kiki effect, illustrates how our brains instinctively associate certain sounds and shapes with particular qualities. In neuroscientific studies, the effect sheds light on the power of symbols and the meaning we impart on otherwise random or unrelated visuals.

This subconscious reaction to symbols is just one example of the power held by visuals. Symbols allow us to break down intricate ideas into digestible visuals that can effectively communicate messages, and in today’s globalized world of business those messages travel further and faster than ever before. In this edition of Working Visually, we explore the importance of symbols and how they resonate with diverse audiences to communicate intended (or accidentally unintended) messages.

Do Your Research, Know Your Audience

Symbols enable us to communicate complex ideas in impactful ways. But for this communication to be productive, both the sender and the receiver must have a mutual understanding of what those symbols represent. Miscommunication occurs when the message gets lost in translation, often because the symbol is not universally understood. A classic example of contrasting symbols is the color combination of red and green. In American culture, this palette is so strongly tied to the December holidays that experts “don't know many American designers who would use it for anything other than a holiday card or wrapping paper.” Compare that to Portuguese culture, in which the colors represent the national flag and are used throughout the year in a variety of ways that have nothing to do with the holidays (National Geographic). Similar variations in meaning carry down to the organizational level as different companies or teams ascribe varying importance to preferred colors, icons, charts and visual narratives. The first step to ensuring your message resonates with its intended audience is putting their perspective, culture and existing forms of communication ahead of your own assumptions.

(Dive into last month’s newsletter to catch up human-centered design.)

Visuals Matter, Always

In our consulting space, we come across a common misconception that using visual symbols is optional and some audiences “just don’t need them,” although the world around us proves otherwise. Strategy documents packed full of black text on a white page convey rigidity to stakeholders. Websites that lack cohesive brand elements impart a sense of inexperience or lack of legitimacy to visitors. Visuals always matter, especially if your aim is to drive audiences to action. By recognizing the full range of symbols and making even simple, strategic tweaks to design choices, we can ensure that messages resonate with diverse audiences in every setting.

Remember Bouba and Kiki? According to studies “people are consistently more likely to decide that the rounded shape is a bouba and the jagged, spikey shape is a kiki. This finding holds for college students, older adults, and very young children, and for speakers of not only English but other languages as well.” Did you come up with the same answer?

Need help deciphering or creating?the visuals for your organization? Reach out! Unlocking impact through communications is what we do best.

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‘Til next time,

The Throughline team