Picture Analogy

A picture is worth a thousand words. Tonight I was reading "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath and I was struck by the example they shared in their introduction, entitled "The Truth About Movie Popcorn."

 

In this particular example, they told how Art Silverman was given the task of communicating the unhealthiness of movie popcorn - 37 grams of saturated fat of unhealthiness to be exact.

To the general public, 37 grams of sat fat means nothing. Art knew the importance of communicating the extent of this unhealthy food and he came up with this stunning visual: one medium bag of movie popcorn was = to a bacon & egg biscuit breakfast, a Big Mac and fries AND a steak dinner with all of the trimmings.

When looking at this type of visual it is much easier to comprehend the unhealthiness of the movie popcorn. This illustration was able to convey an idea of unhealthiness and changed the way that movie theaters popped their popcorn.

Finding the right picture analogy can create a lasting impact.