Simple visualisations of complex things

More and more I am trying to self-analyse the process I go through when designing tricky charts for my clients, all with the hope of one day putting all that skill in my presentation design app SlideMagic.

Here is a process I went through yesterday:

1. Write all the key things that need to come out on a piece of paper (the most important objective of this exercise: the things that are NOT written down).
2. Cut down the messages to the bare essential:
   1. Re-write them as short as possible, no filler words
   2. Group similar points, eliminate duplications
3. Underline verbs/action words: "is at the centre", "nobody can do these 3 things at the same time", "integration is possible because of IT", "across all channels"
4. Map cause and effect/result
5. Select the most important action (something being at the centre, the IT that integrates everything, a Venn of 3 overlapping things?) and sketch a basic visual concept ignoring any conventional way to depict things in the specific industry
6. Now fit in the other bits
7. Re-shuffle, re-position to make sure lines, arrows don't cross and related things are close together
8. Add colour (selectively)
9. Make sure everything lines up with a grid
10. Fix typography, odd line breaks, orphan lines, etc.

I still have some work to do in SlideMagic...

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Image from WikiPedia