freshspectrum

Your guide to becoming a better information designer, community of practice leader, digital teacher, and evidence advocate.

Confession Time: I’m not a reader [graphic novel blog post]

In today’s graphic novel blog post I talk about the underlying challenge that drives my work.

I have a confession.
I am not a big reader. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of reading, and enjoy being read to. But when I read to myself one of two things happens...
The book is really interesting and causes my mind to go off on tangents. The book is really dull or repetitive and my mind just shuts off.
Now graphic novels on the other hand. I can't get enough of them. And the industry is booming. Used to be mostly super hero comics. But more and more we see history, memoirs, biography, adaptations, and literature.
Unfortunately for people like me, the world of research and evaluation tends to be one big block of text.
Except for some notable areas. Data visualization, aka the most academically acceptable form of illustration. Social media and digital dissemination. Presentation design. Modern report design. eLearning design.
I spend a lot of time trying to find my place in the contemporary professional world. Am I a data analyst? Am I a designer? Am I a digital publisher? Am I a developer? Am I a teacher? Am I a cartoonist? But i think the truth might be far more simple...
I think I'm just frustrated with the slow evolution of the academic world towards a more visual interface.
Because hidden in those big blocks of text are important ideas and evidence critical to making our world a better place.
And if we don't adapt and evolve, we create space for conmen to hijack the public trust. [like Trump]
Now I know cartoons and graphic novels won't save us. But this needs to be better.
But I'm curious. Does this resonate at all, or is it just me? Love t hear your thoughts in the comments, on twitter (@clysy), or on LinkedIn (LinkedIn.com/in/clysy).

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I can’t follow graphic novels. Bullet points and white space work for me with hyperlinks to the background noise if I want to go there.

    • Darn you interface. that was supposed to be clapping hands not ?

      Love this post – sorry for being a classic #OkBoomer on my attempt to post a supportive comment.

  3. Yes! It fully resonates! Fantastic post, thanks. I suddently fell less lonely in trying to get out of the report culture. The opportunity cost of conventional reporting is massive.Thanks so much for sharing this.

  4. I think, Chris, that you are a storyteller. A visual storyteller. That’s pretty powerful and much-needed today because 1. People have short attention spans, 2. People like stories, 3. Stories convey important info in easily-digestible ways.