Killer Visual Strategies (eBook)

AMY BALLIETT is an entrepreneur, speaker, teacher, and sought-after thought leader in the fields of visual communication and content marketing. As the founder and CEO of Killer Visual Strategies, Amy grew the agency from a bootstrapped startup into an industry leader and yearly awarded Inc. 5000 company, driving visual strategy for the world's top brands. In her capacity as a visual strategist, Amy has been featured in Forbes and Inc., has spoken at more than 175 conferences around the globe, and shares her knowledge as an instructor at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle and on LinkedIn Learning.

Forward 7

Introduction 11

How To Read This Book 13

The Accidental Agency 17

Part One: Visual Content Is King 25

Chapter 1 Environmental Influences And The Rise Of Visual Content 27

Chapter 2 Visual Content And Human Nature 37

Chapter 3 Quality Visual Content Reigns Supreme 45

Part Two: 8 Rules Of Visual Communication 53

Chapter 4 Rule 1: Always Think About Con-Text 57

Chapter 5 Rule 2: Small Visual Cues Have A Large Impact 63

Chapter 6 Rule 3: There's No Gold At The End Of That Rainbow 69

Chapter 7 Rule 4: Good Visual Strategists Ask "Wtf?!" 77

Chapter 8 Rule 5: Avoid The Stigma Of Stock 91

Chapter 9 Rule 6: Stand Out At The Cocktail Party 99

Chapter 10 Rule 7: Use Proper Data Viz Throughout 107

Chapter 11 Rule 8: Commit To The Truth And Prove It 123

Chapter 12 Rules Are Meant To Be Broken 135

Part Three: Your Visual Strategy 153

Chapter 13 You Can't Create Great Content Without A Great Team And Process 157

Chapter 14 Going The Freelance Route 165

Chapter 15 Building An In-House Team 171

Post Script 177

Acknowledgements 181

Appendix A: Terms & Definitions 185

Appendix B: Tools 187

Appendix C: Production Time Estimates 195

Appendix D: A Timeline Of Visual Communication 199

Resources 213

Index 225