Challenge
Salesforce.org puts technology in the hands of nonprofits and educational institutions so they can work more effectively and accelerate their impact. All over the world, they’re encouraging universities to become a “connected campus” and to use Salesforce technologies to drive student engagement. But what does that mean? What does their “Education Cloud” platform actually do? They needed something that could quickly communicate the benefits of this complex product. The way we consume information has changed drastically. When we successfully communicate complex ideas visually, we can move the needle. We helped create an infographic that summarized Education Cloud’s primary benefits. It was dense with information, yet undaunting and full of whimsy.
Solution
Infographics are strategic. Infographics are a great challenge. They require content strategy and design to be completely in sync. We have to determine what information is the most significant and prioritize it on the page, shortening text as much as possible and using graphics to draw your eye in. When the client provided the draft of content for this infographic, everything was written in long paragraphs. We broke it up, extracted the critical facts, stats, and callouts, and shortened the body copy that remained. Our designers came up with a playful theme to lead readers from the top of the infographic to the bottom. We determined what visuals would control their focus and most importantly, their comprehension of the key points. Our copywriters and designers worked closely, each considering informational hierarchy so the visual and written content would be cleverly intertwined. Lead them down the page. Our team loves to work with the Salesforce brand and their extensive library of “Trailhead” illustrations and characters. They allow a lot of flexibility for exploration; we can create new scenes that are topical, yet unexpected and playful. In this case, we created a completely new world inspired by the story, “Jack and the Beanstalk.” All of the imagery ascends upward to subtly denote growth, and all of it is coming from a book as a nod to the topic of education. Designing an infographic is ultimately about thoughtful detail—giving just enough to keep the reader engaged, while having the restraint to protect them from information overload.
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