Visual Language, The Science of Comic Strips

Visual Language, The Science of Comic Strips

Fast Company talks to Psychologist Neil Cohn of University of California at San Diego*  about the visual language of comic strips.  Cohn’s research revealed that “brains register the presence of a grammatical system in the funny pages just as they would in a book’s pages.”

Why is this important for presentations? Visuals provide compelling reinforcements for what we’re saying.  When we can reinforce — without just repeating, because that would be boring —  we increase the likelihood that our audience will remember our message.  For more insight on the role of visuals on memory and retention read “Multimedia Learning. Second Edition,” by Richard E. Mayer, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara.  Clearly these Californians are onto something. . .

Article by Eric Jaffe, @e_jaffe.

*full disclosure, I am a USCD alum (MA in Latin American Studies).