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DOC • The power of beauty in communicating complex ideas

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When creating visuals to explain complex ideas, cutting-edge innovations, or new scientific research, we often focus on the images’ ability to convey information. But data visualization, infographics, or even schematics have a hidden power we rarely discuss: beauty. Obviously, not all images are beautiful. As designer Alberto Cairo writes, “Beauty is not a thing, or a property of objects, but a measure of the emotional experience of awe, wonder, pleasure, or mere surprise that those objects may unleash.” Beauty is an experience. So, can we defend pursuing beauty when communicating science or innovation? Curiosity is the greatest source of motivation. It is usually triggered by creating an information deficit or by promising to teach the audience something new. In both cases the audience expects an answer, at best to learn something interesting, and at least to have their curiosity satisfied. But beauty triggers curiosity differently. It draws us in the content not with a promise of kno

DOC • The power of beauty in communicating complex ideas Articles Series Search About Search DOC Content Articles Series Search DOC About Contact RSS Community Instagram Twitter LinkedIn UX Collective Newsletter Medium Essays Typography Neue Haas Grotesk Druk Medium Times New Roman The power of beauty in communicating complex ideas Written by Louis Charron When creating visuals to explain complex ideas, cutting-edge innovations, or new scientific research, we often focus on the images’ ability to convey information. But data visualization, infographics, or even schematics have a hidden power w

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