The first thumbnail image above (click to view larger) is a graphic that was created for use in the U.S. House of Representatives. If you’ve ever watched C-SPAN, you are probably familiar with the graphics created and developed on behalf of the U.S. Congress. These images are intended to serve as a visual aid to complex material, and are hopefully geared toward educating anyone, regardless of their achieved level of academia, cultural background, ethnicity or native language. The graphic depicts a visually confusing pattern of shapes, colors and clip art that are intended to educate an individual about the Democrats’ recent plan for healthcare reform. Personally, I believe it does not accomplish this objective (unless the goal is to be confusing) for a variety of reasons. Visuals are a common thread within litigation, and given the diversity of most juries, emphasis is placed on how well the argument is packaged as much as the actual substance. As trial consultants and professionals retained to educate jurors with the same mass appeal of Congressional graphics, how do we transform a mediocre graphic into an effective visually appealing representation? Read the rest of this entry »