How can a cartoon image be useful for providing messages and information in a business, educational setting, or professional organisation?
Aren’t they just fun pictures to provide a laugh or lighten a situation?
Well yes, that is one side of cartoons. But there are many invaluable ways cartoons can be incorporated by organisations in their educational and work development processes.
Cartoons For Business: Graphic Recordings
Cartoons are often used in Graphic Recordings, Mind Maps and Infographics. In this context, cartoon images are used within a bigger layout, that uses words and symbols to communicate ideas and processes.
The visual element of cartoons can draw people’s imaginations into what is being communicated and help them connect personally to the information being presented.
Cartoons For Business: The Style
The style of cartoons used can also have a big impact in this way.
The more humorously drawn a cartoon figure is the lighter the observer will take the message. But this style of character can be a great one for demonstrating problems in organisations, difficult issues, and problematic outcomes in groups.
Cartoons for business using humour, or a humorous character, is a great way of tackling difficult situations, which can be intensely serious. These issues can be difficult to approach.
By using a light humourous approach, through Cartoons, we can bring everyone on board and stimulate discussion.
Cartoons For Business: Training/ Education Mascots/ Cartoon Guide
Cartoons for business also includes using a symbol or character – cartoon or other style.
The use of cartoon character can be a great way to pull together a program or educational material, as it gives a focal point for the audience.
A character can be used as a presenter of ideas and a visual hook for remembering the information conveyed and shared.
The character can also be presented as acting out the points needing to be communicated. For example, both good and bad outcomes of processes, services or specific actions.
The benefit of a character is that the audience will automatically relate to the character, which makes the information more personal and memorable.
A number of clients have used characters across a wide range of training and information programs with great effect.
The characters can be either cartoon-based or more mainstream and symbolic. It will depend on the tone of the project and what type of subject matter is needing to be conveyed.
Cartoons For Business: Metaphor Cartoon Images
The image below demonstrates an issue needing to be addressed in a major mining company, at the time of commission. It evolved to its final version, after some development with the client.
This Custom Artwork ended up being used as a metaphor to represent issues around communication and integrating different personalities into functioning work groups.
Let’s quickly look at how the image works, as it represents the use of Cartoons in Business,
to address serious issues.
The bus represents the company. But it could easily be the branch or the specific working group using it. The bus is a metaphor and symbol of a vehicle, which in this case is teams and professional groups within the organisation.
On the bus we see the range of characters on the vehicle, or in the team.
As we move towards the back of the bus we see people getting more out of hand and undisciplined. This ends with angry people at the back of the bus destroying it. This scene is contrasted to the compliant ‘yes’ people at the front of the bus.
Presented in a humourous way, this Custom Artwork takes away any personal attack on anyone.
All observers will find themselves in the bus and recognize where they sit in the bus.
It might even bring up how people might see themselves, but their actual behaviour is seen very differently by fellow team members, or bus passengers.
Using such an image can be an enjoyable process, but underneath highlight a serious message and question. Hence such an image would stimulate discussions, brainstorming and hopefully solutions. We hope you get a lot out this Cartoons For Business post!
Phil Judd, Comic Express, is a member of The Australian Cartoonists Association.
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