How do you show the impact of your graphic work?

1 Define your goals

Before you start creating or selecting your graphic work, you need to define your goals and objectives. What are you trying to achieve with your graphic work? Who are you trying to reach, influence, or persuade? How do you want them to feel, think, or act after seeing your graphic work? By clarifying your goals, you can align your graphic work with your intended outcomes and focus on the most relevant and effective aspects of your design.

2 Choose your metrics

Once you have defined your goals, you need to choose your metrics to measure and demonstrate the impact of your graphic work. Metrics are quantifiable indicators that can help you evaluate and communicate your graphic work. Depending on your goals, you can use different types of metrics such as engagement metrics, which measure how your graphic work attracts, retains, or interacts with your audience (e.g. views, clicks, shares, likes, comments, feedback, or testimonials). Conversion metrics measure how your graphic work influences or persuades your audience to take a desired action (e.g. sign-ups, downloads, purchases, subscriptions, donations, or referrals). Additionally, growth metrics measure how your graphic work contributes to the growth or improvement of your client, project, or brand (e.g. revenue, profit, market share, reach, awareness, reputation, or loyalty).

3 Collect your data

Once you've chosen your metrics, you need to collect data to support and validate the impact of your graphic work. This data can be collected from analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, Instagram Insights, or YouTube Analytics. Surveys and interviews can also be used to gather feedback or opinions from your audience, clients, or stakeholders. Additionally, case studies or reports can be used to document the objectives, challenges, solutions, and results of your graphic work for a specific client, project, or campaign.

4 Visualize your data

Data visualization is the process of transforming data into graphical or pictorial forms, such as charts, graphs, infographics, dashboards, stories, narratives, or timelines. This helps to make data easier to understand and communicate the impact of your graphic work. For example, charts or graphs are visual representations of numerical data that show patterns, trends, or comparisons; infographics or dashboards are visual summaries of complex or large data that highlight key points, insights, or messages; and stories or narratives are visual sequences of events or actions that tell a story or convey a message.

5 Showcase your impact

To showcase your impact, you need to present or display your graphic work and data visualization in a compelling and professional way. You can do this in various formats, such as a portfolio, presentation, or pitch. A portfolio is a collection of your work that highlights your skills and experience, and can include data visualization as part of case studies or a separate section. Presentations are verbal or visual deliveries of your work to specific audiences, such as clients or employers, while pitches are persuasive proposals of your work to potential clients, partners, or investors. You can use slides, videos, animations, pitch decks, brochures, or websites to enhance your presentation and show your impact.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?