This is an offering Examples About me This is a request

This is an offering

1) of a valuable project
[The design and production of a visual learning experience]

2) of my analysis
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What
A comprehensive digital learning experience about money skills

Why
Thought leadership ✪ demonstrate innovation in visual
language and technologies

Brand value ✪ build traffic and goodwill with a unique offering

Do good ✪ provide free educational content

Revenue ✪ distribution of paid content

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I’ve seen a clear need for

visual financial education
Personal finance books are sensational and filled with obvious or
useless information. And too many words (like this slide)

Academic materials are dense and overwhelming.

Money skills are nearly absent in public education.

Abuse of consumer naiveté and poor decision-making is rampant.

Needs range from consumer level to sophisticated and institutional

investors.
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A vision (the project)

Visual interactions are the future of informal education ✪ because text
puts people to sleep

Content that is simple but not superficial ✪ comprehensive but not

overwhelming (with academic rigor & sound theory)

Honesty is critical ✪ corporate institutions are not trusted

Expand the visual grammar ✪ huge quantities of content & concepts

need to be translated into modern visual formats
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[Examples of current activity in

visual learning and finance]
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Videos and e-books made with paper cut-outs

…simple
…effective
…feels human
…minimal offering

[example]:
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An 8-minute animated explanation of the credit bubble

…some humor and style
...a one-time production
…rich audio and slick animation
…a bit overwhelming, and missing key points

[example]: Jonathan Jarvis

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NPR show and podcast …excellent storytelling

…clear, simple explanations
…substantial time commitment

[example]:
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Personal finance blog with diverse articles

…a trusted brand
…very tall graphics
…simple, inviting design
…lacks guided topic progression

[example]:
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Whiteboard video explanations

…engaging
…obscure, out of sight
…lacks guided topic progression
…playful approach to complex topics

[example]:
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Female-targeted personal finance guide

…focused branding
…“Personalized Action Plans”
…step-by-step topic narratives
…inconsistent user experience

[example]:
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Visual explanations of personal finance topics

…minimalist design
n e]✪ …lacks clear user path
is mi
hi s …hand-drawn elements provide human feel
[t
…too much information at once; need narrative

[example]:
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Allow me to explain myself

I have a job

[current]: producer of interactive media at an advertising

agency (San Francisco)

[previous]: financial analyst in business valuation and

commercial litigation (Chicago)

…and an education
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BUT instead of relaxing after work, I…

obsessively craft and experiment with visual learning content.

drool over cutting-edge data visualizations and tools.

read about economics, consumer protection, cognitive science, and

design principles.

decipher legal documents, bank statements, test customer service reps,

and find the best financial services.

(don’t worry--I make time for fun too)

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The punchline
This stuff is not “work” to me—this is my passion
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I produced two animated pieces…

An overview of personal An explanation of the mortgage-
income tax calculations backed securities collapse

…storyboarding, research, graphics,

animation, narration, editing
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I produced a handful of graphics…

I have sketches of a hundred more.

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What I have learned

Users need a crystal clear path to follow

Knowledge must be presented in bite-sized chunks

Not all information benefits from visualization

There is a big difference between decoration and information

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What I have learned

Cognitive science can help us make efficient and potent designs

Optimal content = minimum production cost & maximum stickiness

Personified characters and storytelling forge emotional connections

Humor and game-like qualities make content more engaging

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and
are my current sandboxes for
playing with visual content

Go to .com for more links

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This is a request

If you or someone you know might like to

learn more about this project…
please get in touch with me.
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THANK YOU

Paul Van Slembrouck

paul@seeingfinance.com
405.247.0506
San Francisco, CA