What's the best way to compare and contrast complicated ideas?
That's a question many of us brand journalists and content marketers are tasked with answering. A recent post from the NPR Politics team gives us a good example to refer to.
Click the excerpt to see the full image.
Here's why I think this comparison chart works:
- Voice: Knowledgeable, calm and approachable -- important when discussing a hot-button topic like immigration
- Ideas: Concepts distilled, not diluted, with sufficient detail to aid in understanding
- Word Choice: Clear, descriptive language that makes these concepts easy to understand and contrast
- Organization: The layout makes it easy to read down each proposal, or read across each aspect of current law
- Technical Aspects: The chart is responsive, so when viewed on my iPhone 8, for instance, each aspect of the law scrolls vertically. The bolded headers and color-coding make it easy to spot where one aspect of the law ends and the next starts.
Could this have been more visually interesting? Sure. But when the content's complicated, simple is better in my opinion. Keep this example on file so you can reference it the next time you've got some 'splainin' to do (as Desi Arnaz famously never said).
Related Content
- Content Marketing: Anatomy of an explainer piece
- Business writing how-to
- How to design more effective infographics