Proposal Graphics: Getting Started

I've got a guest blogger today -- Heidi Mirka. Heidi is a freelance consultant with 20 years of experience in creating proposal graphics for public and private sector firms. Actually, what Heidi does is much more complex. She is a Technical Content and Visual Development Specialist, meaning that she analyzes, interprets and translates technical data (verbal, sketched and text) into graphics that communicate meaningful, concise messages. Heidi has done work for several major government contractors, including Boeing and Northrop Grumman. And here's what she's got to say about developing proposal graphics, always a challenging task:

Typical scenario: The outline has been signed off, the volume managers appointed, and you've been assigned to write a 5 page section. Not only that, you've just received a directive mandating that all graphic concepts must be done within 36 hours, with at least one graphic per page.

You stammer, mumbling something about how the heck can you even begin to draw something when you haven't figured out what to write yet. You walk back to your desk and begin plowing through manuals, old emails, and recent presentations, scrambling to find something to submit, never mind if you will use it or not . . . just meet the deadline and you can change it later . . . . .

It may seem somewhat overwhelming to create graphics right up front. Here are some tips to get you going. These will not only benefit the quality of the graphic you'll create, but will help you when you begin to construct your text.

• Create an outline for your section, even if your section is just one page. This will begin to reveal where a graphic might work.

• If you don't know where to start, pull graphics from relevant data (presentations, manuals, etc.) Begin to write ABOUT the graphic. As you do, the changes and 'holes' of the story will start to become evident, both in the graphic and the text.

  o Use the same terminology in text and art -- if box A in the graphic is called a "Current Plan", use "Current Plan" in the text, not "Recent Project". (You can't believe how many times this escapes a writer.) Incorporate changes that create consistency between the text and art so they "TALK" to one another. BE CONSISTENT!

• If you're finding it hard to write to the graphic, explain the graphic OUT LOUD to someone. This is a KEY process to begin to develop the CONTENT and the message. Let your listener ask questions -- this will help reveal what information is either confusing or missing.

• Can't find any graphics so you're starting from scratch? Use pencil and paper to develop your concepts. It's easier to scribble out a few ideas and redraw them 3-4 times vs. spending hours creating a computer-generated graphic that will likely be trashed at first review. AFTER you've finalized your idea, or your manager buys off on it, THEN create it (or have it created) electronically.