Recent research suggests that there is a strong correlation between visuals and information retention.
The United States Department of Labor cites that 83% of learning is done visually.
According to the Visual Trial Accuracy Center, the use of visuals can increase information retention by 70% versus speaking alone. This is a powerful tool in today’s increasingly media driven society. Mississippi State concluded with the idea that visuals are thought to send people along emotive pathways where textual and verbal material leaves the reader in a more rational, logical and linear pathway of thought. This is why visuals work and why they are going to play a larger and larger part in communication in the future.
Have you ever tried to remember or organize information based on where you saw it written down on, what color is was, or another visual cue? I know I have!
Table from: http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html