Don, the Yellow Sketch Guy, is the ultimate idea machine. After all it is in his name. Love his energy and enthusiasm for leveraging visuals and inspiring others to combine visuals as part of their communication. Here’s his interview with ‘The Visualizer’, where he shares practical tips and insights about his work.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your business. How did you get started, and what inspired you to use visuals to help grow your business?
My name is Don Holliday, but most people know me professionally as Don The Idea Guy. I'm a professional brainstormer, idea generator, and all around marketing geek.
I've sold, shared, or traded ideas with clients ranging from independent online solopreneurs to authors on the New York Times Best Sellers list, to the world's largest auto manufacturers, airlines, and food manufacturers.
More often than not, the most efficient way to explain a new idea to another person is with a visual.
The humble sketch on the back of a napkin has closed more business deals than any contract or proposal could ever hope to do.
How do you use visuals to communicate your ideas or products to your audience?
I use visuals in as many ways as possible.
It might be a sketch on a napkin during a "Beanstorm" session in a local coffee shop, or it might be a fully rendered 3D prototype image used in a pitch deck with corporate decision makers sitting around a conference table.
Not matter the format or complexity of the image, they are invaluable in helping client:
comprehend new concepts,
envision those ideas being implemented, and
helps move the conversation forward by making sure everyone is on the same page.
Social media platforms where you share your content.
Can you share some specific examples of how using visuals has helped you attract new customers or clients, or helped you stand out from competitors?
Visuals have been especially helpful in sales proposals, especially in this age of remote prospect requests to "send me what you got" so they can review elements in advance and without the benefit of the salesperson being there to go over the elements in person and in detail.
Mock-ups for landing page layouts,
Diagrams that illustrate production process and roll out schedules,
Thumbnail sketches of logo designs and product packaging…
They not only break up the text on the page, but can also be used to have your company uniquely stand out from every other proposal they may be evaluating for the same project.
I have absolutely won projects away from larger competitors because I used visuals to help show a prospect I understood what they needed and shared my original take on how to execute.
What tools or software do you use to create and edit your visuals?
Canva, Sketch drawing - Sharpie markers on 3" x 3" yellow Post-It notes.
Are there any tips you have for someone who is just starting out and doesn't have a lot of design experience?
The first bit of advice would be to get over the "but I'm not creative" self-talk that is holding you back. The most crudely rendered original rough sketch will have an exponentially higher positive impact on your prospects and clients than the most beautiful piece of royalty-free or licensed stock images that the other party has seen (and likely used themselves!) in fifty other proposal.
How can you expect to stand out from your competitors if you're all using the same clip art?
Second, take a basic sketchnote class. There are plenty of free online resources for developing these simple icon drawing skills, but one of my favorites is Doug Neill's courses over at verbaltovisual.com
How do you measure the success of your visual content? Do you track metrics like engagement, clicks, or conversions, and how do you use that data to inform future visual content?
I don't use any deep tracking or analytics with the ways I currently incorporate visuals into my process.
But I certainly make note of any direct comments from clients or digital proposal open (and re-open) rates to gauge general engagement.
And of course any proposal visuals that receive a client's approval to move forward is absolutely considered a success.
Do you have any advice for other creators/ solopreneurs who are just starting out and want to use visuals to help grow their business?
I already mentioned the benefit of using original graphics no matter how rough and unrefined vs. polished common royalty free images, as well as the benefits of self-educating on tips for effective sketchnoting, but if I had to add one thing I would suggest they challenge themselves to be able to explain their ideas visually as well as in written form.
You may be able to explain your concepts in great detail using the written word, but there's literally an abbreviation used by people who proudly state they're not interested in reading long form text (tl;dr). In the age of endless distractions, you don't want to alienate that growing population of people who may very well be charged with reviewing your proposal.
Visuals are the ultimate answer to engaging the tl;dr crowd!
What are some common mistakes to avoid, or tips for creating visually engaging content on a budget?
Unless you're submitting finished rendering for use by an engineering department or a manufacturer, stop stressing about rough sketches, drawing perspective, or even your ability to draw a straight line (I can barely draw a straight line when I'm using a ruler!).
Rough sketches do a better job of showing passionate and emotional engagement with a project or topic.
Do some random Google image searching for sketches by James Thurber (he's a writer who became known for his stylized dog sketches to the point where people still refer to them as "Thurber's Dogs").
Look for images of the sketches and under-paintings from some of the world's most realistic artists like Rembrandt. Not the blocky and muddy base images he used to create some of the most lifelike finished work.
And if your taste run to the more common, do a search for "comic book artists pencils only". This is the base sketch art submitted by skilled artists to the inkers and colorists to add their final touches and refinement.
Most of the visuals you use will rarely need to achieve the level of high art. You simply need something help you get your point across.
You want a fun suggestion for how to work on your visual sketching skills?
Challenge your friends to a weekly game of Pictionary!
Finally, where can we go to learn more about you and your business, and see some examples of your visual content in action?
The best place to find me online with links to most of my active projects is at https://dontheideaguy.com
The best spot to find regularly posted visuals is my joining my email list at https://bigyellowsticky.com - where I post a daily piece of content sharing ideas hand drawn with Sharpie markers on 3" x 3" yellow Post-It notes.
You can find me on most social platforms with the screename @dontheideaguy
Website/ Social media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dontheideaguy
Instagram: https://instagram.com/dontheideaguy
Personal Website: https://dontheideaguy.com
Visuals website: https://bigyellowsticky.com
Thanks for featuring me in today's interview!