Stat Imagery

Here’s a cheeky post from a cool blog a close friend of mine got me into recently;

In its last fiscal quarter, Apple sold more iPhones (37,000,000)

than babies were born in the whole world (36,300,000)

I love this kind of technique. When used in presentations it can be a real winner.

What numbers can you think of that would evoke awe in your audience, when talking about your product?

Speed, size, scope, scale. There’s limitless possibilities.

Even better when you use them as a question in a comparison. Ask the audience how many they think. Then reveal to see jaws drop.

When I saw the fantastic documentary End Of The Line, I noted they equated the size of those dastardly ocean-emptying fishing nets with the number of jumbo jets that they could engulf. A scarily high number (apparently of at least a dozen).

And you could add some easy graphics to leave the image sticking. (Whether a simple 747 as per the example above or such as the isotype treatment I’ve blogged on before).