Why data isn’t enough

Healthcare is one of those things many people don’t often think about until they desperately need it. In the UK alone, there are about 1.7 million interactions with the NHS every single day.¹ That’s a lot of sore throats, broken ankles, and very awkward questions about rashes. Every single person on this planet will, at some point, need medical help. Whether it’s a life-saving surgery or just figuring out why you’re sneezing so much, healthcare is a universal experience.

Now, here’s the thing: healthcare is powered by data. Endless amounts of it. Test results, blood pressure readings, vaccine efficacy rates: the lot. But if that data isn’t presented properly, it might as well be ancient hieroglyphics.

This is what gets me most passionate: data is not enough. You can have the most life-saving information in the world, but if it’s not accessible or you chuck it at people in an ugly, complicated way, guess what? They're not going to read it. And even if they do, they might not understand it.

That’s why graphic design isn’t just a nice-to-have in healthcare communication: it’s essential.

I’m a visual learner (and you might be too) 

We’ve all heard the phrase, “A picture paints a thousand words” and I couldn’t agree more. I think a really good infographic can save you reading a thousand words and there’s science to back me up.

Our brains process images 60,000 times faster than text.² No wonder scrolling through Instagram reels feels so much easier than reading a book. When we read, our brains are basically running a full translation system: matching words to images, sounds, and experiences. It’s exhausting.

It turns out that 65% of people are visual learners³, and I absolutely count myself among them. A quarter of our brain’s cerebral cortex is purely dedicated to visual processing.⁴ In other words, we’re hardwired to understand pictures better than words.

That’s why it’s not just about making things visual, it’s about making them make sense to the people it’s trying to reach. Whether we’re engaging a child who needs clarity and energy, or someone with poor eyesight who needs clear contrast and scale, understanding the audience is key. Communicating in ways that are visually intuitive and tonally appropriate isn’t just thoughtful, it’s essential. 

When clever design literally saves lives

One campaign that’s always stuck with me and probably with you too is the “FAST” acronym for stroke awareness⁵. I remember seeing it everywhere: on TV adverts and posters in GP waiting rooms. It’s incredibly simple – and that’s exactly why it works so well.

Strokes are terrifying. They’re the kind of medical emergency where every second counts. You don’t have time to be Googling symptoms or flipping through a leaflet while someone’s collapsing.

The campaign breaks it down into four easy-to-remember signs:

• Face drooping
• Arm weakness
• Speech difficulties
• Time to call an ambulance

“FAST” is smart, snappy, and in a high-stress situation, it gives you something clear to focus on. Your brain doesn’t want a medical essay in that moment it wants a lifeline. And that’s what this campaign offers.

By boiling these signs down to just four letters and pairing them with simple visuals, they stick in your memory. If you’re ever in that situation, you might not recall the textbook explanation… but you’ll remember “FAST.”

Tone, colour, shape… and the psychology of design

Design in healthcare isn’t about simply sticking a cartoon brain next to a list of symptoms. It’s about how information makes you feel.

Tone plays a huge role here. Do you want someone to feel reassured? Like they’re in safe hands, or do you want to jolt them into paying attention? Sometimes we want you feel like the voice on the screen really gets you and other times, you need to know your reading an expert who knows exactly what they’re doing. Tone sets the emotional temperature; it builds trust, empathy, urgency or whatever is needed in the moment.

Colours, shapes, and layouts all send subconscious messages. In simplistic terms, a calm blue website makes me feel safe and reassured. A bright red one? Makes me panic.

Design psychology is fascinating. Symmetry and balance help us trust what we’re seeing. High contrast makes key points pop. How things are written can put people at ease and the strategic use of colour and space can make scary info more digestible and feel less overwhelming.

In healthcare, and in fact any communication, thoughtful and well-crafted design can help people’s understanding of information. Design gently guides behaviour. It can help someone spot early symptoms, understand how a medication works, or follow life-saving instructions.

It can also be used to scare us, for good reason. Think of those graphic smoking warnings: shrivelled lungs, rotting teeth, all that glamorous stuff.

It’s harsh, but sometimes a shocking image gets the message across better than a mountain of statistics ever could.

Of course, there’s a balance to it though, understanding the intended audience of your specific piece is what matters and by doing this correctly, powerful visuals can nudge us toward healthier choices.

Simplifying the science (without losing the meaning)

Another thing I’ve come to realise is that good design doesn’t mean dumbing things down, it means making them clear and engaging.

It’s about distilling information, not deleting it. Thinking about what the audience needs to take away from this piece of communication. The goal is to highlight the most important points in a way that feels meaningful and accessible.

Good design respects the intelligence of its audience, it helps them see what truly matters.

Conclusion

If there’s one thing I hope you take away from all this (besides a new respect for graphic designers, wink wink), it’s this:

Facts aren’t enough.

Design helps turn complicated, technical, sometimes scary information into something people can actually understand. In our specialism of health, it doesn’t replace medical knowledge, it supports it. It makes it clearer, more approachable, and more memorable. It helps tell the information our clients want to say in the most engaging and clearest way possible.

At the end of the day, healthcare isn’t just about science; it’s about people. And people need information they can understand, especially when they’re at their most vulnerable. That’s where good design steps in, not to decorate, but to guide, support, and sometimes even save lives.

Reference

1. NHS (2023) Activity in the NHS [Online] Available from:     https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/data-and-charts/NHS-activity-nutshell     [Accessed: May 2025]
2. Blake (2022) Humans process visual data better [Online] Available from: https://www.t-sciences.com/news/humans-process-visual-data-better [Accessed: May 2025]
3. Lindner (2022) Must-Know Visual Learner Statistics [Online] Available from:     https://gitnux.org/visual-learnerstatistics/#:~:text=65%25%20of%20the%20general%20population%20are%20visual%20learners.,when%20visuals%20are%20part%20of%20the%20learning%20process [Accessed: May 2025]
4. Cherry (2022) Parts of the brain [Online] Available from:     https://www.verywellmind.com/the-anatomy-of-the-brain-2794895 [Accessed: May 2025]
5. Stroke Association [Online] Available from: https://www.stroke.org.uk/stroke/symptoms [Accessed: May 2025]