Using Visuals

Apparently the 13th floor is missing in this modern hotel in Montreal, Canada. This elevator is dedicated to the upper floors.

Who taught you the following ideas?

• Light bulb over a person’s head means a good idea
• Guy wearing red and holding a pitchfork is the devil
• Number 13 is bad luck
• Bride is the woman in the white dress
• Reading goes from left to right

But what if you’re from another culture? Things go bump.

• White is a funeral color in Korea.
• Royalty wear read in Nigeria.
• The number 4 is bad luck in China.
• Reading goes from right to left.

Be careful with the illustrations you use. If in doubt don’t use anything, but word pictures used in the stories you tell. Test your images with a few cultural informants to get it right in private before launching to the whole group.

Reproducibility is critical and you want to get the DNA right.