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What
Does a 16th-Century
Map Have to Do with
Your Corporate Communications?
In
1500, a Venetian painter
and printmaker named
Jacopo De'Barbari
drew the first-ever
aerial map of Venice.
The map was extraordinary
for a few reasons:
- It
was the largest
print ever made.
At 4' x 9', the
map had to be printed
on six sheets and
pieced together.
- It
offered a view never
before seen, because
there was no one
vantage point in
or around Venice
that could provide
such a view.
- It
included both large-scale
geographic information
and minute details,
such as doors, windows,
and even chamber
pots (10,000 of
them!).
How
did de'Barbari draw
his bird's eye view
of Venice when manned
flight was still three
centuries away? He
used the work of several
different surveyors,
who climbed bell towers
throughout the area
and drew what they
saw.
Of
course, the surveyors'
views were all drawn
from different perspectives.
De'Barbari was faced
with the challenge
of integrating them
into a cohesive view.
His skill in doing
so enabled his contemporaries
to see the city of
Venice in a new way.
It literally gave
them the big picture
view that had been
lacking.
What
does De'Barbari's
map have to do with
corporate communications?
Organizations are
made up of departments
and functional areas
that may have very
different objectives
and perspectives on
how they should communicate
with constituents.
Successful corporate
communications incorporate
all these viewpoints
into a cohesive approach
that employs an overarching
strategy, consistent
messaging, and a coordinated
use of media. Like
the surveyors' drawings
that helped De'Barbari
assemble his map,
each department's
view is essential
in constructing a
comprehensive picture
of the organization.
Your
Web site is an example
of a central communications
channel that should,
like De'Barbari's
map, combine information
from multiple sources
into a cohesive vision
of your organization.
De'Barbari blended
several visual perspectives
into one; your Web
site might blend several
voices into one.
The
effort you spend collaborating
on a cohesive approach
to communications
will go a long way
toward providing a
view of your organization
that is unavailable
anywhere else—one
that incorporates
the "big picture"
and all the details
constituents need
to understand what
you do, what you offer,
and why it's important
to engage with you.
Contact
us for help developing
an artful integrated
approach to your corporate
communications.
Note:
De'Barbari's map is
part of the exhibit
"Bellini, Giorgione,
Titian, and the Renaissance
of Venetian Painting,"
at the National Gallery
of Art in Washington,
D.C., until September
17, 2006.
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Jacqui Olkin is principal
consultant at Olkin
Communications Consulting,
which provides strategy,
creative services,
and project management
for Web and print
communications. E-mail
her at Jacqui@olkincommunications.com,
call 571-643-6020,
or visit www.olkincommunications.com.
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