Persuasive Visual Pattern #31: Pyramid

Prathamesh Krisang

Climbing to the higher places

We’ve decoded 30 persuasive visual patterns so far that you can use to communicate your ideas in a universally understandable way. It’s time to move to the next level of articulating your ideas. And that is creating frameworks.

The first one in the visual patterns for frameworks is The Pyramid.

A Pyramid visual pattern is mostly used in 2 cases,

  1. Show the importance of ideas from low priority to high priority (highest priority starting at bottom)
  2. Show gradual progress of ideas from lower levels to higher levels

Let’s look at a few examples below,

Here are some famous frameworks, models, or methods that utilize the pyramid visualization:

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow’s theory presents human needs in a pyramid structure, with basic physiological needs at the bottom (such as food and shelter) and higher-level needs like self-actualization at the top.

Food Guide Pyramid

The Food Guide Pyramid, developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), illustrates a balanced diet by representing different food groups in a pyramid shape. It suggests the recommended intake of each food group for a healthy diet.

Population Pyramid

A population pyramid is a graphical representation of a population’s age and gender distribution. It typically takes the shape of a pyramid, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. It provides insights into demographic patterns and trends.

Energy Pyramid

The Energy Pyramid represents the flow of energy through an ecosystem. It illustrates the transfer of energy from one trophic level to another, with producers at the bottom (capturing sunlight energy) and successive levels of consumers above them.

Knowledge Management Pyramid

The Knowledge Management Pyramid is a model that represents the hierarchy of knowledge within an organization. It starts with data at the base, followed by information, knowledge, and wisdom at the top. This pyramid framework helps organizations understand and manage their knowledge assets effectively.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

This educational framework, created by Benjamin Bloom, depicts different levels of cognitive learning in a pyramid structure. It starts with lower-order thinking skills like remembering and understanding, and progresses to higher-order skills such as applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.

Summarizing, If you want to (1) show the importance of ideas from high priority to low priority or (2) show gradual progress of ideas from lower levels to higher levels use the Pyramid Visual Patterns.

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