Proposal graphics can help reviewers quickly understand complex ideas, team structures, workflows, timelines, conceptual models, and expected outcomes. Effective graphics require early planning because they often reveal gaps in logic, structure, or integration.
Use this resource when the proposal needs:
- Conceptual model
- Center or governance structure
- Timeline or milestone graphic
- Research workflow
- Team organization chart
- Core/thrust/project relationship diagram
- Theory of change or logic model
- Data pipeline or platform schematic
- Translational pathway
- Stakeholder or partner ecosystem map
What makes a proposal graphic useful:
| Good proposal graphics should… | Avoid… |
|---|---|
| Clarify the proposal’s logic | Decorating the page without adding meaning |
| Reduce cognitive load for reviewers | Dense diagrams with too much text |
| Show relationships among components | Isolated boxes with unclear connections |
| Reinforce sponsor priorities | Generic figures that could fit any proposal |
| Align with the narrative | Figures that introduce unexplained concepts |
| Be legible at final application size | Tiny text, weak hierarchy, or cluttered layouts |
Planning questions:
- What should the reviewer understand faster because of this figure?
- Where will the figure appear in the proposal?
- What narrative point does it support?
- Does the figure show structure, process, timeline, relationship, or impact?
- Who needs to approve the content before design begins?
- Is there time for iteration?
YRD can help with:
- Identifying where graphics would strengthen a proposal
- Translating proposal logic into visual structures
- Developing low-lift proposal figures when feasible
- Helping scope complex graphics that may require additional design support
- Advising on graphics timelines and iteration needs