The Visual Lounge lets you find out about TechSmith behind-the-scenes. Watch screencasts and videos from other customers, meet up with your fellow TechSmith users and staff, and get more tips and tricks!

Last year on The Forge, we had a lot of wonderful guests visit. In our second episode ever, Michigan State University's School of Journalism Professor Karl Gude came for a wonderful conversation. Karl Gude is the founding father of MSU's information graphics program. Karl has been creating infographics for the news since the 70s. He has created a variety of material for major newspapers, magazines and wire services such as Newsweek, the New York Daily News and at The Associated Press.

Karl's segment focuses on the importance of communicating visually. Visuals create an easily consumable way for people to understand information, where they may not have gotten it before. The most successful infographics are not just a visual or just text. Don't rely on just one medium of communication. It requires a combination of words, graphics, colors, and implementation of the basic rules of design.

Check out some of his infographics:

Furthermore, Karl notes that everyone is capable of creating infographics: There are so many free sites and there are tons of tutorials. You don't have to be an artist to make a map anymore. You don't have to be a cartographer to do GIS, Geo-Graphic Information System.

When we first uploaded that segment to YouTube, we had to split it into two pieces, due to the length. We've since re-rendered it for easier consumption.

Watch Karl's full segment below. It runs 16:53 minutes.

The Links mentioned in this segment include:

Karl Gude:

• View a collection of Karl's drawings, painting, and infographics here.
• TEDxLansing Presentation, Visual Information (To Put It Mildly)
• Karl's helpful Wiki of free drawing tools.
• Follow Karl Gude on Twitter

You can also watch the full episode of The Forge on the original blog post, also featuring Dave McCollom and Troy Stein. It runs 38:56 minutes.

The Forge is currently on a summer break, but we'll be back in August with new guests and a brand new set! Any ideas for topics you'd like to see in our second season?

Ali White is the Social Media Intern for TechSmith. She studies Professional Writing at Michigan State with a minor in Theater. Follow her tweets at @DesignLightning or check out her Tumblr.