Here's why you need visual thinking!
The Art of Applied Visual Thinking
The official newsletter of Applied Visual Thinking SUPERHEROES. Vol. 3 No. 1 January 14, 2022
A few days ago, Sheri and I had the immense pleasure to lead a short Applied Visual Thinking webinar to a small group of very creative folks hosted by the fantastic creative thinking duo of Andre and Judy de Zanger.
We used a 2 x 2 to map out an "at my best" visual story in 8 minutes on a single sheet of paper during the session. It was a fast, fun session, and I am always amazed at the power of drawing a few simple pictures to tell an important story.
After the session, the participants graced us with their key takeaways, which may resonate with you and help you the next time you're about to launch into some visual thinking.
- Warm-up is key. Drawing a few simple shapes helps overcome the fear of the blank page and primes the pump for more thinking and drawing.
- Drawing = More information; we usually know more than we think we know. Drawing is a quick, easy way to tap into and mine your ideas.
- Drawing timelines allows you to think procedurally and helps you break down the big picture into the steps you took or may want to take.
- Frameworks like the 2 x 2 "at your best moment" visual story help you break down and clarify something nebulous and turn it into a simple story.
- Drawing helps tap into the non-verbal aspects of thinking and allows you to express those ideas more easily.
After the session, Andre treated us to a quick, fascinating lesson about visual archetypes. When we hear certain words or ideas, we can imagine a related picture. Some of these fall into archetypes, where most of us have similar images in our heads.
Want to play along? Grab a pen and a piece of paper, and let's draw a bit.
Step 1: Simple origami - fold your paper in half lengthwise, fold in half again the other direction, then unfold. You'll end up with four rectangles.
Step 2: In the upper left-hand section - draw the simplest line or shape you can to represent the word TRANQUILITY.
Step 3: In the upper right-hand section, draw the simplest line or shape you can to represent the word ENERGY.
Step 4: In the lower left-hand section, draw the simplest line or shape you can to represent the word WHOLENESS.
Step 5: In the lower right-hand section, draw the simplest line or shape you can to represent the word SECURITY.
Congratulations - you just added four new images to your visual vocabulary!
Bonus points - look up synonyms for the four archetype words, and you'll have expanded your visual vocabulary several times over. For example your drawing for ENERGY could also represent vitality, vigor, life, liveliness, animation, vivacity, spirit, fire, passion, ardor, zeal, verve, enthusiasm and zest.
As I mentioned, these are visual archetypes, meaning most people will have drawn a similar picture. Click on the button below to see what most people draw when completing this exercise.
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