Visualization

Challenge & Selection

Recently I happened to be at a ‘formal’ meeting seated around a table trying to  verbalize a problem and develop a concept. 30 minutes into the meeting  someone had the courage to break the formality and started to draw on a  piece of paper. What happened next didn’t surprise me. It’s not the art that  mattered, but the surfacing of the problem, conceptualizing ideas and gaining  the engagement to shape it better .Visualization is a core component of the  way that we communicate, whether we're aware of it or not. When we’re  dealing with very complex problems, we’re enacting a different kind of  problem solving that has to bring in more than just logic. Visualization is  really important for the process of Design Thinking because it's actually a way  of unlocking a different part of our brain. It allows me to think in a non-verbal  way and access parts of our brain, our creativity. Most design thinkers call  visualization as “the mother of all design tools”, because they are used in  every stage of the design thinking process.

Application

Visualization is equal parts listening, thinking and drawing. Listening is the input,  thinking is the processing and drawing is the output. These three skills work  together equally in understanding complexity, visualizing outcomes to create new  possibilities.

It's really  important to be able to understand the way that you communicate  with people. The primary tools for thinking visually are really just mastering  some basic elements of imagining people, spaces, situations and actions or  movements. It's very easy to create a simple diagram and most anyone can  draw a stick figure, a circle, a square, or an arrow. Those are the basic building  blocks of creating a  Visualization. We can unlock the power to think  differently by doodling. Alicia Diane Durand’s Discovery Doodles - The  complete series is a good starting point if you are in search of confidence and

want to learn basic visual elements. I try to practice with and learn from my  three little girls Khairah  (7), Safiyah  (4) and Hannah (2). The kids doodle  naturally not afraid of judgement. I am not a Picasso. I might not pass the high- school ‘arts’ exam even if return to it once again.

The world will always need people who can see the bigger picture - those who  listen, who find patterns, and make connections. The world around us is  complex and needs us to strengthen our ability capture and organize ideas.  We need more clarity. We need more shared understanding. We need more  simplicity. The more likely you are to achieve a sense of agreement and  consensus with people, the more you are likely to draw out conversation. In  an  environment where your ability to get things done and to solve problems  is dependent on other people being able to understand you and align their  ideas with yours.

Insight & Approach

I think that people will find that once they start getting in the habit of doing  that, you quickly see how the rest of the room responds to you when you get  up and you start drawing. This can be a little intimidating at first for some.

When you get to concept development, Visualization becomes incredibly  useful. Your brain is creating pictures of something that doesn't yet exist. It's  creating pictures of something that will soon be. As we move forward into  prototyping, we get much more detailed in the way that we start to visualize.  Then we create very complex diagrams or maps of how we think the customer  experience is going to work ideally. Pictures and images enable us to not only  help people understand what it is we're trying to do but to help persuade  them in the worthiness of that particular idea or the strength of that concept.


Visualization Challenge & Selection Recently I happened to be at a ‘ formal ’ meeting seated around a table trying to verbalize a problem and develop a concept . 30 minutes into the meeting someone had the courage to break the formality and started to draw on a piece of paper . What happened next did n’t surprise me . It ’s not the art that mattered , but the surfacing of the problem , conceptualizing ideas and gaining the engagement to shape it better .Visualization is a core component of the way that we communicate , whether we 're aware of it or not . When we ’re dealing with very complex problems , we ’re enacting a different kind of problem solving that has to bring in more than just logic . Visualization is really important for the process of Design Thinking because it 's actually a way of unlocking a different part of our brain . It allows me to think in a non - verbal way and access parts of our brain , our creativity . Most design thinkers call visualization as “ the mother of all design tools ” , because they are used in every stage of the design thinking process . Application Visualization is equal parts listening , thinking and drawing . Listening is the input , thinking is the processing and drawing is the output . These three skills work together equally in understanding complexity , visualizing outcomes to create new possibilities . It 's really important to be able to understand the way that you communicate with people . The primary tools for thinking visually are really just mastering some basic elements of imagining people , spaces , situations and actions or movements . It 's very easy to create a simple diagram and most anyone can draw a stick figure , a circle , a square , or an arrow . Those are the basic building blocks of creating a Visualization . We can unlock the power to think differently by doodling . Alicia Diane Durand ’s Discovery Doodles - The complete series is a good starting point if you are in search of confidence and want to learn basic visual elements . I try to practice with and learn from my three little girls Khairah ( 7 ) , Safiyah ( 4 ) and Hannah ( 2 ) . The kids doodle naturally not afraid of judgement . I am not a Picasso . I might not pass the high- school ‘ arts ’ exam even if return to it once again . The world will always need people who can see the bigger picture - those who listen , who find patterns , and make connections . The world around us is complex and needs us to strengthen our ability capture and organize ideas . We need more clarity . We need more shared understanding . We need more simplicity . The more likely you are to achieve a sense of agreement and consensus with people , the more you are likely to draw out conversation . In an environment where your ability to get things done and to solve problems is dependent on other people being able to understand you and align their ideas with yours . Insight & Approach I think that people will find that once they start getting in the habit of doing that , you quickly see how the rest of the room responds to you when you get up and you start drawing . This can be a little intimidating at first for some . When you get to concept development , Visualization becomes incredibly useful . Your brain is creating pictures of something that does n't yet exist . It 's creating pictures of something that will soon be . As we move forward into prototyping , we get much more detailed in the way that we start to visualize . Then we create very complex diagrams or maps of how we think the customer experience is going to work ideally . Pictures and images enable us to not only help people understand what it is we 're trying to do but to help persuade them in the worthiness of that particular idea or the strength of that concept .