More Ways to Think Differently

I just finished up a visual thinking class with Scriberia, a visual consultancy based in London. We did a lot of easy and fun exercises to get us stretching our brain.  

Draw a squiggle and make something out of it

One exercise we did was draw a squiggle and then make a drawing from the squiggle.

Or take a shape – a square, a triangle, a blog, and turn it into a character. Yet another exercise is combining two very different things, like a snake and ice cream so that they become something new.

Simplify

One of my favorite practices that we learned is simplifying, which is not the same thing as making something simplistic. We were told to consider what’s the most important thing you’re trying to get across, are you focusing on the right details, what restrictions can you embrace, what can be combined and/or left out.

We practiced this skill by designing posters, making logos from our names and putting a process on a coin. I chose the process of writing a haiku, which you can see here.

While these were terrific exercises, I found that I really understood the significance and usefulness of this skill when I was looking at text-heavy content and retooling it for a presentation.  

Sketchnoting

We also played with sketchnoting lectures. Sketchnotes are notes that have images as well as arrows, banners, fanciful letters that you draw, rather than just write the way you typically do.

Sketchnotes can make reviewing your notes much more fun and you may also find that you remember what you’ve heard more easily because you were encoding your thinking in both images and words.

Ultimately, sketchnotes make listening more delightful while helping you to make the information your own.

I see all of these practices as calisthenics for the brain, which prompt you to be more observant and more engaged with the world around you.  

Scriberia has given a lot of thought to how to build people’s capacity and help them make the connection between drawing and meaning. You can read more about my experience with Scriberia in a profile interview of me on their blog.