Visualization
Methods
It's not new...
This is a text. It is a string of words that are put one
after another based on a system of rules called
grammar. As you read along you try to make sense of
what you read and you might make pictures in your
mind to remember what was being said at the
beginning and to figure out where this is all leading
to. If you have a short attention span, however, you
might have already forgotten what was said at the
beginning and you could also get lost in the details
and miss the complete picture. Besides, these black
marks on white paper look ... well, they look rather
dull. Because of this and for other reasons and to
make a long story short, we like to
visualize information
This is a text. It is a string of words that are put one
after another based on a system of rules called
grammar. As you read along you try to make sense of
what you read and you might make pictures in your
VISUALIZING
INFORMATION
VISUALIZING
INFORMATION
BENEFITS:
mind to remember
what was being BENEFITS:
said
at the
beginning and to figure out where this is all leading
reveal
to.
If you have
a
short
attention
span,
the
picture
AND
the
detail
reveal
the big
big
picture
AND
thehowever,
detail you
might
have
already forgotten
what was
said
at the
show
relationships
between
the
parts
show relationships between the parts
beginning
and you could also get lost in the details
>literally< more exciting to our brain
>literally<
more exciting
to our brain
and
miss the complete
picture. Besides,
these black
marks on white paper look ... well, they look rather
dull. Because of this and for other reasons and to
make a long story short, we like to
visualize information
Mindmaps
Probably one of the better
known tools
Was used in antiquity already
but was made popular by Tony
Buzan in the 1970s
Works really well to visualize
hierarchical structures or partsof-a-system overviews (eg.
Book contents, etc.)
Mindmaps in Antiquity...
Mindmap displaying a Hierarchy
Map by James Kennedy
Concept Maps
If it is necessary to spell out the
relationships between the nodes
of a mindmap, you call it a
concept map
Some mindmapping software
allows you to do that (eg.
TheBrain)
Antique concept map
Source: Wikimedia, Author Anonymous
Modern concept Map
Visual Brainstorming
As strange as it sounds, your mind thrives on
limitations; where a blank page can be
intimidating, this technique can help:
Visual Maps
With the rise of Graphic Facilitation, there are
more and more visual map templates that
visually chunk information (eg. Business Model
canvas, etc.)
Others use a metaphor to get people to
associate and create a story around their topics
Visual Maps Example
Sketchnotes
Visual notes made of a
speech, video, article,
book, your own thoughts
etc.
(mainly) made popular by
Mike Rohde
Great for retaining
information but
depending on the design
might only make sense to
the one who created it
Sketchnote Example
Word-Pictures
Visual Map
Map by James Kennedy
Visual Map (detail)
Map by James Kennedy
Infographic
Explanatory
text
Diagram
Geographical
Map
Map by James Kennedy
Graphs and Diagrams
Graphs and diagrams
can be used in a
figurative sense
rather than a number
sense
self-help
visualizations
(cf. The Decision Book,
Krogerus&Tschaeppler)
When to use what?
Who is it for?
(Yourself or other people?)
What is for?
(Purpose? Exploration, planning, retaining information, education,
persuasion, etc.)
Good questions to ask yourself about your
visualization:
How memorable is it?
How conclusive is it?
Visual Metaphor Time runs
