We look at letters every day. Online. Text messages. Street signs. Starbuck's coffee cups. Letters are everywhere.
When we see things all the time, we often stop really looking at them. Common things can become invisible.
When that happens, it's a great time to get creative with them. That causes you to look at things in a new way. Explore them from a bunch of different perspectives. Really look at them. See them in a new light. That's where a lot of new ideas are often found — sitting there right in front of us, in plain sight!
Visual Thinking & Creativity: Timelines
Pictures are obviously a big part of visual thinking. So are words. But if you just throw a bunch of words and pictures on a page, you just end up with a mess. A visual mess that makes your thinking messy, too.
That's where organization comes in. It's the third essential component of successful visuals. It doesn't have to be fancy. In fact, it's often best to keep things really simple.
A timeline is a simple and effective way to visually organize information.The image above shows a simple timeline of the International Center for Studies in Creativity, where I got my master's degree. Of course there's a whole lot more to their story than shown in this timeline, but it includes the things that influenced or impacted me in some way. You get the idea, at a glance.
Check out One Squiggly Line's About Visual Thinking page to learn more.
Visual Thinking & Creativity: World Creativity & Innovation Week
It's two months since World Creativity and Innovation Week. But why not celebrate it every month? On April 15-22 every year, people from around the world celebrate creativity and innovation by deliberately doing something creative every day. It could be something simple or something profound. It really doesn't matter — just be creative, whatever month it is!
Visual Thinking & Visual Notes: Live Graphic Recording at Events
There's never just one way to create visual notes, especially when they are created live. And at a large scale. That can make capturing a panel talk more of a challenge for some people. It takes a bit more flexibility than a clearly defined presentation.
I tend to capture panel discussions in a way that highlights the key points of the discussion as a whole. Not a series of summaries of what each person contributed. Since discussions tend to be rather fluid, the final visual makes much more sense that way. Speakers tend to like it better that way, too. So often key points build on what another speaker said, so there's no chance of misattribution when you capture the discussion as a whole.
The visual notes above were created during a panel discussion at TechInclusion last fall. You can see the whole set of visual notes created live, on-site there in this Flickr album.
Visual Thinking & Creativity: Catnaps
There's a myth out there that highly creative people just sit around and wait for inspiration to strike. Like a great big lightening bolt from the sky. Or a soft whisper from a mystical muse.
Truth is, creativity is not quite so passive. It is an active process. And there's a science to it, not just an art. There are even formulas, methods, and procedures for generating ideas and, equally importantly, evaluating them.
Even so, sometimes all that thinking and evaluating can be quite exhausting. That never leads to great ideas. Or great work. And it can cause you to get stuck.
The best thing to do when that happens is...nothing! Nothing related to whatever you're mulling over, that is. I like to call those little breaks catnaps. You could literally take a little nap. Or go for a walk. Or watch a few fun videos. Or even go do your laundry! It really doesn't matter what you do, as long as it gets your mind off of whatever you were thinking about.
That may sound rather passive, and even look passive, too. But while you're busy snoozing or doing your laundry or whatever, your mind is still hard at work searching for that great idea. And it will not stop until it finds something you're satisfied with.
Visual Thinking & Creativity: It's Contagous!
There's a myth out there that highly creative people just sit around and wait for inspiration to strike. And while they wait, they really don't care about the real world.
Truth is, highly creative people know great ideas do not come from within. They come from connections made with something outside ourselves. Often, those connections are made with something created by another creative person.
That's why the highly creative notice, appreciate, and celebrate creativity wherever they find it. And they even seek it out. So if you'd like to be more creative, start appreciating creativity when you see it. You'll soon discover ideas really are all around you!
Visual Thinking & Creativity: Visualize it Richly & Colorfuly!
There's so much more to visual thinking than doodles and diagrams! While physical drawings are a great way to help you think and communicate more clearly, there's a lot happening in that brain of yours before you even pick up a marker. The ability to see things clearly with your mind's eye, your imagination, is where it all begins.
To strengthen your visual thinking skills and boost your creativity, look at the picture above. Really study it for a few minutes. Pay close attention to the details, not just the overall image. The close your eyes and form a really clear picture in your head of the picture you were just looking at. Describe it out loud as accurately and thoroughly as possible, including as many details as you can.
To take it a step further, when you open your eyes, draw the image you just described. If you get stuck, close your eyes and try to see the image of the original drawing in your head instead of going back to the original picture.
You can do this alone or with a partner. Just remember the goal is to see the image as clearly and accurately as possible. No judging!
This exercise not only strengthens your visual thinking abilities and boosts your creativity, it also increases your observational skills, gives your memory quite a work out, and makes you a bit more articulate, too!
Visual Thinking: How to Draw a Fancy Letter F
Here's a quick video that shows how to draw a fancy letter F. Give it a try!
Visual Thinking: Visual Lists
There are tons of articles floating around out there about how to increase your social media following. After reading a number of those articles, they all start to blend together. The same information presented again and again, with most of it being just basic common sense. Even if the content has been seen time and time again, visuals can make things seems fresh and new. When you make things visual, they stand out and draw people in. Read the whole article here.
Visual Thinking: Be More Visual Video Series
Here's a simple and quick visual thinking exercise that can be used as a warm up for creative work, too. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel (One Squiggly Line) for other other videos related to visual thinking and creativity!