The document summarizes Dan Roam's "Ten and a Half Commandments of Visual Thinking". It discusses using visual thinking and drawing to solve problems. Some key points are to draw circles to start, use basic visual frameworks like charts and timelines, anthropomorphize concepts, and draw conclusions from visual problem solving. The overall message is that visual thinking is a valuable skill and anyone can develop it through simple drawing techniques.
These slides are from a 2 hour presentation called Design for Developers.
The goal of Design for Developers is to teach interface design as a set of rules: there are some good default values for a lot of design decisions that you should remember, there is a “scientific” way of approaching things like alignment, even though many designers will tell you it’s something you should “feel”.
These slides are from a 2 hour presentation called Design for Developers.
The goal of Design for Developers is to teach interface design as a set of rules: there are some good default values for a lot of design decisions that you should remember, there is a “scientific” way of approaching things like alignment, even though many designers will tell you it’s something you should “feel”.
Our friends at UXPin are giving Awwwards users this fantastic e-book for free, explaining the 10 most successful web design techniques. Check out the analysis of 166 examples with tons of tips and resources!
To be a good designer you need to be curious about life; the strongest ideas are born from our experiences and the knowledge we gain from them. The more we see and the more we know, the greater the amount of fuel we have for generating ideas.
Communication with Flexible DocumentationJon Hadden
We're experts in reducing cognitive load for how people use and interact with our web products, but when it comes to documenting and communicating that end solution, we simply are not helping out our team members or stakeholders. There's a much better process.
In order to understand design decisions, states and flows, the audience of our documentation has the incredibly difficult task of consuming our multi-page PDF's of static comps and wireframes. They must correctly interpret, process and respond to a static version of a very dynamic interface. With responsive design and device fragmentation, the amount of work just to create and interpret existing documentation and deliverables has increased exponentially alongside the device market.
Utilizing flexible documentation for content models, wireframes, visual design and prototypes, we create not only tangible and accurate documentation, but also portable, reusable documentation that reduces rework and communication time waste.
Whether you work in a startup or fortune 500 company, utilize a waterfall or agile approach to product design, this presentation will give you tools you can use today to increase your efficiency in design. All the while keeping a clear and streamlined communication flow with various team members and stakeholders.
Slides from my talk at UX Scotland this year: How to make your first UX comic or storyboard. There are added captions to help talk you through the process of making a comic to communicate a user experience based story!
Edward Boches, Chief Innovation Officer at Mullen, focusing on the need to actually build things,
collaborate across disciplines and learn by doing
rather than watching.
Increasingly, energy managers must present ideas to groups of people. Whether it’s proving return on investment for an upcoming purchase, sharing the results of an energy efficiency project, or enlisting coworkers to conserve energy, these ideas are important.
However, few energy managers are ever trained in preparing presentations and speaking to groups, so high stakes presentations receive low stakes preparations. The important ideas get fumbled.
But in this webinar, Chris Heinz, speaker and VP of Marketing for EnergyCAP, Inc., provides practical tips for delivering powerful presentations.
Borrowing from presentation experts Nancy Duarte and Dan Roam, Heinz will discuss how to:
- delight your audience
- say what you mean
- use storytelling
- make your slides shine
- deliver your presentation so people care
Say goodbye to mediocre presentations and deliver powerful presentations every time.
How to create a great whiteboard video on the cheapdukerevard
I was tasked with getting the word out about new software my company had developed. I decided to go with a series of 3 whiteboard videos, each no longer than 2 minutes in length. Here was my process…
Our friends at UXPin are giving Awwwards users this fantastic e-book for free, explaining the 10 most successful web design techniques. Check out the analysis of 166 examples with tons of tips and resources!
To be a good designer you need to be curious about life; the strongest ideas are born from our experiences and the knowledge we gain from them. The more we see and the more we know, the greater the amount of fuel we have for generating ideas.
Communication with Flexible DocumentationJon Hadden
We're experts in reducing cognitive load for how people use and interact with our web products, but when it comes to documenting and communicating that end solution, we simply are not helping out our team members or stakeholders. There's a much better process.
In order to understand design decisions, states and flows, the audience of our documentation has the incredibly difficult task of consuming our multi-page PDF's of static comps and wireframes. They must correctly interpret, process and respond to a static version of a very dynamic interface. With responsive design and device fragmentation, the amount of work just to create and interpret existing documentation and deliverables has increased exponentially alongside the device market.
Utilizing flexible documentation for content models, wireframes, visual design and prototypes, we create not only tangible and accurate documentation, but also portable, reusable documentation that reduces rework and communication time waste.
Whether you work in a startup or fortune 500 company, utilize a waterfall or agile approach to product design, this presentation will give you tools you can use today to increase your efficiency in design. All the while keeping a clear and streamlined communication flow with various team members and stakeholders.
Slides from my talk at UX Scotland this year: How to make your first UX comic or storyboard. There are added captions to help talk you through the process of making a comic to communicate a user experience based story!
Edward Boches, Chief Innovation Officer at Mullen, focusing on the need to actually build things,
collaborate across disciplines and learn by doing
rather than watching.
Increasingly, energy managers must present ideas to groups of people. Whether it’s proving return on investment for an upcoming purchase, sharing the results of an energy efficiency project, or enlisting coworkers to conserve energy, these ideas are important.
However, few energy managers are ever trained in preparing presentations and speaking to groups, so high stakes presentations receive low stakes preparations. The important ideas get fumbled.
But in this webinar, Chris Heinz, speaker and VP of Marketing for EnergyCAP, Inc., provides practical tips for delivering powerful presentations.
Borrowing from presentation experts Nancy Duarte and Dan Roam, Heinz will discuss how to:
- delight your audience
- say what you mean
- use storytelling
- make your slides shine
- deliver your presentation so people care
Say goodbye to mediocre presentations and deliver powerful presentations every time.
How to create a great whiteboard video on the cheapdukerevard
I was tasked with getting the word out about new software my company had developed. I decided to go with a series of 3 whiteboard videos, each no longer than 2 minutes in length. Here was my process…
Vlogging for Assessment and Critical ReflectionAmy Burvall
originally for the Hawaii Independent Schools' Schools of Future Conference, Oct. 2013. I am also the co-creator of VoxBoxED21, a global vlogging project.
*Please note that most slides include embedded exemplar videos that will not play in Slideshare
Workshop on Visual Thinking and Visual Literacy for the Independent School Association of British Columbia (Mulgrave School, Feb, 2015).
Bear in mind the videos won't play but thy are all located in our G+ community at
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/113762614515763343967
With the changing media landscape, our streams, memes, and zines have exploded with imagery, ushering in a need for visual literacy skills. We have some false beliefs about visual language - that it is equated with “art”, requiring “talent” from “creative types” - and therefore it is unfortunately often not overtly taught and practiced in schools. Technology has affected knowledge in such a way as to diminish the value of “raw” information and increase the value of sense-making, as well as chip away at attention spans, sparking a need for distillation of complex ideas. Images can essentialize the cumbersome in beautiful ways. They have a “stickiness” for the viewer and challenge the critical thinking of the creator.
NOTE: The videos in this presentation have not been enabled to play
“The tag is the soul of the Internet”, says Derrick de Kerckhove in The Augmented Mind. How can educators exploit the use of tagging content in a variety of mediums in order to help students practice these new literacies and understand the workings of the Web? In this session we’ll look at both practical and creative (or “meta”) tagging and explore ways to organize a course in Twitter, G+, Storify, Instagram, and Wordpress blogs. We’ll explore playful uses of tags to recontextualize, add commentary, or create art, poetry, and literature. The hashtag is a powerful device of the organization of knowledge, but it can be maximized for critical and divergent thinking.
*this is a presentation with hands-on activities. Please bring a mobile device and, if you wish, a laptop.
Effective communication is everyone’s job—whether you are trying to sell in a concept or convince a client. Visual Thinking can help us take in complex information and synthesize it into something meaningful. In an increasingly fragmented and cluttered world, simple imagery, metaphors and mindmaps can get people to understand the abstract and make your ideas tangible. Find out why why thinking visually may be one of the most sought after abilities of the 21st century.
The Powerpoint from Dan Roam’s captivating talk from MIX '09 about persuading people with pictures. Whether convincing leadership to back a project, getting a VC to fund a business, building consensus on a project team, you’ll see how nothing is more powerful than a simple picture.
3 simple steps to create your company logo - An essential guide for entrepren...Nishchal Par
This is a short guide that will help entrepreneurs and start ups to design a professional and versatile logo investing little time and with little or no money.
Fallon Brainfood x Planning-ness 2010: How To Plan AppsAki Spicer
Aki Spicer, Fallon's Director of Digital Strategy will reveal some learnings and tips for account planners trying to operationalize the process of concepting, selling and building applications and digital tools.
Learn some pitfalls to avoid, shortcuts for bridging the gap between "start-up" culture and agency culture, guidance for selling apps to clients who are "bottom-line" or "ad message" minded, and shifting your teams from campaign thinking to service mentality.
http://planningness.com
September 30th – October 1st at Denver’s, Space Gallery.
No business can thrive without the discovery of a great idea. But, then again, an idea needs to undergo proper development to transform into a successful business venture – else your unpolished idea dies a quick death. In this article, we will talk about how one can turn an idea into a business.
The ten (and a half) commandments of visual thinking
1. Home
2
EVENTS
Sponsor
Press
Careers
Contact
ARTICLES VIDEOS SPEAKERS MAGAZINE ABOUT
search
SHARE
76
Like
Dan Roam
63
Dan Roam is the author
of two international
bestsellers, The Bac k of
10
the Napkin: Solving
Share
Problems and Selling
Ideas with Pic tures and
5
28
Unfolding the Napkin:
The Ten (and a half)
Commandments of Visual
Thinking
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
The Hands- On Method
for Solving Complex
Prob..
Full Profile ›
pdfcrowd.com
2. Trending
Innovating From Within:
Book Excerpt By Dan Roam | January 22, 2014
Share
Share Share Share
Share More The Rise of the
Intrapreneur
Entrepreneurship and
Visual thinking is the future of business problem solving. Using
leadership have a natural
our innate ability to see – both with our eyes and our mind’s
correlation. How would
eye – gives us entirely new ways to discover hidden ideas,
entrepreneurs build
successful companies
develop those ideas intuitively, and then share those ideas with
without Read More ›
other people in a way they are simply going to “get”.
In fact – as we all know – visual thinking isn’t “new” at all: it’s
our oldest problem-solving toolkit of all, predating verbal
communications in the evolutionary chain by eons, and giving
us as Kindergartners the ability to explore and explain our
ideas long before we could read and write.
As globalized supply chains and emerging markets flatten the
world, as information overload becomes the status quo, and as
10 Effective Ways Leaders
Can Influence Others
Through Nonverbal
Communications
After a 25-year career,
former FBI Special Agent
Joe Navarro, who
specialized in human
behavior and nonverbal
communica Read More ›
communication channels proliferate, problem-solving
complexity is only going to increase. In other words, there’s
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
The End Of Work-Life
Balance
pdfcrowd.com
3. more data out there in more forms and languages than ever
before, there’s a greater need than ever for businesspeople to
make good decisions and communicate their thinking to
others.
As businesspeople, becoming comfortable with our visual
Balance
We have a problem when it
comes to work-life
balance. There is no such
thing. This past May, I
attended a conference in
Read More ›
abilities again – improving our ability to look at complex
information, see important patterns emerge, imagine new
possibilities, and clearly show those discoveries to others – is
about to become our most valuable skill.
In my book, BLAH BLAH BLAH: WHAT TO DO WHEN WORDS
DON’T WORK, I give dozens of examples of how businesspeople
have solved complex problems through learning to think with
their eyes. But more importantly, I introduce my simple set of
four basic visual thinking tools that anyone can use to address
any problem at any time.
In order to keep the book as focused as possible on the “howto”, I decided to remove one of my favorite chapters. Entitled
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
4. “The Ten and a Half Commandments of Visual Thinking”, I’m
pleased to present that missing chapter here in its entirety. I
hope you find it useful and eye-opening.
1. Any problem can be solved with a
picture.
Strategic, financial, operational, conceptual, personal, and
emotional: it doesn't matter the nature of the problem we face
– if we can imagine it, we can draw it. By drawing it we will see
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
5. otherwise invisible aspects and potential solutions emerge.
Drawing out our problem is always worth a try: even in the
worst case – if no solution becomes visible – we'll still end up
with an infinitely clearer view of our situation.
2. Everyone starts by saying, "I can't
draw, but..."
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
6. If you think you can't draw, you're in good company. The only
demographic group who really knows they can draw is in
Kindergarten today. Wait a minute... weren't you once in
Kindergarten, too? The fact is, we are all born excellent visual
thinkers. If you're visual enough to walk into a room without
falling down, you're visual enough to solve problems with
pictures.
3. Avoid drawing on the linen.
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
7. The whole point of "napkin sketching" is that you never know
when you might want to visually explore an idea. Any paper
napkin will work as a drawing surface, which is why cafes and
bars are great idea-sharing places. But when you're in a more
proper establishment with fancy linens, you'll need to BYOP
(Bring Your Own Paper). Best lesson: always carry a little
notebook and a pen. (Tip: while waiters in proper
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
8. establishments are always willing to loan a pen, be sure to give
it back.)
4. To start, draw a circle and give it a
name.
The hardest line to draw is the first one – so don't even think
about it. Just draw a circle in the middle of your page and label
it with the first name that comes to mind: "me", "you", "them",
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
9. "today", "yesterday", "tomorrow", "profit", "loss", "our
product", "our company", "our competitor", "the globe", "the
weather" – whatever. It really doesn't matter what you select
at this point; all that matters is you get started.
5. Select the best picture type from
the "Basic Six"
Once we've got that first circle drawn, all we need to do to keep
our sketch going is select which of the "Basic Six" frameworks
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
10. that best supports the type of problem we're solving:
1) a PORTRAIT for a "Who" or "What" problem;
2) a CHART for a "how much" problem;
3) a MAP for a "where" problem;
4) a TIMELINE for a "when" problem;
5) a FLOWCHART for a "how" problem; or
6) a MULTI-VARIABLE PLOT for a "why" problem.
From just these six, we have the backbone framework for
any problem-solving picture.
6. Anthropomorphize everything.
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
11. People respond to people. Faces and stick-figures, however
crudely drawn, immediately elicit attention, understanding,
and reaction. Whether to show relationships and quantities,
emphasize a point, or just provide a sense of scale, draw people
in by drawing in people. (In a similar vein, the reason handdrawn sketches are particularly powerful in sales and
communications is their visibly human imperfections -- and
their 'work-in-progress' appearance – invite participatory
input from the audience.)
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
12. 7. Take advantage of every mental
trigger you can. (a.k.a. Use precognitive attributes.)
The human mind has evolved to process a wide range of visual
cues instantly, even before we consciously "see" them – hence
the term "pre-cognitive". We recognize and apply meaning to
size, shape, orientation, direction, and position – and make
associations and distinctions between these traits – long before
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
13. we have time to think about them. Since we don't waste any
"higher-level" cognitive cycles processing these basic
attributes, the more information we convey through them the
more we free up our minds (and those of our audience) to look
for deeper meaning.
8. Doodle aloud -- and erase even
louder.
When the first person said, "A picture is worth a thousand
words", he or she permanently warped our understanding of
pictures. The point of a good picture isn't to eliminate words,
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
14. it's to replace as many as possible so that the words we do use
are the important ones. (Rather than spending time verbally
describing coordinates, positions, percentages, qualities and
quantities, if we simply show them, we have more time to talk
about what they mean.) So as you work through your picture,
make a point of describing – even if it's only to yourself – what
the pieces mean and why you're drawing them where you are.
Even a stream-of-consciousness babble makes sense when it
supports an emerging picture. And when something looks
wrong, go ahead and erase it, talking through that as well. The
combination of simultaneous creation and narration is magic.
9. Don't draw what's out there, draw
what's in here. (a.k.a. The sky is blue,
except when I think it isn't.)
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
15. Everybody has his or her own idea of what things "really look
like", and we're all wrong. The point of problem solving
pictures isn't to create great art. We're not trying to show to
ourselves and to others what things look like "out there" (in
the real world), we're trying to show what things look like "in
here" (what we see in our own heads). The human brain is a
remarkable problem-solving device: more often than not, we
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
16. already know the solution to our problem – usually because
we've already seen it somewhere before – but it's locked away
just out of grasp. When we see our problem mapped out in
front of us pictorially, the solution often jumps right off the
page. Don't worry about what your picture looks like,
concentrate on what it shows.
10. Draw a conclusion.
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
17. The simple act of creating our picture is the most important
part of visual problem solving: drawing things out helps us
look, see, imagine, and show ideas that would have remained
hidden had we not picked up the pen. That said, it's always
worth it to take our picture to the point where something new
emerges. When you think you're done, push that pen one more
time to write a title, a conclusion, an insight, or a comment.
Squeezing one last drop out of your visual thinking muscle
almost always delivers a "eureka!”
10.5 Don't lie (not to yourself, not to
your audience, and most of all not to
your picture).
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
18. Pictures are powerful. Because processing images activates
more corners of our minds than words alone, we have a greater
tendency to believe what we see – and the images we create are
far stickier than things we only hear. While any problem can be
helped with a picture, the wrong picture can make any problem
worse. So when you're done with your image, go back and take
one more look, if only to make sure that you haven't gotten so
caught in the marvelous act of drawing that you've mislead
even yourself.
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
19. Join the Discussion
0 Comments
The Art Of
Sort by Best
Start the discussion…
SIGN IN WITH
OR REGISTER WITH DISQUS ?
Name
Be the first to comment.
Subscribe
open in browser PRO version
Add Disqus to your site
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com
20. Upcoming Speakers
Seth Godin
Keith Ferrazzi
Nancy Duarte
John Jantsch
See all our speakers ›
About Us
Recent Tweets
Upcoming Events
The Art Of is a leading media and events
How Do You Cultivate Work You Love? Our
THE ART OF MARKETING - VANCOUVER
c ompany foc used on providing business
speaker John Jantsch featured at The Art of
Wednesday, Marc h 19, 2014 from 8:45 am –
professionals with the tools, tec hniques
Marketing has it covered:
5:00 pm at The Centre (More Info)
and knowledge needed to suc c eed in
http://t.co/jCJzO567RE
30 minutes ago
today’s c hanging marketplac e. Our national
THE ART OF MARKETING - TORONTO
c onferenc es, magazine and online c ontent
Seth Godin Discusses Ways to Reinvent Yourself:
Wednesday, May 28, 2014 from 8:30 am –
are expertly c urated to bring together
http://t.co/Dxu1HOn2O1 [Don't Miss Seth in
5:00 pm at Metro Toronto Convention
#Vancouver this March! http://t.co/Ej16OkOg5p]
Centre (More Info)
insights from the world’s most prominent
1 hour, 2 minutes ago
business leaders, internationally renowned
speakers and bestselling authors.
Our speaker John Jantsch @ducttape on Why
Gen Y Doesn’t Matter the Way You Think It
Does: http://t.co/AxX8wLo078
Sitemap
Home
Events
1 hour, 32 minutes ago
Magazine
Our speaker, @_robin_sharma shares an amazing
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
pdfcrowd.com