I found this book at the library as a supplement to my ongoing self improvement project to improve my visual thinking. To me, the book has a lot of “filler” but there are a couple of take aways that I really like. By the way, I like how the book cover looks like a napkin.
First, the author points out that expert drawing ability is not a prerequisite , in fact in can actually interfere with visual note taking or using visuals in a presentation. Instead, what is needed is the ability to convey ideas with simple images, with the cover of the book as a great example.
Second, the author provides an excellent methodology, or codex, for how to think about using visual thinking to solve problems. You merely find the intersection of the type of problem you are trying to solve (who, how much, where, when, how, why) with visual elements that the author calls SVQID (Simple/Elaborate, Qualitative/Quantitative, Vision/Execution, Individual/Comparison, Delta-Change/Status Quo)–this gives you a template for how you might want to visually represent the problem that you are trying to solve.
Let me provide an example, Let’s say the problem is that you want to figure out how to make a blog. I want to think through “How” to do it. To me, this seems Vision/Execution might be a good way to explain the process.
Another way that I could show this is by considering this to be a “When” problem. In that case, I would probably create some kind of timeline, showing steps along the way.
I wish that I would have been exposed to this sort of thinking process early in my Corporate Career. I’ve always been more of a “verbal” sort of person, but sometimes a picture really is worth 1000 words. In my job I often worked on some complex projects, with lots of interactions with other organizations or people, and presentations that included more visual elements might have helped to better explain these projects to other people.