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[Community] VizThink Philadelphia Takes Visual Thinking to the Streets

Last month VizThink Philly took to the streets of Philadelphia as part of PARK(ing) Day, a global event where organizations take over parking spaces for a day and create temporary ‘parks’ – the story below is cross-posted form the VizThink Philly blog.

- Ryan

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(Bianca Cevoli looks on as people pour their thoughts onto paper at the SketchPark)

On September 18, 2009 VizThink Philadelphia created a mini-park on a busy street where pedestrians could stop and draw. They called it the SketchPark. The SketchPark was one of hundreds of temporary parks around the world created as part of PARK(ing) Day where organizations set up small temporary parks in parking spots to illustrate alternative possibilities for uses of urban space.

SketchPark Facts:

Why: To promote visual thinking to the masses

Equipment:1 table, 4 chairs, paper, drawing supplies.

Who: Approximately 30 pedestrians stopped to draw diagrams, doodles, and landscapes. The SketchPark was created by members of VizThink Philadelphia.

Where: A parking spot at 16th and Chestnut street, Center City Philadelphia, the heart of Philadelphia’s business district.

When: 10:30 AM-4PM, Friday, Sept 18, 2009.

Types of drawings: Drawings varied from city planning diagrams, to mind maps, to supernatural creatures, to cityscapes, to abstract patterns.

(Jonny Goldstein creating a diagram to help a passerby develop a strategy for her job search)

(Photo by Albert Yee)

(Photo by Albert Yee)

(Created by an urban planner showing connections between neighborhoods)

(Created by an architect who is in the process of career switching to rabbi)

(One of the first people to sit down created this urban landscape)

About the creators of the SketchPark:

Bianca Cevoli is graphic designer, writer, who blogs at geekadelphia.com.
Julia Pellicciaro is an interaction designer who blogs at InterfaceInYerFace.com.
Jonny Goldstein is an animator, artist-at-large, and slidedeck provocateur.

They are the founders of VizThink Philadelphia, a local chapter of the global VizThink community.

About VizThink: VizThink is a global community dedicated to the use of visualization in learning and
communication.

Related Links:

PARK(ing) Day (Philadelphia site)
PARK(ing) Day (Global site)
SketchPark Photos
PARK(ing) Day Philadelphia Photos
VizThink (Global site)
VizThink (Philadelphia site)

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