Earlier this week I got on the phone with David McCandless, author of The Visual Miscellaneum, his new book of visualizations of ‘the world’s most consequential trivia”. During the conversation we discussed how the idea for the book came about, his creative process and whole other host of topics. Perhaps the most interesting thing that I learned in the conversation is that a couple of years ago David wouldn’t have considered himself a designer – …

While there are amazing things happening throughout the visual thinking community, some of the most interesting are happening at our sponsors, not the least of which is happening at Tableau. Late last week, we sat down with their Director of Visual Analisys, Jock Mackinlay, to discuss his work and research. With degrees from Berkeley and Stanford, and years of work at one of the world’s most famous research centers, Xerox PARC, Jock comes …

It’s easy to focus on the visual. In fact, that’s probably one reason we believe so strongly in visual thinking. It helps people brainstorm, process, organize, plan, and communicate information more effectively. However, we so often talk about the visual aspects of our field (photo, 3D, sketching, color, proximity, flow, etc) that we forget there’s a thinking part as well. The purpose of the visual isn’t necessarily to save us from …

Work and personal time is busier than ever. The economy is the worst it’s been in decades. Taking 2 or 3 days to go to a conference is a big investment, both in time and money. For a few people, conferences are a boondoggle, but for most of us we want to make the most out of our investment. Yesterday, we had the chance to sit down with frequent conference attendee, …

100s of messages in your inbox, overflowing blog readers, browser tabs filled with websites to explore…that and so much more can lead to information overload.  For over a decade, Jerry Michalski has been using his Brain to not just process that information, but to organize, recall, and find hidden relationships between the disparate pieces of information.  In this 15 minute, 34 second podcast, we discuss using visualization for knowledge management, dealing with massive quantities of …

Have you ever had a problem you need to solve or a question you needed to answer, but you didn’t know the best way forward?  Even your traditional brainstorming methods weren’t providing the results you needed?  Visual Thinking approaches can be very powerful for getting over those hurdles.  One of the unique approaches, facilitated sessions using photographs, was created by Christine Martell of VisualsSpeak.  Her process uses specially designed and selected photographic images in order …

Often, learning is not enough.  It’s not enough to watch a great podcast or go to a great conference and learn new things, try new techniques, or even meet intersting people.  The natural high that comes from learning and attending an event can fade quickly, that is, if you don’t do something about it.  Have you ever got back from a class, webinar, or conference filled with ideas, yet your colleagues don’t get it?  They …

We live in a 3 dimensional world.   Often our problems, challenges, and opportunities are in 3D too, yet we try to solve them in 2D on paper, on whiteboards, and on computers.  Certainly, there are many 3D software packages and haptic devices, but even the best still don’t quite achieve the same tactile feeling as working with a real, physical model or representation.  In this 9 minute podcast, John Ward discusses the nature of space, physical movement, …

Following up on the heals of our podcast with Laura Johnson on Autism, today we have a great podcast with Brian Friedlander on the use of visualization in Assistive Technology.  Whether to help in reading, writing, math, or many other disciplines, assistive technologies allow children and people with language related issues or disabilities to develop their skills often using visual tools and techniques.  In this important podcast, you will learn about how your visual thinking skills …

Whether it’s called “wisdom of the crowds” or “collective IQ”, visualization has a way of bringing people together, creating understanding, and creating a shared vision of both the past and the future.  In this 19 minute, 26 second podcast, we talk with Eileen Clegg from Visual Insight and I talk about how visuals can be used to allow people to contribute to the collective intelligence of a group.  We discuss such topics such as:
- What …