Visual Thinking Presentation for UnitedHealth Innovation Day

“VISUAL  THINKING”    Presenter:  Liz  Burow        Burlix  Studio  

Sponsor:  Russell  C.  Petrella,  Ph.D.  –    President,  UnitedHealthcare,  Community  &  State    

I AM A VISUAL THINKING USER, ADVOCATE AND EDUCATOR

BENEFIT– SHOW NON-LINEAR RELATIONSHIPS, ENCOURAGE HOLISTIC THINKING

WHY VISUAL THINKING?

BENEFIT: IMPROVES QUALITY AND SPEED OF IDEATION AND PROBLEM SOLVING, MAKE IDEAS TANGIBLE

WHY VISUAL THINKING?

BENEFIT: LOWER BARRIER FOR ENTRY, PARTICIPATORY CONVERSATIONAL

WHY VISUAL THINKING?

BENEFIT: SHOW VS TELL, MAKES COMPLEXITY EASY TO UNDERSTAND AND MANAGE

WHY VISUAL THINKING?

BENEFIT: DECREASE TIME IT TAKES TO EXPLAIN AND UNDERSTAND AN IDEA, BETTER COORDINATED

WHY VISUAL THINKING?

JOHN SNOW: PLOT MAPPING | 1854 Broad St Cholera Outbreak, London

VISUAL THINKING HELPS FIND PATTERNS,SURFACE CRITICAL ISSUES,TAKE ACTION FASTER

WHY VISUAL THINKING?

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE | Polar Area Diagram & Sanitary Reform

PREVENTABLE

WOUNDS

OTHER

WHY VISUAL THINKING?

VISUAL THINKING HELPS FIND PATTERNS,SURFACE CRITICAL ISSUES,TAKE ACTION FASTER

WHY VISUAL THINKING?

STEPHEN COVEY, 2 x 2 MATRIX FOR PRIORITIZING QUALITATIVE DATA

“DATA IN,INFORMATION OUT”– STEPHEN COVEY

WHY VISUAL THINKING?

“WE ARE MOVING FROM THE

INFORMATION AGE TO THE

CONCEPTUAL AGE”– DANIEL H. PINK, A WHOLE NEW MIND

WHY VISUAL THINKING?

“WE ARE NO LONGER KNOWLEDGE WORKERS, BUT RATHER HIGH CONCEPT PEOPLE...(WE) DETECT PATTERNS AND OPPORTUNITIES, CRAFT A SATISFYING NARRATIVE, AND COMBINE SEEMINGLY UNRELATED IDEAS INTO SOMETHING NEW...(WE) EMPATHIZE WITH OTHERS, UNDERSTAND SUBTLETIES OF HUMAN INTERACTIONS, FIND JOY, STRETCH BEYOND THE QUOTIDIAN IN PURSUIT OF PURPOSE AND MEANING. ”– DANIEL H. PINK, A WHOLE NEW MIND

GREAT. SO, IF ITS SO IMPORTANT, WE CAN ASSUME WE’RE ALL USING VISUAL THINKING

ALREADY, RIGHT

HERE’S THE PROBLEM:

HERE’S THE PROBLEM:

HERE’S THE PROBLEM:

PEOPLE THINK IT’S:TOO COMPLICATEDCAN’T DO ITTAKES TOO MUCH TIMENOT USEFULDON’T KNOW HOWDIDN’T EVEN THINK TO TRY

HERE’S THE OPPORTUNITY:

START THINKING ABOUT DRAWING AS A WAY TO THINK

GET COMFY

1HOW WE’RE GOING TO GET THERE:

GET COMFY

1 2

APPLY METHODS

HOW WE’RE GOING TO GET THERE:

GET COMFY

1 2

3

APPLY METHODS

PICK RESOLUTION

HOW WE’RE GOING TO GET THERE:

“I’M JUST THINKING OUT LOUD HERE”

LET’S MOVE FROM:

BLAH

BLAH

BLAH

BLAHBLAH BLAH

BLAHBLAH

BLAH

BLAHBLAH

“I’M JUST THINKING OUT LOUD HERE”

VISUALLY

TO:

BLAH BLAH

BLAHBLAH

BLAH

BLAHBLAH

1. GET COMFY

PROBLEM SOLVING

DATA

NO TOOLSNO LANGUAGE

INHIBITIONATTITUDECULTURE

SPACE

INFORMATION/DECISIONS

HOW?: REMOVE THE BLOCKAGE

HOW?: DRAW LIKE A CAVEMAN

USE SYMBOLS/

ICONS/SIMPLE LANGUAGE

LOW TECH/USE

SHORTCUTS

LEARN FROM FAILURE/

SURVIVAL/ADAPTIVE

MAKE ITCULTURAL/

RITUAL/SPATIAL

HOW?: DRAW LIKE A CAVEMAN

5/20/12 Drawing Development in Children

1/2www.learningdesign.com/Portfolio/DrawDev/kiddrawing.html#anchor2501390

Perspectives

DrawingDevelopmentin Children

Viktor LowenfeldBetty Edwards

2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 12 |14 yrs

2 years 3 years 4 years 6 years 8 years 10 years 12 years 14 years 16 years

Viktor LowenfeldCreative andMental Growth

Scribblingstage

Firstdisorderedscribbles aresimply recordsof enjoyablekinestheticactivity, notattempts atportraying thevisual world.After sixmonths ofscribbling,marks aremore orderlyas childrenbecome moreengrossed.Soon theybegin to namescribbles, animportant

milestone indevelopment.

The preschematic stage

First conscious creation of form occursaround age three and provides atangible record of the child's thinkingprocess. The first representationalattempt is a person, usually withcircle for head and two vertical linesfor legs. Later other forms develop,clearly recognizable and often quitecomplex. Children continually searchfor new concepts so symbolsconstantly change.

The schematic stage

The child arrives at a "schema," adefinite way of portraying anobject, although it will be modifiedwhen he needs to portray somethingimportant. The schema representsthe child's active knowledge of thesubject. At this stage, there isdefinite order in spacerelationships: everything sits on thebase line.

The gang stage: The dawningrealism

The child finds that schematic generalizationno longer suffices to express reality. Thisdawning of how things really look is usuallyexpressed with more detail for individualparts, but is far from naturalism in drawing.Space is discovered and depicted withoverlapping objects in drawings and a horizonline rather than a base line. Children begin tocompare their work and become more criticalof it. While they are more independent ofadults, they are more anxious to conform totheir peers.

The pseudo‐ naturalisticstage

This stage marks the end of art asspontaneous activity as childrenare increasingly critical of theirdrawings. The focus is now on theend product as they strive tocreate "adult‐like" naturalisticdrawings. Light and shadow, folds,and motion are observed withmixed success, translated topaper. Space is depicted as three‐dimensional by diminishing thesize of objects that are furtheraway.

The period of decision

Art at this stage of life issomething to be done or leftalone. Natural developmentwill cease unless a consciousdecision is made to improvedrawing skills. Students arecritically aware of theimmaturity of their drawingand are easily discouraged.Lowenfeld's solution is toenlarge their concept of adultart to include non‐representational art and artoccupations besides painting(architecture, interior design,handcrafts, etc.)

Betty EdwardsCreative andMental Growth

Thescribblingstage

Randomscribbles beginat age one‐and‐a‐half,but quitequickly takeon definiteshapes.Circularmovement isfirst because itis most naturalanatomically.

The stage ofsymbols

After weeks ofscribbling,children makethe discovery ofart: a drawnsymbol can standfor a real thingin theenvironment.Circular formbecomes auniversal symbolfor almostanything. Latersymbols becomemore complex,reflecting child'sobservations onthe world around

Pictures thattell stories

At four or five, thechild begins to tellstories or work outproblems with herdrawings, changingbasic forms asneeded to expressmeaning. Oftenonce the problem isexpressed, thechild feels betterable to cope withit.

The Landscape

By five or six, children develop a setof symbols to create a landscapethat eventually becomes a singlevariation repeated endlessly. A blueline and sun at the top of the pageand a green line at the bottombecome symbolic representations ofthe sky and ground. Landscapes arecompose carefully, giving theimpression that removing any singleform would throw off the balanceof the whole picture.

The stage ofcomplexity

At nine or ten years,children try for moredetail, hoping toachieve greaterrealism, a prized goal.Concern for wherethings are in theirdrawings is replacedby concern for howthings look‐‐particularly tanks,dinosaurs, superheroes, etc. for boys;models, horses,landscapes, etc. forgirls.

The stage ofrealism

The passion forrealism is in fullbloom. Whendrawings do not"come out right" (lookreal) they seek helpto resolve conflictbetween how thesubject looks andpreviously storedinformation thatprevents their seeingthe object as it reallylooks. Struggle withperspective,foreshortening, andsimilar spatial issuesas they learn how tosee.

The crisis period

The beginning of adolescencemarks the end of artisticdevelopment among mostchildren, due to frustration at"getting things right." Those whodo manage to weather the crisisand learn the "secret" of drawingwill become absorbed in it.Edwards believes that properteaching methods will helpchildren learn to see and draw andprevent this crisis.

DRAWING DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN: VICTOR LOWENFELD, BETTY EDWARDSCopyright 1985 and 1987 Susan K. Donley, All Rights Reserved

CAVEMAN: USE SYMBOLS

RETURN TO YOUR 6YR OLD SELF

CAVEMAN: USE SYMBOLS

RETURNING TO YOUR 6 YEAR OLD SELF- THIS IS ALL YOU NEED TO GET YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS

DRAW WITH SYMBOLS TO CONVEY MEANING. SHOW AS MUCH ACTION, STORY AND SPACE IN ONE DRAWING AS POSSIBLE.

CAVEMAN: SYMBOLS/MEANING

USE BASIC SHAPES (LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET) TO TO BUILD DIFFERENT ‘NOUNS’, ‘VERBS’, ‘ADJECTIVES’

CAVEMAN: SIMPLE LANGUAGE

GLYPHS: 12 VISUAL SHAPES THAT YOU CAN USE TO CREATE ANY VISUALCOPYRIGHT: SUNNIBROWN.COM

PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS, THINK SURVIVAL, ACCEPT IMPERFECTION, ADAPT,LEARN

CAVEMAN: SPEED/ADAPABLITY

PLAYING PICTIONARY WITH STUDENTS

DEVELOP SHORTCUTS.CREATE A DRAWING STYLE AND SIGNATURES, PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS.

CAVEMAN: FIND SHORTCUTS

DAWING FOR THINKERS WORKSHOP: PRACTICE DRAWING SIGNATURE PEOPLE

MAKE DRAWING A PART OF YOUR DAILY LIFE, YOUR DAILY RITUAL AND YOUR OFFICE CULTURE. LEAVE DRAWINGS UP AS A WAY TO COMMUNICATE YOUR IDEAS AND YOUR PROCESS.

CAVEMAN: MAKE IT CULTURAL

THE STANFORD DESIGN SCHOOL, CALIFORNIA

2. APPLYING THE METHODS

BE ATEACHER

FIT THE RIGHT METHODFOR THE RIGHT BENEFIT

COMMUNICATE FOR ALL LEARNING TYPES

SPATIAL/VISUAL AUDITORY

TACTILE/KINETIC LOGICAL

LEARN BY SEEING LEARN BY LISTENING, TALKING

LEARN BY DOING LEARN BY THINKING

BE A TEACHER

HEADHEARTHANDS

TEACH WITH YOUR:

CREDIT: DAVE GRAY

SCHEMATICHEAD

VISUALS: LOGICAL/STRATEGIC

TEACH TO THE:

CREDIT: DAVE GRAY

EMOTIONAL

HEART

VISUALS: METAPHORS/ENGAGING/STORIES

TEACH TO THE:

CREDIT: DAVE GRAY

PRACTICAL

HANDS

VISUALS: OPERATIONAL/FUNCTIONAL

TEACH TO THE:

CREDIT: DAVE GRAY

COMPARISON

PATH

SYSTEM

CREDIT: DAVE GRAY

HEAD HEART HANDS

CREDIT: DAVE GRAY

AB

123 4

IF YOU’RE NOT SURE WHERE TO START, TRY MIND-MAPPING

3. CHOOSE THE RIGHT RESOLUTION

VISUAL THINKING IS TECHNOLOGY AGNOSTIC

LOW RES HIGH RES

YOU DECIDE WHAT IS RIGHT

{CHOOSING THE RIGHT RESOLUTION}

LOW RES HIGH RES

SIMPLE ELABORATE

QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE

VISION EXECUTION

{CHOOSING THE RIGHT RESOLUTION}

LOW RES HIGH RES

SIMPLE ELABORATE

QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE

VISION EXECUTION

STAR

T

PARTICIPATORY

ACCESSIBLEFASTER

EXPLORATORY

{CHOOSING THE RIGHT RESOLUTION}

LOW RES HIGH RES

SIMPLE ELABORATE

QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE

VISION EXECUTION

FINI

SH

CONCLUSIVE

FANCY

COMPLEXACCURATE

{CHOOSING THE RIGHT RESOLUTION}

LOW RES- A GOOD ENTRY POINT FOR COLLABORATION, INNOVATION

HIGH RES- A GOOD ENTRY POINT FOR COMMUNICATING

Q: HOW DO WE PUT THIS INTO PRACTICE? TAKE IT BACK TO WORK?

A: THIS IS LESS ABOUT SKILL AND MORE ABOUT CULTURE

SET AN EXAMPLE- SHOW THAT IT IS OK TO SKETCH AS A WAY TO THINK. NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE WORDS.

WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT AWAY

ENCOURAGE AS A WAY TO COMMUNICATE IN MEETINGS, FOR PRESENTATIONS

WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT AWAY

GIVE YOURSELF TIME AND SPACE TO SKETCH AND THINK VISUALLY

WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT AWAY

WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT AWAY

PRACTICE TALKING AND DRAWING IN FRONT OF OTHERS

PRACTICE LIKE AN ATHLETE- FOR MUSCLE MEMORY

LEARN MORE!

WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT AWAY

THE VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATIONBY EDWARD TUFTE

GAMESTORMINGBY DAVE GRAY, SUNNI BROWN

THE BACK OF THE NAPKINBY DAN ROAM

A WHOLE NEW MINDBY DANIEL PINK

MAKE SENSE

MAKE DECISIONS

TAKE ACTION, DO GOOD

FOR ALL OF US HIGH CONCEPT THINKERS WHO NEED TO :

LIZ BUROW

@BURLIX

LIZ@BURLIXSTUDIO.COM

ABOUT.ME/LIZBUROW