Transcript Visual Thinking

Visual Thinking
Rich Miller
LexisNexis
Research Scientist
Alliances & New Technology
[email protected]
What is Visual Thinking?
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An approach to understanding, creating, and
communicating
A collection of visually-based concepts and
methods
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Information Visualization guidelines
Mindmaps
Sequential visual representations
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What we can learn from Film and Comics
Vizability – cd/book on visual skills
Visual Thinking and
“Aboutness”
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General connection
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Understanding what things are about
Communicating what things are about
Specific connection
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Visualizations of index term collections
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Result of visual thinking
Prime you to more visually process today’s
information
Synonyms
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visual thinking
Vizability
non-linear thinking
lateral thinking
spatial reasoning
right brain thinking
The Visual Thinking Process
better perceive the
world
better represent
information to the
target audience
Who is it for?
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Everyone who needs to imagine, resolve,
invent, analyze, and communicate
UI designers, product managers,
mathematicians, geneticists, writers,
engineering students, etc.
Anyone who needs to formulate a problem
and/or represent its solution to colleagues or
users
Why is it useful?
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To enhance performance in…
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Thinking
Representing
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Communicating
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To create more compelling, usable products
 Incorporating visualization into daily work
can translate to superior products
A Basic, Real World Example
Applications of visual thinking concepts
world
 InfoViz guidelines - how to
best communicate through
spatial representations (Tufte,
Kosslyn, others)
 Sequential Art Concepts application of temporally
based visual representations
(e.g. Film, Comics)
co-workers
 Mindmaps - specific method
for representing information
 Vizability - methods
for understanding
and communicating
self
informal
formal
InfoViz Guidelines
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Tufte
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Kosslyn
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Espouses “graphical excellence” using his principles
Hates “chart junk”
Anti-PowerPoint
Three landmark books
Offers excellent seminar
Presentation guidelines
Psychology-based principles
Focus on limitations of human perceptual system
Others
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Many companies creating product solutions
Ray Daley monitoring infoviz for LEXIS-NEXIS
Visualization Examples
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Inxight hyperbolic tree
Criminal Intelligence – link analysis
Thinkmap – spider, bubble, chronology
Demo of answer set visualization
Sequential Art Concepts
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Film
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Borrow filmmaking techniques for UI design and
visual representation.
Use pictures, time, and space to communicate
Example course
Comics
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Similar techniques to film, but more discontinuous
Scott McCloud books
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Understanding Comics – “must read” for web designers;
recommended by Tufte
Reinventing Comics
Mind Maps
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Spatial/hierarchical representation of a given
information space
A.k.a concept maps
Examples
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Univ. of Zurich professor
Steve Gould from UK
Books
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Mindmapping
The Mind Map Book
Vizability
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Textbook + CD + sketchpad
Outgrowth of McKim book/course
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Used at Stanford to teach ME students how to
draw
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Drawing can be taught…not as innate as one might think
To enhance performance in…
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Thinking and Perceiving
Representing
Communicating
Vizability Goals
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Familiarize you w/the visual culture
Make you aware of your own visual
abilities
Exercise and improve your skills in
visualization
Incorporate these skills into your daily
life and professional activities
Vizability Benefits
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Provides a methodology and awareness…
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Get more out of your mind
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About problem finding and problem solving
About maintaining momentum on a task
About knowing how to sustain “flow experiences” -productivity state between boredom and anxiety.
By building fluid representational skills
More useful outputs
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Idea logs
Whiteboard content
Pictures used for communication and reference
The ARC Cycle
Act
Change
Reflect
The cube metaphor
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Six sides - 6 elements of visual culture
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Environments
Culture
Seeing
Drawing
Diagramming
Imagining
Like a cube, the product is non-linear
Samples from the Vizability CD
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Cast
Culture
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Prototyping
Sketching
Idea logs
Environment
Seeing
Imagining
Drawing
Diagramming
Putting in into practice
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Look more closely, and analyze what you see
When in doubt, draw a picture
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Or ask someone to draw theirs
Borrow concepts from other forms of
communication (e.g. film, comics)
Maximize rate of info transfer, minimize noise
(e.g. PPT 3D feature)
Start your idea log
Feel free to contact me at…
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[email protected]
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