Visual Thinking and graphic recording are two techniques that go hand in hand, allowing the user to document and synthesize complex information in order to make it easy to understand and remember. 

It’s a strategy that’s becoming popular in entrepreneurial and educational spheres to communicate dynamic ideas and use teamwork to create solutions. If you want to speed up your progress and improve the results of your meetings, classes, workshops, presentations, etc., you’ll definitely want to give this tool a try.   

See also: The Agile Method: new approach to flexible working teams with shared goals.

Visual Thinking

Before human beings used writing and grammar to convey ideas, we drew them out. This means that the image is one of the most powerful means of communication.

Drawings used to be thought of as teaching tools for little kids, but we now know that using drawings can make it much easier to express complex ideas and bring them to life for adults, too. In fact, it’s proven that digital content that uses an image or video generates audience engagement by up to 100% in comparison with content that does not use an image.

Visual thinking uses a combination of images, signs, signals, and key words that interact to holistically represent a certain fact in a comprehensive manner. This technique can employ infographics, animation, timelines, diagrams, mental outlines, etc.

We’ve even seen a few using popular memes: an ingenious combination of images and texts that create immediate and viral meaning.

This article may be helpful: Think video: everything you need to know about video marketing

The 6×6 Rule of Visual Thinking

In order to use visual thinking to communicate a concept, idea, or process, it’s important to ask the following questions first:

1. What? What is the concept, subject, or main idea that I”m talking about? For example, in the visual outline drawn by our experts below (in Spanish), the subject is a “Healthy Home Office.”
2. How Much? How much refers to the transformations that the “what” will undergo, in other words, how to make the home office a healthier place.
3. Why? What are the advantages of the “what?”
4. How, When, and Where? These are the strategies and connections we use to achieve the “how much” that we want. In this case, one of the “hows” is time management.

What can Visual Thinking do for You?

• Solve problems
• Make an idea easier to understand
• Send messages more quickly
• Create more effective and attractive content
• Motivate your team
• Sharpen your synthesis skills
• Make something easier to remember

(Source: Dan Roam’s blog)

What is Graphic Recording?

Graphic Recording uses graphic outlines to record information being communicated in a talk, presentation, meeting, or other gatherings where analyzing, synthesizing, understanding, and problem solving is necessary. The result is a general infographic with all the relevant ideas, how they relate to one another, and most importantly, how these ideas can be used to achieve the desired results. 

Current technology makes it easy to experiment with different graphic recording techniques in real time.

Who Does Graphic Recording?

Anyone with good communication skills and basic drawing skills can use graphic recording during a session. However, hiring a professional who is generally an expert illustrator is becoming more common in workshops and conferences.

Specialized technology like digital sketching is frequently used so that the graphic recorder can draw on a tablet and even project images onto a screen in real time.

More often than not, companies hire someone specialized in creative arts and design to do graphic recordings of meetings or project planning.

You may also be interested in: A Matter of Image: Your Company and the Importance of Design. The Workana Case.

For More Information

To learn more about visual thinking so you can start using it yourself or to learn more about how to become a graphic recorder, check out these resources:

• The Back Of The Napkin Book brief: By Dan Roam
• Digital Graphic Recording (explained analog): By Benjamin Felis
• How to Unlock Your Creativity with Visual Thinking – By Lateral Action
• 5 Ways You Should Use Visual Thinking In Every Presentation – By Iversity
• A Better Way To Learn In Organizations: Visual Thinking Strategies – By Christiaan Verwijs (Medium)
• Visual Thinking 101 – De Sean Griffin
• Learning Graphic Facilitation: 7 Elements – De Bigger Picture

At Workana you’ll also find freelance designers and illustrators that can help bring your ideas to life through efficient and dynamic mental outlines.

More tips for hiring and working with freelancers: Are you going to create a project in Workana? Don’t forget these 10 tips to have the best experience

What is Workana?

We invite you to know Workana, the leading freelance marketplace. We’ve been working since 2012 to keep connecting companies and entrepreneurs with remote workers of the most diverse specialty areas.