Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria : Visual thinking for muggles

All it takes is to learn a few basic skills first. Indeed, to be able to work visual thinking's magic, we all need to master certain powers that will help us in our day to day work.

What is visual thinking for?

Visual thinking is a very useful way of conveying information, even complex messages, using drawings or graphic resources. Visualizing our ideas to understand them better is possible thanks to the use of visual thinking tools in four large areas.

The first one is 'visual management'. These are the boards that help us group ideas and are key to developing projects, products and services. The second one is 'sketchnoting', your visual notes and annotations. They are extremely personal and help you focus, understand concepts and distill them.

It's in line with the next tool: 'graphic facilitation'. This tool allows synthesizing ideas, remembering the key points to improve learning, decision making and group dynamics processes. Finally, 'graphic recording' entails drawing the essential information in real time during events, meetings and courses to promote group memory and motivation.

And last but not least: the 'wand' to make things happen. Just as each wizard has his/her own wand, markers are the quintessential visual thinking tools. I, of course, have my favorites. But if you still are not sure which one is right for you, I would recommend using markers that flow evenly and dry fast, preventing colors from leak through the page and mixing when coloring.

But, regardless of how good the wand is, without spells and potions, magic will not happen. To harness the power of visual thinking, you don't need to be a proficient artist. All you need is to be master a few tricks:

1. Open shapes, closed shapes

The most-basic geometric forms are our perfect ally to start. You don't need to know how to draw; you can render complex objects, ideas and concepts through geometric synthesis: In other words, using closed shapes such as the square, the circle, the oval, the rectangle, the triangle, the rhombus and the trapezoid. There's no reason for not keeping things simple. The same goes for open shapes: lines, architectures, waves, spirals and the broken lines.