Denver Peak Academy

1. Why draw or use visual language to do anything professionally? According to all of the experts I could find, anybody can draw. Visual thinking and communication are simple. Visual thinking helps businesses solve problems faster and communicate better. All it takes are a few simple drawing tools. But finally, the key to successfully implementing visual communication or creating images is to Keep It Simple.

2. Who does visual communication benefit?

Visual thinking equals clearer messages, happier customers, staff, and organizations. Visual thinking takes ideas, goals, and visuals, combines them, and yields clarity. No other tool yields such an impact/ROI on its customers and users.

3. How does one use visual thinking tools?

Visual thinking is the act of using doodles or drawings to create and present a set of ideas and goals. All drawings start with the seven basic shapes above. If one can draw the seven basic shapes, one can draw anything (try it). Anybody can draw.

4 & 5. How much of communication is visual?

About 80% of human communication is visual/non-verbal. However, only 20% of human communication is truly verbal and attached to one’s tone of voice. Thus, we should leverage more visuals in the way we construct and deliver our ideas, goals, and reports.

6. Where can visual thinking take you & your organization? 

Visual thinking will take any organization from a land of confusion to a land of clarity. Often, the land of confusion communicates via heavy text and little clarity. On the other hand, the land of clarity communicates via heavy visuals and little text. Visual thinking can take any organization to a place where ideas, goals, strategies, and reports are clear and measurably impactful if an organization trusts in its well-documented track record.

7. When & how should an organization use visual thinking/communication?

First, an organization needs to identify a subject or idea when they need to push an idea or communicate status to their customers or staff. When the idea is identified, the organization generates research around that idea to build clarity and confidence in that topic. Lastly, when the subject is understood, the organization creates and presents it as an image/visual.

8. What is the process of visual thinking, presenting, & communication?

First, look for ideas or topics of interest to your stakeholders via day-to-day operations and the world around you. Then see what you can take away from that observation. At Peak, we typically use the Gemba Walk tool to bring these steps to fruition. Next, imagine what that idea and insight look like visually. Start to construct images of your content. Last, present that image to your customers to transfer your idea and create shared meaning amongst your stakeholders.

9. What visual grammar tools should one use to create a visual communication, presentation or idea, and how should one leverage these tools? 

The guide above is the ideal tool to use when one is just starting to use visual grammar to communicate. It identifies the seven basic drawing shapes, as well as the type of drawing or visual you would use when trying to solve or communicate a who/what, how many, where, when, how, and why type of problem.