Visual thinking is about using pictures to solve problems, think about complex issues, and communicate more effectively.
And Visual Thinking School (VTS) is a time that Dachis Group sets aside for learning, development, camaraderie and innovation. And by that I mean that on the first Thursday of every month we open up our doors for two hours and invite the public in to draw, brainstorm, mingle, share, create, debate, practice, sketch, imagine… and have a beer. VTS is the geekiest, most creative happy hour in the world.
Its heritage goes back to XPLANE’s early days — we’ve been doing some form of VTS since around 2000. Over the years we’ve produced an entire book in two hours. We’ve process-mapped the joy of bacon. We’ve diagrammed the stories behind the scars on our bodies. We’ve visualized songs, screened movies, and designed board games. We’ve created 10-second films, gone on vernacular typography photowalks, performed improv, worked cross-continent, mapped our neighborhoods, and played Layer Tennis.
The book? That was a crowdsourcing experiment.
The bacon visual? That was a process-mapping challenge.
The scars? A storytelling exercise (click to view larger).
The cross-continent project? Working on extracting visual information over the phone and presenting back on a tight deadline.
The board games? A lesson in working under constraints.
The songs? Live drawing (and listening) practice.
The connection? It’s all about learning. We started VTS as a way to learn in a safe environment — to share knowledge. We don’t do work in VTS — we do things that will make our work better.
Everything we do at VTS has an ulterior motive: To teach. To explore. To simplify the complicated. To help people deal with complexity. To give a basic introduction to new skills, concepts, and approaches. And visual thinking is involved every time.
But drawing skills are not required. We think about drawing like this: All five-year-olds can draw. You were once five. Therefore you can draw. VTS is a great way to help people get comfortable drawing in front of a group and to help them understand the power of visual thinking and communication.
It’s the most fun learning I’ve ever been part of.
That’s VTS. It’s is an important and unique part of our curious, creative culture and now that XPLANE is part of Dachis Group we’re excited to expand VTS and bring it to the world. Currently we hold monthly events in our St. Louis, Portland, and Amsterdam offices. You can sign up here: www.xplane.com/vts.
So stop by if you’re in the neighborhood. The beer is always cold and the whiteboard markers are always fresh.
|
|
