My first day at OPENGIS.ch back in September wasn’t what you usually expect when starting at a new workplace. Instead of diving head first into some complex code repository or reading up on company policies, I found myself scribbling lines and circles onto paper.
The OPENGIS.ch team was meeting in Bern at Puzzle ITC / We Are Cube for a workshop on visualizing ideas, hosted by Mayra and Jürgen from We Are Cube. For a few hours, a room full of slightly unsure, but mostly intrigued geo ninjas armed with pencils and paper discovered a new way to express their ideas through simple visuals.
Getting Started: Persuading the «I-Can’t-Draw-For-My-Life» Crowd
Entering the meeting room, some felt slightly threatened by the pencils on the table, but we were quickly assured that no one was expected to become the next Picasso – just to visualize ideas. Easy, right?
Visualizations help us understand, remember, and process ideas better than text or numbers can. Our brains are wired to process images far quicker than text. Being able to sketch ideas is a great skill, so let’s do it!
But for some of us, artistic expression is limited to drawing UML diagrams, and even that can be outsourced to code (see this nifty little tool called Mermaid). So, when it came time to draw our favorite animals as a warm-up, some people were a bit out of their comfort zone. But we soon learned that there are many neat tricks and strategies to make visualizing ideas easier.
The Basics: Shapes, Containers, Arrows, Expressions
After getting over the stress of drawing animals, it was time to get into the basics. Jürgen explained that everything can be visualized using just a handful of simple shapes: circles, squares, triangles, and lines.
By adding a few details to these shapes, we can visualize many different objects without getting lost in the complexity of reality. And suddenly, a circle can be a hole in the paper, a plate or planet earth.
To then visualize even more complex ideas, only three basic elements are needed – containers (like rectangles or circles), arrows, and facial expressions. Containers represent the things we care about (whether that’s a person, an object, or an idea). Arrows help us show the relationships or flow between them. And facial expressions, well, they capture emotion.
By using these basic elements we build complex ideas – no high-level artistic skill required!
The Story Arc: Put your idea into a story
Now that we were a bit more comfortable with expressing ourselves on paper, we were introduced to the Story Arc. It’s a framework that helps structure a narrative visually. Whether you’re presenting a project, brainstorming a new product, or explaining a complex process, having a clear story structure makes everything easier to understand and remember.
So the last task of the day was to invent a story and visualize it. With nothing more than some simple circles, squiggly lines and lots of imagination, we were able to convey our stories with ease. The results were some catchy tales about empty phone batteries, juggling demanding job tasks or flying to the moon to solve a customer problem.
Conclusion: The power of visualizing Ideas
Turns out, visualizing ideas isn’t just for artists! Whether it’s brainstorming a new product or explaining a complex concept, simple visual tools can make ideas clearer and more memorable.
So, the next time you’re staring at a blank whiteboard or trying to figure out the best way to pitch an idea, just remember: grab a pencil, draw a circle, and let your imagination go wild.
Thanks, Mayra and Jürgen from We Are Cube – you’ve taught us that even non-artists can visualize ideas, and it’s all just a handful of simple shapes away!
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