Each year we delivery 2 days of training in Visual Thinking and Practice at the Kaospilots. Over the three years it takes to become a Kaospilot, you will have gone through all three Bigger Picture Modules. Team 14 will graduate next summer as the first team who has the three modules.

Last year we met the JAM guys in Berlin (Vizthink Europe), and then later on in Amsterdam at their VizThink NL (they are now on their 5th event). They remind os of a party-rock-paint-band. As a crew they enter the stage and your jaws will drop. They know how to engage people and make fantastic visuals to support their work. Furthermore they have amazing Mr. Pippet. They are among the best in the field.

They host a great blog (click on below image) and together with GRIDD and Zicht they are frontrunners in the Visual Field in Europe.

We believe that any person can draw, it’s just a matter of putting the pen to the paper. We also believe that drawing and visual thinking can be a powerful tool in communication and facilitation. In order to help people use this powerful tool, we have come up with seven elements that will make you able of drawing almost everything.

Introduction

See full post for all 9 videos.

Xplane and the Economist is just out with this new “Did You Know” video on You Tube. They have made it in connection to the upcoming Media Conversion Forum in New York.

Watch the video and see the numbers. I like the numbers. I like the message. And I keep wondering: If this is all happening to the hardware and software around us, how does this effect our behaviour and our ways of being together? If these are all technologial upgrades happening…what about our “social software” upgrades? What does this development mean for education? For adult learning? For the way we meet each other face to face? For having great conversation? For figuring out how to solve complex challenges? What do we need to be aware of? Who will invest in these social software upgrades? How? What (& who) risks being left out/behind? And what new possibilities are out there? And will be coming to a city near you soon? What a journey!

Dan has written a great book and recently uploaded this great set of visuals describing the dilemmas in the American health care debate. Look, learn and apply to your own way of communicating. The visuals are great!

In our various networks VizThink and IFVP we have come across his name. Heard of his work. Roy has his own style with a tablet and sketches. Situated in South Africa he works all over the world. We are looking forward to potential collaboration. Please go to his website and watch more of the great work Roy does – and get inspiration to your own. Roy also gets how to get the message across of what “we” do.

Just recently we started twitting. These are the visual people we enjoy following on Twitter:

Africa
Roy Blumenthal

Australia
Donna McGeorge

Europe
Harry Zicht
Mie Nørgaard
Mark Geljon
Delta 7

North America
Brandy Agerbeck
Mike Rohde
Garr Reynolds
Graphic Facilitate
Sunny Brown
Nancy Duarte
Peter Durand
Dan Roam
Tom Crawford
Dave Gray
Jessica Hagy
Lee Lefever
Julie Stewart
Julie Gieseke
Nancy Margulies
Nancy White
Scott McCloud
Ryan Coleman
Dennis Luijer

Through them we have found even more interesting stuff.
Do you know of other people in this field which we should be following

This is a great set of slides explaning how to become better at Visual Thinking.

Wake Up, Freak Out – then Get a Grip from Leo Murray on Vimeo.

Leo Murray is an animator of the fiction documentary ‘The Age of Stupid’. He has created this thought provoking visual story: ‘Wake Up, Freak Out’. It is based on scientific reports and tells a powerful story. It calls for reflection and action. We believe there is a role to play for visual thinkers and practiotioners to use visual language to get collective thinking and action going. What do you think?

The next four months Copenhagen is buzzing with activities, events, projects etc which all lead up to COP 15. There is a lot of data, information and communication out there. Some of it is scary, some confusing and some inspiring. The Co2penhagen Festival is of the inspiring kind: A positive approach. The entire communication and visual language signals that we can have fun and support each other while doing something good for the climate. This weekend we will try to find ways of contributing visually to the event – be it the concerts, the talks…or something else. Got any ideas?