A graphic designer by trade, this philosophy has intrigued to me to say the least. What about my Photoshop? My Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver? Surely I can accomplish more than someone who’s never so much as drawn a line.

According to Roam, solving problems has absolutely nothing to do with drawing pictures or innate artistic ability. In fact, sometimes those who have those talents struggle the most. The process of visual thinking is comprised of four steps, each of which we’re already good at. Looking, seeing, imagining and showing.

Visual thinking means taking advantage of our innate ability to see – both with our eyes and with our mind’s eye – in order to discover ideas that are otherwise invisible, develop those ideas quickly and intuitively, and then share those ideas with other people in a way they simply “get.”

Ideas govern our world. Imagine if Aristotle or Socrates hadn’t been able to get their ideas across – we’d be screwed! We’ve all imagined fantastic ideas, but unless we can successfully convey them to others, the value and possibilitiy of our ideas may never be known. Everyone’s drawn on a bar napkin at some point, whether it be to sketch your Next Big Idea or to give your phone number to that hottie sitting at the other end of the bar. And according to Roam, that’s as complicated as it needs to get.

With this process, as with so many others, there will be times when the steps don’t flow 1-2-3-4. Sometimes we’ll even need to go back and make changes. This happens most frequently with Look and See which constantly feed off one another. But if we’ve successfully shared our idea and done the job right, the people we are showing work to will immediately start their own visual thinking process. And so the cycle begins.

As I said in the beginning, I’m a creative-minded person by nature, so I was really quite interested in how this book could possibly effect me. I can draw, so surely I can get my ideas across. Or so I thought. My main takeaway is that bigger isn’t always better. Just because I have the capabilities some others might lack artistically or in the computer department doesn’t make me a better communicator. Simple is best when it comes to getting your point across. It also leaves more room for the people you are sharing you idea with to expound upon the initial thought.

Check out the other stops in the Post2Post Tour: The Back of the Napkin!

Monday, March 17:
Jeff De Cagna
Principled Innovation Blog

Tuesday, March 18:
Peter Durand
The Center for Graphic Facilitation

Friday, March 21:
Keith Bohanna
Pureplay

And if you’re still thirsty for more stop by The Back of the Napkin blog for the inside scoop.