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Xplane explained – a workshop on visual thinking

By Kevin Downing @ MaRS
September 18, 2006
 

The Fall series of MaRS events got off to a tremendous start with an engaging workshop by Xplane CEO and Founder David Gray. Xplane is an information design firm that develops visual maps and stories to make complex business issues easier to understand. One look at their work and you will understand its value.

Using the “Lessig Method” of presentation, David grabbed and never relinquished the audience’s attention with his engaging workshop (958 slides in 3 hours). The presentation focused on visual thinking and methods to convey complex ideas efficiently and effectively (the Attention, Retention, Transfer mantra). With the increasing cost of capturing someone’s attention, visual thinking provides a way to communicate complex ideas.

Sticking to fundamental concepts, David sought to educate and change the mindset of the audience instead of trying to provide quick fixes. These concepts included Cognitive Friction (how much effort it takes to learn something new) and the use of Nodes and Links as a means to shape a plan and presentation (Discover, Design, Deliver), to name just a few.

For those who were unable to attend this fantastic workshop, or for a refresher, consider attending The Visual Thinking School.

  • http://communicationnation.blogspot.com Dave Gray

    Thanks for your wonderful commentary and review Kevin! For once I am speechless :)

  • http://blog.marsdd.com webgoddesscathy @ MaRS

    I found the Lessig Method of presentation to be a little distracting, to be honest.

    However, I learned a lot.

    1. I learned how to draw the problem (Mr. No – that person I need to convince)

    2. I learned how to draw my goal. (Mr. No becoming “Mr. I’m-on-board”)

    3. I learned how to ask the questions that I know I’ll need to answer in order to GET to Mr. I’m-on-board

    4. I learned to think about categorizing topics and ideas in different ways – thinking outside MY box.

    5. There’s software out there that can help you visually problem solve… what was that amazing piece of software called?

  • http://blog.marsdd.com/2007/03/05/guest-blog-overcome-challenges-with-visual-thinking/ MaRS Blog – Innovation and Commercialization in Canada » Blog Archive » Guest blog: Overcome challenges with Visual Thinking

    [...] It wasn’t until I attended Visual Thinking School, a seminar put on by Dave Gray (founder of XPLANE) as part of MaRS’ ongoing event series that I began to realize that perhaps our biggest obstacle wasn’t the message, but rather the choice of medium. Up until that point our thought process started out by immediately trying to put words on paper. At its root, Dave’s philosophy is to step back from the words and instead use visual means to facilitate the thought process, or as he calls it, Visual Thinking. [...]

Kevin Downing @ MaRS

Kevin Downing @ MaRS

Kevin currently manages initial client engagements with the MaRS Venture Group. He also administers a federal fund that provides mentorship to start-up companies across Ontario.

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