Visual Thinking and Storytelling
How the simple idea of a logo can spark a new language of innovation
Visual Thinking is one of the central pillars of design practice. Designers aim to make something visual in some form before they seek to make it real. This can be through sketches or sketch notes, various prototypes (including sticky note walls, physical models, and system maps), or photographs.
There are many reasons to prototype, but enabling new seeing and thinking about your subject is at the top.
As I’ve started to write these reflections on the practice of design, I’ve drifted toward seeing this less as a blog or newsletter and more as a canvas. That means using some visual tools and the craft associated with them to think through what I want to say and how to say it.
This led me to an unexpected place: a logo.
How A Logo Helped Design Much More
I don’t need a logo for this project. I can think of no one who will go “gee, this publication has a logo, I’m going to read and subscribe to it".” It’s not that I have any plans to extensively brand this or develop some independent marketing campaign for it. (although please do share this - see button below :) )
No, the logo was more of a visual representation of what to say and how I think.
I just didn’t realize I needed it.
Whether I use a logo or not is beyond the point; it’s a probe. In complexity terms, it means a thing that you introduce that creates a level of coherence that allows you to make sense of where you are and what you do. For me, this meant taking a general idea of the Innovator’s Dilemma and seeing if there was a way to express that meaning in visual terms.
This is what I came up with:
Dilemma comes from Greek and refers to ‘two premises’. Its root deals with two opposing ideas by exploring a third option. A bull is the common visual representation used to reflect the legend of Phædrus and his exploration of the horns of a dilemma. However, in an age of complexity, a binary — even tertiary — approach to a problem is inadequate. We might have more than two horns.
We may have more than one ‘third’ place to explore.
In my mind, a deer is a far more appropriate model. As a matter of aesthetics, I didn’t think a 12-point rack would be instructive, so I chose a visual with four.
Designing Dilemmas
dilemma
dɪˈlɛmə
noun
a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable.
a difficult situation or problem.
an argument forcing an opponent to choose either of two unfavourable alternatives.
My visual reflects that there may be more alternatives, but not so many that we become paralyzed. I see this all the time: analysis paralysis. Clients look to get more data before they can act.
More data usually overwhelms them and makes a difficult task even more difficult. It can also be a means to delay making a decision. If there is always more data to be gathered, you’ll never have enough to change.
The choice of the deer was not just pragmatic; it also reflects strength, speed, and — sometimes — skittishness. Deer will ‘bolt’ when scared. You have to approach deer with care and caution. You need to respect deer, too. I’ve seen a male African deer stare down two lions as it sought to protect its herd.
This is what it means to deal with dilemmas in practice.
Lastly, I like that the head of the deer reflects a container as well. When dealing with dilemmas we often need to create a ‘container’ for people to voice opinions, sort through data, and make sense of what’s in front of us. Together, I worked through these ideas thinking about what kind of issues this publication — and me — were designed to explore.
Now, I’ll need to see how I use it. How does this thinking sit with you?
Thanks for reading.