favourite visual research techniques

I was invited to write something about my research for the Design Studies blog at the University of Dundee. So I decide to share some of my favourite visual research techniques with the smart kids at Dundee. This leads to a guest blog post 'Giving Research a Design Twist'.

Go and have a look at their blog because it has a rich resource of design in all contexts: design research, craft, creative enterprise, social innovation... anything you can think of! You may find something interesting for you as well...

XPLANE

New talents emergE everyday in our business... Now we get new types of design angencies that do not even work under a design title... how cool is that?

XPLANE claims to be a visual thinking company... the site is really interesting so are the projects (see the problem they solved~)!

Visualising Information

Came across this piece about Information Design via Puting People First. Being a follower of Tufte and Wurman, I always believed the power of visualisation when it comes interprate complex information. As a typical diagram freak, I am very keen on getting the story behind the image across to the audience. A good piece of information design work should allow the reader to read the meaning and also tell a story in great details while combining the media materials with their own imagination.

Also thanks to JB, I found this beautiful video that presents the wonderful use of motion diagrams to tell a vivid story about how the world is changing from Hans Rosling on TED.

circles and arrows

Sometime I wonder what other people's research *look* like?

Mine, according to Jonathan, is 'circles and arrows'. Well... definitely spot on!

Well... I am a sticky notes & wallpaper freak as well... I guess if you look into my mind... you see these pink, orange, yellow and green notes all over...

Have to have a wall full of sticky notes diagrams on it in the office - that I call a 'Thinking Wall'...

Just modeled my PhD research landscape with Tom. We tried to play with some 3D ideas this time... just for fun... but it seems working fine, even simply with sticky notes - yes, how can you live without them ?!

visual thinking - are we thinking in the same way?

Wonder if they are referring to designer and their client...
When visual thinking becomes the new buzz word in business world...
Are we really talking about the same kind of thinking?

Thanks to Ralf Beuker for the source :)