People are naturally good at sorting physical things (e.g. organising clothes into piles). But they struggle with abstract concepts.
We can use visual models to help us understand these abstract concepts. By doing that, we extend information into space (into the environment): External structures support thinking.
Three tips for thinking more visually: 1) Curate models 2) Use analogies ("How is this like...?") 3) Identify units of information (to make sure you compare apples to apples)
At the same time, we shouldn't be constrained by using only existing models. We can develop the skill of creating our own visual models. Because existing models might not fit exactly what we need – they might've been created in sligthly different circumstances. We should definitely explore our own models.
Tags: understanding visual design thinking tools
ID: 2021-0322-0647
References: – Anderson, Fast – Figure It Out, p. 210
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