3 Tools To Take Visual Thinking To The Next Level

As many of my peers will know, I’m a big advocate for Visual Thinking. Whether it’s the Bikablo system or mind maps, I genuinely believe Visual Thinking can accelerate the ways businesses identify and solve tricky problems. It is also a key skill in how to think like a strategist.

If you’re new to visual thinking, you might like to take a look at my post on Rich Pictures or even browse #sketchnotes on Twitter for some great examples.

In the last 10 years Visual Thinking has become an important management skill. This has been supported by the convergence of tablet devices and new forms of writing (just take a look at the Adonit Dash or Apple’s Pencil), as well as new spaces in workplaces dedicated to wall-drawing and collaboration. With all these developments the current and next generation of managers will take to drawing as a leadership skill.

In this post we look at three tools tools that enhance the visual thinking and creative process. These tools aren’t designed to replace drawing, but rather enhance at.

#1. Evernote Capture

I use Evernote’s capture facility to take quick photos of anything I sketch on paper. The tool will capture sketches at any angle. It also has the very handy facility of cleaning up the photo or converting it to a document (which basically colour-corrects and cleans up the image). You can even use the tool to add annotations to your picture.

#2. Tawe

Sometimes I’ll sketch at a conference or presentation. Then afterwards, when I wish to share the sketch with others, I open the page of my note book and talk through the sketch. The Tawe app allows you to do this for a single person or a large audience. If you have a photo of a sketch, just load it into Tawe, and then select the points you wish to animate. This lets you rapidly create a presentation from a simple sketch. It’s like Prezi meets your sketch pad. Congratulations to the folks at Tawe for creating something so unique and highly useful.

#3. Vittle

If you like to sketch directly on your tablet, Vittle is worth a try. Vittle lets you capture and animate your sketch as you draw it. You can use the app’s zoom feature to focus on a specific item you’re drawing or zoom out for a view of your entire sketch. What’s more, you can add narration to your sketch by recording your voice as the sketch plays. This is a very useful teaching aid which allows us to use visual thinking to build out stories and learning materials.

I hope these tools will enhance your own visual thinking process. If you wish to share different tools you use with others you can leave a comment below.