West Coast Graphic Recording Workshop

Fundamentals of Graphic Recording is a 2-day, hands-on and highly interactive, introductory workshop designed for new practitioners to get down to the basics of the craft in a safe and inviting environment. To get you started on your own visual journey, join us to explore the different ways organizations and communities use graphic recording and discover what path is right for you.

DATES: March 31 - April 1, 2011
LOCATION: Long Beach, California

RSA Animate: Steven Pinker on Language as a Window into Human Nature

Why are bribes, requests, seductions, innuendos and threats so often veiled? Especially when, presumably, both parties know what they mean? (ex. "Would you like to come upstairs and see my etchings?")

Author and psychology professor Steven Pinker explores our use of "veiled language" through famous scenes in pop culture, including Fargo, When Harry Met Sally, and The Sopranos.

In this next installment of the insanely popular RSA Animate series, Cognitive Media continues to surprise, delight, and illuminate.

Our cultural use of linguistic conundrums are explained by combining master draughtsman skills, witty visual themes, and brilliant site gags inspired by the likes of Mad Magazine, James Thurber, and R. Crumb.

Stellar Articles by Sunni Brown & Mike Rohde on A List Apart!

A List Apart : JANUARY 25, 2011

Respect the doodle. Use the power of visual thinking to create and share ideas.

The Miseducation of the Doodle by SUNNI BROWN

The teacher who chastised you for “mindless doodling” was wrong on both counts. Far from shutting down the mind, the act of doodling engages the brain in the kind of visual sense-making people have practiced for over 30,000 years. Doodling sharpens concentration, increases retention, and enhances access to the problem solving unconscious. It activates the portions of the visual cortex that allow us to see mental imagery and manipulate concepts, and unifies three major learning modalities—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Doodle Revolution leader Sunni Brown introduces strategic doodling and presents the ABCs of our shared visual alphabet.

Sketching: the Visual Thinking Power Tool by MIKE ROHDE

You don’t have to be a great singer to write a great song—just ask Bob Dylan. Likewise, you needn’t be a Leonardo to draw your way to more and better ideas. Sketching helps you generate concepts quickly, exploring alternatives rapidly and at no cost of resources. The looseness of a sketch removes inhibitions, granting clients and colleagues permission to consider and challenge the ideas it represents. Mike Rohde outlines the practice, surveys the tools, and shares ways to become confident with this method of brainstorming, regardless of your level of artistic ability.

Gamestorming: A Videographic Explanation

(From Parker Lee at www.xplane.com)

As you may remember, a few months ago Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers hit shelves. Today, I'm excited to share with you a new XPLANE video that offers a sneak peek into the inner-makings of the book and why it is so unique, and useful, in today's business world. The three-minute video, created by our ever-brilliant creative team, can be seen on YouTube and on Vimeo.

For the most part the video was created with markers, whiteboards, sticky notes, paper and other "low-tech" tools commonly used in Gamestorming.


Written by XPLANE founder and business design mastermind, Dave Gray, XPLANE consultant James Macanufo and Sunni Brown of Bright Spot Information Design, Gamestorming is a collection of 80 games to help teams break down barriers, communicate better, and generate new ideas, insights, and strategies.

Drawing largely from the visual thinking techniques that have made XPLANE famous over the years, Gamestorming is for anyone who wants to engage a group in collaborative, creative thinking. The book is for sale now on Barnes & Noble, O'Reilly Media and Amazon where it is ranked 4.8 out of 5 stars, is the number one book for etiquite in business life, and number two for running meetings and presentations and for business as related to computers and the Internet.

For more information check out the Gamestorming blog at http://gogamestorm.com.

Innovationarts in a nutshell: An Explanimation

The Innovationarts team wanted to put across what we do in a way that lives what we do. We hope you enjoy it!

We're increasingly being asked to help organisations communicate the decisions they make in our DesignSessions. This is one such example of what we can do. It's been written, produced and directed by our team. For more of our creative services, take a look at arts+

(via @puppetopera)