See what I mean?

A few weeks back at our very own UX Homegrown conference, I shared my story of how I combined visual communication styles from two former careers into a way to make research insights visual, and to generate conversations that matter.

I mashed up architectural illustration and pop-surrealist art, changing the way I communicate design research insights.

It’s a story I love telling, because it seems to open people up to trying something new. I know this because a handful of those people send me examples.

…So I keep telling the story.

The story plays out over years as my confidence grew, and clients encouraged me to put down the bullet points, and pick up a sharpie.

In the video I go from a hospital ward, to a motorway fender-bender and back in 20 minutes:

You’ll see what a slow learner I was, but I share my ‘how to’ techniques to help you get there quicker.

…And it seems to be working — since I first shared this story and these techniques, I’ve had some great emails from people who wouldn’t consider themselves a ‘visual person’ attaching their ‘first stabs’ — examples of visual artefacts, explaining the impact they noticed in how their team responded etc.

If you’re tired from the insights from your work gathering digital dust, and you’re feeling (the right type of ) sketchy after the video, I go step by step through my approach in an article ‘Visualising Design Research‘ from a couple of years back.

Now go sharpen your pencil, and send me some shots!

I posted this article on www.userexperience.co.nz, where you’ll find dozens of two-minute reads about all things design research.

The last article was about how I was forced to unpack, and embrace my biases during a project about how minimalist travellers pack their bags. Yes — A hug and a zip. …Thanks for your eyeballs.