The history of visual communication dates back to a time when writing was not even invented.
Visual aids created using post-it notes, whiteboard drawings, paper sketches or powerpoint slides play a big role in how the audience understands and takes in information that you are presenting.
My top 3 methods for visual representation of information
Post-it Notes
Yes. Some would say using post-it notes for design thinking is overhyped. But in my opinion they have their own merit and cannot be easily replaced.
What I love the most about post-it notes is that they never make the idea feel permanent (cannot be re-iterated). They also allow a room full of people ideate and organise thoughts together, keeping it focused.
Everyone has been in those meeting where conversations keep continuing in circles, because there is no visual evidence of what has been already discussed. So by forcing the team in a meeting to jot down points on a post-it note first and then discuss them one by one can lead to faster closure.
White-boarding
White-boarding technique works amazingly well when it comes to representing user journeys, user flows, information architecture or any birds eye view of a system.
They can be very effective in stakeholder discussions because of their progressive disclosure nature that keeps the attention and curiosity intact. It is highly engaging for the participants and listeners in the room, and also has a higher retention power.
Encourage everyone in your team to use whiteboarding as a medium to draw fun visuals, use different color markers to make the session more interesting and collaborative.
Paper Sketches
Paper scribbles or sketches is the ultimate design tool that has been underrated. There has been many scientific theories explaining how our brains are more creative when we are hand-drawing vs using computers.
Paper sketches always make a great first impression for explorations of ideas and thoughts. Clients feel more comfortable sharing feedback because they know these are very draft and in progress designs.
Paper prototypes definitely is a MUST have for quick peer review within internal teams or for gorilla testing of your solution. Don’t wait to make them perfect, go for it and share it in whatever fidelity it is.