Back of the Napkin

I’ve mentioned Dan Roam’s visual thinking approach here before and you haven’t heard of him you should check him out. Congratulations to Dan on releasing his first book: The Back of the Napkin (available March 13th). He shared a pre-release copy with me in the fall and I must say it is going to be a seminal book in the visual thinking space.

At a high level he’s created a number of frameworks for approaching visualizations (e.g. sketches, charts). Here’s one that I find particularly useful in my day-to-day work:

1. Look – Collect and scan your data. Decide what problem you’re trying to solve.
2. See – Find patterns in the data (Who? What? When? How? Why?)
3. Imagine – Describe your data by capturing it your “mind’s eye”.
4. Show – Select the right framework (e.g. Measurement? Time line?)

Dan’s getting a lot of coverage in the press. Here’s some:

• BusinessWeek: Doodling for Profits (Feb 20th)
• Microsoft MIX Conference (Mar5th, Video 75min)
• SXSW Conference (Mar 8th)
• An interview with Kai Rysdall on the “Marketplace” radio program (podcast)
• A feature article in the April issue of FAST COMPANY magazine (article)