Page 167 - The Design Thinking Playbook

EXPERT TIP

Just do it! Now.

If you want to learn how to visualize, you’ll find much on offer in books and training courses that are
dedicated to presenting one specific approach as the only valid one. We, by contrast, rely on our design
thinking mindset. Our motto is: Just do it! Now.

What does it mean?

We have the courage to draw our lines, our own circles and ellipses, even if they look terribly crooked
sometimes. Because as soon as we have practiced a little, we might be able to get a handle on the crook-
edness and turn it into our trademark. We are creative with regard to our own symbols and icons; we aren’t
just referring to a general library of icons and symbols. It is similar to language: “The meaning of a word is
its use in the language,” said Ludwig Wittgenstein. The same is true of symbols and icons—the context
and visual cultures in which we visualize play a major role.

So just do it and begin immediately sketching and visualizing—everywhere and every day, because this
is the only way to immerse ourselves in the new language. Although we do live in a world of images, we
have a hard time imagining even very simple things, let alone complex stories and themes. This is why
we must not only train the actual activity of visualizing but also our imagination, thinking in pictures and
images! Every day!

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