tutorial_345_ITA

Since ancient times, we have been experimenting with new forms and new languages. From rock carvings, we progressed to oral communication, then to the first alphabets and writing, later to printed books. In the last few years, we have witnessed a new revolution: today the network is the main environment for sharing information and knowledge. Data volumes are growing exponentially, and involve a growing and increasingly mixed public. Speed requires immediate information, rapid, instantaneous interactions. Today, training and communication need synthesis. Core information has to be highlighted immediately, content needs to be managed so that in a matter of seconds the recipient acquires an overall view and knows where to find the information they need quickly. How do you understand complexity? How do you find your way in the information overload? How do you find and select the right information? How do you identify priorities and draw up summaries? Once again, images are becoming the protagonists of communication and training. Visual thinking uses our innate ability to see both with our eyes and in our mind's eye; its purpose is to reveal ideas that would otherwise be invisible, develop them fast and intuitively and share them with other people. Visual representation of knowledge makes it more accessible and enhances it, improving the quality of the information to be conveyed. Images are universal, they can overcome linguistic and cultural differences. They are extremely versatile, because they can be codified and used in both analogic and digital formats. Images can be conveyed through a variety of communication channels, exploiting the advantages of each one. We can use images to summarise and clarify content, in order to represent concepts, data, flows; schematise complex procedures, in order to facilitate learning and practical application; provide an overall guiding vision; summarise content to make it easier to memorise; identify the best solution to a problem; explore a situation, by analysing it in detail – convergence – and at the same time observe it from above to capture its essence – divergence –. All these applications are easy to implement using simple tools. Everything is in your hands. One: focus on what you want to communicate and fix your idea with a simple drawing. Two: collect all the information and organise it into categories, establishing a hierarchy, a reading order. Three: assign the lead role to a number of words and images. Remember that words describe, images represent. Four: add emotion. Capture attention with the basic rules of graphic design, photography, cinema. Trust your intuition, give full rein to creativity. Five: make sure your representation is clear to everyone, that it doesn't need further explanations. It should be self-explanatory. Visual representations are an incomparable resource for learning, because of their ability to exploit the power of our imagination, which we have been using since the mists of time.