"The Back of the Napkin", by Dan Roam

This is a book about visual thinking in an everybody-can-do-it way. With a pen, a piece of napkin and your bare hand, you are already equipped enough to solve all of the problems you can image even they are as complex as a modern business problem. The drawing power has manifested itself in this book with a series of interesting and meaningful stories and, of course, a lot of illustrations.

One of the best thing I learned here is that, even though you think you can't draw, you can still use the visual thinking as a powerful problem-solving tool. As a reader, you can easily tell how complex business problems can be solved with such simple hand drawings. And there is no magic in this process. Everyone can simply follow Dan Roam's guides in the book to start their own visual thinking adventure with no burden.

In this book, another interesting thing I found is the four steps of visual thinking process, which are "Looking", "Seeing", "Imaging", and "Showing". "Looking" is like you browse through the room when you step in a party. "Seeing" is like you notice some familiar faces. "Imaging" is that you think what will happen if you go to them. "Showing" is to choose one girl you know to go to because you are most willing to do so. I think here the four steps of visual thinking process are the basic principles I am looking for. I always believed visual thinking is indeed originated from some really basic and simple principles, which are "built-in" in human beings.

Again, there is no magic. However, we need this kind of book to make us be aware of this "built-in" super power, or we just waste our natural talents.

Check out the short introduction video on youtube. Or a longer presentation given by Dan Roam about "the Back of the Napkin".

Last but not least, it is so interesting to see underlying connections (or similarities) between Dan Roam's Visual Thinking Process and Visual Design Process in JAM visual thinking. Just like the picture above, "Collecting elements" is "Looking". "Finding coherence" is "Seeing". "Composition" is "Imaging". "Translation" is "Showing". It is so evident that the visual thinking process described here really makes sense in both personal experience and real practice. This is indeed a simple, basic principle lying in our nature.

There is also a Chinese (Traditional) version: 餐巾紙的背後 available in Taiwan now.