It's not doodling, it's EYE-STORMING

We've already coined the terms "brain" and "body" storming as techniques to quickly capture and communicate concepts and ideas we generate through cognition or through physical motion, respectively. What about sketching, or doodling? Some complex thoughts require visual exploration if we want to really understand them and share our understanding. Doodling is like noodling with a pencil. But it just does not sound right. It does not sound like what it is you do when you think. Yes, you juggle concepts, move constructs around in your head and so on, but it's obviously much more than that. Above all, it sounds more frivolous than it really is. So too with doodling. The process of moving a pencil (stylus, finger, etc) across a surface without-really-knowing-what-one-is-doing ( to borrow a phrase from Birger Sevaldson in a paper on visualization, 2011) is just as valuable and productive as mulling over a passage in a text book. So I propose we refer to this technique as EYE-STORMING. I'm not sure if the term is already out there, after a little googling, it does not seem be in anyone's lexicon. (yes, I get it, googling, noodling, doodling) But I don't like the name "google" either. 

cooperation versus self-interest

As part of my summer independent course work at OCADU I'm working through several texts on systems/visual thinking and attempting to "diagram" or visualize complex ideas. The point is not to  simplify the complex problems of today but to actually embrace and "explode" their complexity in order to better comprehend dynamic relationships between phenomena and to share one's thinking synoptically (through images) as opposed to linear prose. In order to expand on this I'm using the contents of a book by Yochai Benkler, The Penguin and the Leviathan. It is a very well-considered and  wonderful bit of linear prose on "how cooperation triumphs over self-interest."

This is the classic wave motion diagram -- enlarge it -- that I've used to visualize cooperation    ( as I understood it's expression in the book). I want there to be sense of motion (action) and to depict "resonance" when two or more ideas/egos collide. From the perspective of collaboration and cooperation, you get a much wider view of the world around you.

Visualizing crowds vs experts

click on image to enlarge

Visualizing the Curation Process

This starts to remind me of the classic swimming spermatozoa image. The final solution may be comprised of many iterations and come from a diverse group of individuals, but only ONE ever meets the standards of success and only ONE is ever implemented.

crowdsourced ideation vs traditional agency model

This is an influence map generated on some observation of crowdsourced advertising contests. The quality of the output (content) is intimately linked to the detail and insights revealed in the creative. By definition, the public brief (viewable to anyone) will contain less actionable information than a private one, the latter needs to protect the brands proprietary data. (Click on pic for full view)