Below is a list of my recommendations for books and online material about the wonderful world of visual thinking. Enjoy
Books – Visual thinking for facilitators, trainers and educators
The Graphic Facilitator’s Guide – Brandy Agerbeck
This is the first book I picked up on Visual Facilitation and it is the first book I recommend to anyone who wants to get started in Visual Facilitation. Check out her YouTube channel. I’ve met Brandy and she is just as awesome in her videos as she is in person.
The Idea Shapers – Brandy Agerbeck
This is Brandy’s follow up to The Graphic Facilitator’s Guide. She went deeper into what it takes to further the work in visual thinking.
Visual Thinking – Willemien Brand
Full of fun ways to apply visual thinking to solve sticky problems through collaborative ways.
Show and Tell – Dan Roam
Great book showing you can create an impactful presentation with simple drawings. Check out his talk on “Blah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Don’t Work”.
Visual Leaders – David Sibbet
A classic book on the basics of visual facilitation full of methods and frameworks. This book is a must-have.
Gamestorming – Gray, Brown, Macanufo
I love this book! It’s loaded with 80 visual thinking games! Their website hosts even more games thanks to their growing community.
Visual Note-taking for Educators – Wendi Pillars
A practical guide helping educators encourage their students to learn through drawing.
Books – Visual thinking for learners
The Sketchnote Handbook – Mike Rohde
This is the second book I picked up on visual thinking. This book got me excited about learning again. I wish I discovered Sketchnotes when I was in high school as I would have definitely listened better and passed more exams. This book is full of inspiring ways to get started in visual note taking. I had the pleasure of meeting Mike in person at the first Sketchnote Camp in Germany 2017. He’s so passionate about this work and community of sketchnoters.
The Sketchnote Workbook – Mike Rohde
Great follow up to Mike’s previous book full of alternative ways of applying sketchnotes.
The Doodle Revolution – Sunni Brown
Another great book on visual thinking for beginners.
Draw your big idea – Willems, Herting
A workbook full of fun visual activities to help you beat your creative block.
Activities
Tree of Strengths icebreaker or closing activities for groups
How to make toast-Tom Wujec This is the main activity I give my students during my workshop. It’s a great way to get started in applying visual thinking in a group.
Squiggle birds My favourite visual warm up game.
Culture Mapping A simple tool to help organisations assess, map and transform their cultures
Digital Tools/Online Tools
SLIDESGO Free presentation templates to visually boost your presentations *NEW*
KINONI APP Turn your mobile phone into a webcam
Mural is an amazing free online tool for visual collaboration
Miro free online collaborative whiteboard
Jamboard Google collaborative whiteboard
Mobile Phone Apps (iPhone)
Paper colourful and basic drawing app
Sketchbook simple to use and powerful drawing app
Scanner scans and saves a digital version of a paper document
Videos
Learning Graphic Facilitation – 7 Elements by Bigger Picture
TEDtalk – Doodlers, Unite – Sunni Brown
Communities
Sketchnotearmy
The sketchnote community showcasing work from around the world.
London sketchnote meetup
Organised by Nidhi and Makayla bringing together local visual thinkers to share and practice through fun activities.
Facebook group – European Forum for Visual Practitioners (EFVP)
European community of visual thinkers
International Forum of Visual Practitioners (IFVP)
International community of visual thinkers
Facebook group – Graphic Facilitation
Active and lively group of visual thinkers.
@Sketchnote_Camp
The International Sketchnote Camp is the annual gathering of enthusiastic people about sketchnotes (visual note-taking), visual communication, graphic recording and everything about it. Website: https://isc20be.home.blog/
Icon libraries
Iconfinder – Large SVG icon sets
Findicons – Free downloadable icon packs
Noun Project – Over a million curated icons, created by a global community
Flat Icon – The largest database of free icons available
Online articles
Better learning through handwriting Writing by hand strengthens the learning process. When typing on a keyboard, this process may be impaired.
Drawing Is the Fastest, Most Effective Way to Learn, According to New Research – The fastest way to cram new information into your brain is by drawing it
Downloadables
Visual Goal Canvas – a tool to help visually map a goal across 7 components in a single image. *NEW*
Visual Facilitation Cookbook – Developed from the “Creative Learning Cookbook” project that was funded with support from the European Commission.
Podcasts
Sketchnote Army Podcast – Mike Rohde interviews sketchnoters about tools, techniques, and their approach to the practice and craft of sketchnoting.
Sketchnoting, Graphic Recording & Visual Thinking – A show celebrating the lives and work of visual thinkers.
Products
Estatics are self-adhesive notes created with a unique charging technology
Magic Whiteboard static sheets of whiteboard surfaces you can place anywhere
IPEVO Camera overhead document camera
Other resources
Think With Things visual thinking with found objects
Thanks for reading. I’ll be updating this page, so please come back later.
Please drop me a line if you are looking for something specific or have a recommendation for me.