New Book Explores the Numerous Forms of Graphic Design Thinking

By: Chuck Frey

Visual thinking has been growing in popularity during the past several years, thanks to the rise of design thinking, mind mapping, sketching and other graphical techniques for representing ideas. A new book called Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming catalogues these techniques in a handy how-to format.

Visual thinking has been growing in popularity during the past several years, thanks to the rise of design thinking, mind mapping, sketching and other graphical techniques for representing ideas. A new book called Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming catalogues these techniques in a handy how-to format.

This unique book was authored, edited and designed by students and faculty at the Graphic Design MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and published by Princeton Architectural Press.

The book is organized into three main sections:

How to define problems, which covers techniques such as brainstorming, mind mapping, visual research and developing a creative brief

How to get ideas, which highlights techniques including forced connections, co-design and visual diaries

How to create form, which concentrates on techniques like mock-ups, physical thinking and reconstruction.

Each technique is explained in a brief summary, liberally supported by illustrations of it and a list of implementation steps. For that reason, Graphic Design Thinking is a very practical, hands-on book. There is much to explore here, and I’ve just barely scratched the surface. I can’t wait to dig deeper into its contents!

By Chuck Frey