That is a really interesting link. I have been working in my sketchbook a lot lately and think you can really see the effect on my work for clients (I think anyway). It really frees the mind.
This is a topic worthy of discussion, but I think the article misses the mark in a few spots.
First, I think the author spends too much time defending the relevance of visuals to learning and understanding in general. I think this idea is universally accepted today and doesn't need a defense, since almost every article comes with a graph or diagram of some sort.
I think there are different types of doodling, and they should have defined and covered them. Is a doodle an aimless, almost subconscious creation of visuals, or is it visual note-taking? Or both? As an introspective doodler, I know that some of my meanderings are very relevant to the topic at hand and some are an absolute means of escape from a pointless discussion. I define doodling as the latter. (Sketching, to me is something entirely different and also deserves a thread of its own.)
In the study, half of the participants are told to doodle and given parameters for doodling. Can it be doodling if it's not spontaneous?
Last, and perhaps most egregiously: The author is trying to extol the virtues of using images to help process and understand information and then cites a study that is impossible to appreciate without pictures (i.e. the doodles themselves). Instead of giving us the necessary visuals, they've peppered the article with cliche-ridden stock imagery that lends no deeper understanding of the material and actually does the opposite of what the article is preaching.
I just found your blog thanks to Comedy Plus where I've enjoyed your comments. I'm a retired illustrator in Portland, Oregon, and I'm interested in what's going on artistically in your city. I hope you'll visit me at Chubby Chatterbox. (The bull on my masthead is an example of my work.) Feel free to Join if you care to. You'd be more than welcome.
That is a really interesting link. I have been working in my sketchbook a lot lately and think you can really see the effect on my work for clients (I think anyway). It really frees the mind.
ReplyDeleteThis is a topic worthy of discussion, but I think the article misses the mark in a few spots.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I think the author spends too much time defending the relevance of visuals to learning and understanding in general. I think this idea is universally accepted today and doesn't need a defense, since almost every article comes with a graph or diagram of some sort.
I think there are different types of doodling, and they should have defined and covered them.
Is a doodle an aimless, almost subconscious creation of visuals, or is it visual note-taking? Or both? As an introspective doodler, I know that some of my meanderings are very relevant to the topic at hand and some are an absolute means of escape from a pointless discussion. I define doodling as the latter. (Sketching, to me is something entirely different and also deserves a thread of its own.)
In the study, half of the participants are told to doodle and given parameters for doodling. Can it be doodling if it's not spontaneous?
Last, and perhaps most egregiously:
The author is trying to extol the virtues of using images to help process and understand information and then cites a study that is impossible to appreciate without pictures (i.e. the doodles themselves).
Instead of giving us the necessary visuals, they've peppered the article with cliche-ridden stock imagery that lends no deeper understanding of the material and actually does the opposite of what the article is preaching.
I just found your blog thanks to Comedy Plus where I've enjoyed your comments. I'm a retired illustrator in Portland, Oregon, and I'm interested in what's going on artistically in your city. I hope you'll visit me at Chubby Chatterbox. (The bull on my masthead is an example of my work.) Feel free to Join if you care to. You'd be more than welcome.
ReplyDeleteChubby Chatterbox
Glad you found us Stephen!
ReplyDeleteGood points Chuck. BTW, did you go to the Manifest workshop?
ReplyDeleteNo, just got back from vacation. I was completely unplugged, so I've heard nothing.
ReplyDelete