Thread by @EashanKotha, Visualize Value Reviewed Those of you who’ve been following my newsletter may [...]

Eashan Reddy Kotha (building in public ☺️👍)

Visualize Value Reviewed

Those of you who’ve been following my newsletter may know that I’ve been taking @jackbutcher’s Visualize Value course

Here are a few concepts that you’ll pick up from taking it.

Good design makes things easier by making things more readable, memorable, and attractive.

Constraints are a great way to force yourself to think creatively with your designs.

For example, with @visualizevalue, Jack limits himself to geometric forms and a black and white color scheme and a set typeface.

In being limited, he becomes limitless creatively.

I’ve seen this in my work too.
I never learned how to use Photoshop to edit pictures.

I used Snapchat because it was free. It had some limited tools but that forced me to think creatively to get around its constraints.

Visuals are like mental models.

They are a common ground for all of us to quickly grasp a concept.

You can illustrate value through:
1. Symbols
2. Comparison
3. Metaphor
4. Scale

Here's a great example of how Jack takes a quote and breaks it into a visual.

“Reality is unbiased. A complex set of systems beyond our comprehension. Your perspective is biased. A simplified framework of inherited beliefs and assumptions."

Typography MATTERS.

This was crazy to me because I'd always sort of known this intuitively but I didn't appreciate the differences of typefaces and how I could use them more effectively until I got through Jack's module on typefaces.

(btw a few of my favorite fonts at the moment are Helvetica Neue, Rubik, and Work Sans)

How do you get better?
1. Volume
2. Reps
3. Iterate

Produce more, repeat the process to get more streamlined at what you produce, and focusing on a single idea will pay better dividends over time. You get a visual type of branding associated with your work.

These are just some of the surface level concepts that changed how I approached design.

Understanding design is such a useful skill and by getting the basic skills down, you empower yourself to communicate with others in a way that strikes deep.

This is part of why I get fascinated with the art of things.

It feels like I'm being talked to through a work.
It's not a written expression where I have to sit and read to understand.

I see, I process, I react.
Therein lies its power.

Having an eye for good aesthetic and good design is a skill I think everyone should seek to explore if not dedicate their career around.

There's a lot to be gained from being able to communicate your ideas, product or research visually.

This is part of the reason why I started writing @KnowledgeBoxNL every week.

I want to cultivate taste. https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/921207155910369280