Problem solving [Ps], Visual thinking [Vt], Information [In], Communication [C], Language [L], Technology [T], Shapes [S], Form [Fo] & Function [Fu].
Just the first 9 elements in my periodic table of design. I had a sketched idea to try it in one of my notebooks. then saw the periodic table of visualisation methods by Ralph Lengler and Martin J. Eppler, had seen simon pattersons rhodes to reason done in 95' and so kept making notes of things that should be included until had a good structure (below). might have missed things but found some of the elements were already covered under another. any other suggestions please let me know.
Not quite as interactive as the visualisation methods table by eppler and lengler but hopefully equally as useful to overview the topic of design and have a substantially improved awareness of design releated issues/elements.
published here: http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/when-elements-go-extinct
Published on 2008/08/14 10:07 pm.
Filed under: architecture, communication, designs, knowledge, language, praxis, problem, research, science, simon patterson, solving, typographic, visual thinking, visualisation, white space

Wonderful little map of relating authors to their similarities, genre. It is similar to music plasma map by Frederic Vavrille previously posted with how it connects musical artists together and actors likewise in a real time animated arrangment steming from the centre of who you searched.
I like tom sharpe and it is no surprise that terry pratchett, p g woodhouse & fear and loathing by hunter s thompson feature in my map.
The graphics/visual leave little to be desired, a bleak blue could have been contrasted with sharp black for the white lettering and maybe a more elegant but still easy to read french script font with a touch of embellishing with it or somewhere in the map display, edges/border. Could heed some advice from observing the subtle style of music plasma.
Anyhow it is a great website tool by marek gibney, literature-map.com produces these great text visual maps of different authors that you might be intersted in to enjoy as I can possibly more comedic pleasure through similarities to one you input.
The literature-map is a part of gnooks, gnooks is apart of gnod, gnod is a project of marek gibney
Similar to music map http://visualthinkmap.ning.com/photo/photo/show?id=2168552%3APhoto%3A67&context=album&albumId=2168552%3AAlbum%3A165
Brilliant, give it a go
Found here: http://actpubliclibrary.blogspot.com/2008/07/literature-map-exploration.html
Published on 2008/07/31 7:40 pm.
Filed under: architecture, composition, data, dynamic, innovative, language, links, literature, multiple, narrative, non linear, spatial, text, typographic, visual maps, visualisation, writing

The trident gum ads caused quite a bit of controversy with their creative, pastel coloured surreal ads surrounded around mastification.
mas·ti·cate Audio Help /?mæst??ke?t/
Spelled Pronunciation[mas-ti-keyt]
to chew
to reduce to a pulp by crushing or kneading, as rubber
Trident imaginatively concieve this idea of the mastification lobe in the brain. 'The mastication lobe is the largest member of the lobe family and is the part of the brain responsible for receiving and processing chewing pleasure. When a human man or woman chews, the taste and texture receptors on the upper tongue send trillions of tiny pleasure signals direct to the mastication lobe via an intricate network of neural pathways.'
View the video here (scroll to THE MASTICATION LOBE EXPLAINED)http://www.tridentgum.co.uk/EN/Trident2008/about/movieshtml.htm
It is quirky and uses these crisp pastel colours and graph paper visual along with the tagline 'mastication for the nation' which is where it had problems with ASA (advertising standards authority) here in the UK and subsequently had to stop their campaign, only after it had already been seen in abundance by the public.
Great thinking, mastificate yourself.
Dictionary.com [Origin: 1640–50; mastic, -ate1]
Published on 2008/07/17 7:18 pm.
Filed under: abstract, animation, brain, clean, colour, graphic, language, looking, mastificate, mind, pastel, research, seeing, strange, surreal
This is a clever, creative piece of visual thinking. Abbey take the style of a lewis hamilton & his Mclaren (i think) car as a model kit that you can put together.
Particularly how it breaks the number eight apart at the end and then reconstructs it like model pieces. Really makes you re-think about the shape, form of letters/symbols.
great advert, much in the vein of the Honda ads with the Cog ad of everything working together & the problem playground (blogged previously at this site) of visual thinking, problem solving and piecing things together.
Excellant
Published on 2008/07/08 3:44 pm.
Filed under: 3d, abstract, animation, communication, creative, illustration, information, language, perception, puzzle, seeing, shape, solving, spatial, visual thinking
This was to visualise the top brands spatially and who owns them/other brands they own also. I started off with well known brand portfolios to visualise them like colgate palmolive but had no direction. So found this top ten list for 2007, and worked from here.
http://www.wonderlandblog.com/wonderland/2007/01/top_ten_most_po.htmle
I liked the vector curved lines like with Maeda's Key magazine covrer post. kept to a soft blue, red pastel palette so you can really visualise the brands and their order, arrangment, ownership.
Was inspired by a car badges brands visual:
coolinfographics.blogspot.com/2008/04/who-owns-car-compan...featured here:
visualthinkmap.ning.com/photo/photo/show?id=2168552%3APho...
Published on 2008/07/03 4:49 pm.
Filed under: architecture, brand, clean, colour, communication, designs, familiar, framing, global, graphic, language, looking, mapping, representation, spatial, spider, universal, visual maps, visualisation

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Its interactive, you hover over the elements charted and it gives you an example of the creative data/information visualisation method.
For instance my last post Type Timeline Map would be the element T and is usually just an overview, although I tried to put as much detail in as I could, and is classed as an Information Visualisation. They're all there and more Mind Maps, Flow Charts all divided into categories.
It is another great subversion of design styles with soft pastel colours. The original Periodic Table transformed into Visual Thinking Elements is fantastic. Gives creativity and design this much needed scientific perspective as many data/info visualisations are bordering on the discipline of Science.
This isn't the first periodic table subversion, Simon Patterson not surprisingly in 'Rhodes to Reason' (1995) featured in Mapping: An Illustrated Guide to Graphic Navigational Systems has done this too. Simliar to his other Beck Tube map 'The Great Bear' (1992) subversion he takes actors names initials Sc for sean connery as an element and many other diverse individuals.
I first saw this Periodic Table of Visualisation methods featured among Jeff Bennett's Visualisation Taxonomy at his site visualthinkmedia.com. I then found it featured at Dave Davison's blog IQP which is when I discovered the full magnitude of its brilliance.
Excellant work by Ralph Lengler and Martin J. Eppler @
visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html
Published on 2008/05/25 1:47 pm.
Filed under: art, composition, concept map, creative, data, diagram, form, function, graphic, knowledge, language, map, mapping, science, spatial, symbollic, technology, visual maps, visual thinking, visualisation
This visual map explores the relationships/characteristics of the many different typographers/fonts, artistic movements from 1890 - 1950 charting each decade. Wanted it to be minimal style but vast in content, yet still clear and easy to follow.
It was inspired from Stefan Thermerson 'Kurt Schwitters on a time Chart' featured in the brilliant Typographica NS no. 14, December, 1966 edited by Herbert Spencer (Typographica by Rick Poynor 2001).
'...in which the practices and the techniques of typography have changed dramatically, in which technical developments have released typography from the restrictions and disciplines imposed by metal type, and allowed it to become increasingly visual and less linear, less linguistic. the frontiers between graphic design, photography, and typography have dissolved; the marriage of word and image has been consumated'
said by spencer, poynor pg 127.
Great summary of today and visualisations that we see, said in 1967, 41 years ago.
Published on 2008/05/22 9:18 pm.
Filed under: architecture, clean, communication, composition, diagram, framing, graphic, information, innovative, language, links, map, poetry, research, technology, time, typographic, visualisation, white space
The Common Craft Show is a series of short explanatory videos by Lee and Sachi LeFever. Our goal is to fight complexity with simple tools and plain language. We call our format "paperworks" and publish a new video about once a month.
Wonderful visual thinking accompanied by narrative. Zombies in plain english show the subtle humour of the plain english videos. there are ones for Blogs in plain english, RSS, Wikis, Social Networking, Online Photo Sharing. Brilliant.
Published on 2008/05/11 11:19 am.
Filed under: abstract, animation, communication, graphic, how to, illustration, knowledge, language, meaning, narrative, seeing, simple, sketch, strange, visual thinking, visualisation, white space, words
Watch 'The Whirl' clicking here
(video was embeded but but was slow to load)
Why visual language can help us deal with the information age.
He talks about some of the cognitive challenges of the information age, and why visual language is an important tool for dealing with them. Also talking about how information is non linear today, hence visual maps of non-linear information connected in multidirectional, interdisciplinary, 'open' meanings of communication.
Take the cadburys gorilla, is there a meaning?
http://www.davegray.info/2008/04/11/the-whirl/
Published on 2008/04/17 8:36 pm.
Filed under: global, language, meaning, non linear, phonetic, symbollic, visual, visual thinking, ways of working