Book Review: Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam
March 18, 2008 – 10:02 amOver the next 12 months, there are a number of new books coming out related to visual thinking many of which are from facilitators at our most recent conference. The first of these is from Dan Roam and his new book, The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. For your convenience, we’ve divided up the 59 minute and 12 second podcast into 3 digestable segments.
In this first 29 minute, 30 second segment, we talk about:
Who can do this?
Do you need particular skills?
What can it be used for?
What are the 6 ways we see?
How are the 6 ways we see related to the ways we can show information?
How to use the framework to get started on selecting a particluar visual approach?
Segment 1
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In the second 10 minute, 46 second segment, we continue with topics such as:
What role does animation (or action) play in understanding?
What is SQVID and how can it be used?
How does SQVID relate to the 6 ways of seeing/showing?
How do frameworks help beginners get started?
Are frameworks for advanced users?
Segment 2
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In the final 18 minute, 56 second segment, we discuss a series of controversial topics brought up in the book including:
Pie Charts vs. Bar Charts
Are pie charts a good representation of data?
Do bar charts do a better job than pie charts?
When should each type of chart be used?
Computers vs. Hand Drawn
When do computers excel over hand drawn for visualization?
When does hand drawn visualization excel over computers?
Complexity vs. Simplicity
How do words and pictures relate? Is it one or the other?
Is simple better than complex?
Is simple vs. complex even the right debate?
What is the role of clarity and how does it relate to complexity and simplicity?
What is the role of polish in communications?
Segment 3
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5 Responses to “Book Review: Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam”
Thank you for putting this together.
Great stuff!
I can’t get enough of Dan talking about this book.
By Paul (from Idea Sandbox) on Mar 19, 2008
Hi guys, great podcast and I have Dan’s book already.
A technical question … I am about to get a dedicated podcasting blog started up … “How did you do the visual slideshow during the interview with ?Dan”?
I am familiar with slidecast (via http://www.slideshare.com) and sketchcast (www.sketchcast.com.au), but not this tool.
Warm Regards
Geoff
By Geoff Brown on Mar 25, 2008
If you have an amazon affiliate thing, how about a link to order the book and kick back a few bucks to vizthink.com?
By Reed on Mar 25, 2008