Think Visual: The online class that changed the trajectory of my career

In September 2022, I put out a class on an online platform called Skillshare. I had spent months distilling what I learned about conceptualization in architecture school and making all of that as easy to understand as possible. 

That class ended up being Staff Picked by Skillshare and because of it, I was invited into an exclusive teachers' club on the platform where I'd receive benefits like guidance with making my videos, resources for improving my shots and entry to competitions. 

It was also when I was introduced to the world of visual facilitation. I didn't know there was a name for what I did until someone who saw the introduction to my Skillshare class asked me if I knew about it. That's when I found out that there were people who made entire careers out of the topic I touched upon in my class.

There were books, dedicated stationery, lingo, best practices, forums (like the IFVP) and communities of people who were excited about the idea of visual thinking. I saw that there were overlaps between the drawings I saw in books like the Bikablo visual dictionary and the architecture books I spent years with, and it was creepy to see visual expressions that were similar to the ones I'd been using.

I don't know how it'd taken me so long to find out about this world! It was like a universe that existed parallel to the world of architecture that I was so familiar with.

 It's been almost a year since then and I'm still collecting the contacts of people who're excited about communicative drawing. I don't know what we can do if we come together and form a club here in Ethiopia, but I'd like to see where this goes.

—w