A great premise and there is useful content but somehow none of it stuck after I read it. I look at the book again and feel that the author doodled himself into a bit of a corner and the outcome does not capture real world applications.

If the text were expanded to include a broader reference of examples of illustrated communication and if the author were to go through some real convincing examples the whole would stand up.

The real issue is that not all problems can be broken down into a pretty picture. ( )

Roam does a fantastic job of outlining how our visual minds work - he even includes the research in an appendix to the main text so you can check the science. The last portion of the book is a walkthrough of a case study, and that really helped me understand his process as well. I've already started to implement some of the things he talks about and it's helped my thinking process and communication with others while we work to solve problems. Definitely a good read if you do similar work. ( )

Downloadable resources (the key diagrams to visual thinking as the author presents it) from this book are available from the author, http://www.danroam.com/napkin-tools-no/ ( )

Okay, but not revolutionary ( )

If you know anything at all about design, project management, presentations, or have ever ventured outside the box to solve a vexing problem, this book will be an extremely fast and not terribly informative read. I imagine some might be wowed...I have someone in mind to recommend it to...but the gimmick lost its appeal quickly. He should have used fewer napkins. ( )

Excellent way to think - in pictures. Makes you put things in context. ( )

Really like this book. Relates to stuff I'm thinking about right now, so it came at the right moment. Story is nicely built up and has very good examples. It took me little time to read, but it will take some time to get this in my system. This is a technique I definitely want to master. Great. ( )

This is simply one of the best business books I have ever read. Oh, I don’t mean in terms of the most in-depth analysis, or brilliant new thinking, or extensive coverage of a subject area. I mean in terms of the number of useful, accessible and productive ideas received in relation to the number of pages read.

This book is relatively short, only 256 pages (plus some appendices) and there is no padding or wasted space. With his relaxed and anecdotal style, Roam takes you along a journey he himself travelled when he realised that the processes we all use in the course of our jobs to sell our ideas to others using diagrams can be structured and codified to make use of the natural visual thinking pathways of the brain.

Roam presents a 6 step analytical structure that mimics the different ways our brains try to make sense of the world around us:
- Who/What
- How much/many
- Where
- When
- How
- why
and indicates what types of diagrams are best suited to each stage.

So far so good. Not rocket science, or even particularly new, but useful and simply expressed.

The real power comes when this framework is combined with the SQVID to help you come up with new ways of showing ideas visually. SQVID stands for:
- S: simple vs elaborate
- Q: quality vs quantity
- V: vision vs execution
- I: Individual vs comparison
- D (for delta Δ – that little Greek symbol used to indicate change): change vs as-is
and is useful as an exercise to get you thinking around loads of different ways to present the same ideas, and make your selection based on your audience and on the message you want to get across.

Combined in a matrix, the visual thinking framework and the SQVID allow you to see fairly quickly what type of diagram will be useful depending on the type of information you want to present and the message you want to put across. More detail can be found on Roam’s website at http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/. ( )

The reason I mention this book is that I have seen it recommended as an introduction to visual thinking for designers. In my opinion, it is not that. The book introduces an elementary model of analyzing and simplifying business problems with the aim of coming out with glanceable charts and diagrams. This is certainly an important skill that many people in business could benefit tremendously from, but I would expect the material in the book to be well-known and internalized already by most interaction designers.

A great little book about how to do simple visualizations to better explain your ideas. As someone who loves working in the visual space, this was partially stuff I knew, but with lots of good ideas for taking it to the next level. I found the second half or so bogged down a bit because I didn't have a particular project in mind for all the exercises, but it's well worth it for the first few chapters. ( )

A fluffy business book about communicating ideas visually. ( )

Offers useful approach to creative-problem solving. Sometimes seems forced, suggesting an analytical approach that could be (and is) done with words as easily as pictures.

Ways of seeing-------> how to show
who/what ---------->portrait
how much -----------> chart
where -----------------> map
when -------------------> timeline
how ---------------------> flowchart
why ----------------------> mutliple variable plot

Process: 1) look; 2) see; 3) imagine; 4) show.

SQVID
simple-elaborate
quality- quantity
vision - execution
individual - competition
change - as-s ( )

The idea of selling an idea using pictures is not new. The challenge is always on how to structure your thoughts. transform thoughts to pictures and at the same time being open for input from others. This book is a practical guide that addresses all of the challenges one may face. The book has contributed greatly my development in this area, and given me direction for further growth. The concept is easy to embrace in your daily life. ( )

Roam's approach is far better and far more practical than Tufte. ( )

Splendid book which should be required reading for all public speakers. Roam grasps on an idea everyone knows after just the slightest bit of reflection: Our minds process ideas quickly through visuals. This is why we think in metaphors and all the great teachers through history (e.g., Plato, Jesus, Paul, Einstein) use imagery and parable to make complex ideas seem simple. That truth has been expounded on by many, but what’s new here is also what’s the most empowering. It is more important for a picture to be simple and clear than to be well-polished and cool.

Roam gives his reader just enough of an understanding of how the brain works to equip them with the skills, processes, and general know-how to make effective visualizations. Full of pictures and examples (sadly, mostly from the business world), the book is a light read yet weighty enough that its depths can (and should) be explored. ( )

As I was wrapping up 2008, I read a dozen or more "Best of..." lists regarding business and/or leadership books. Dan Roam's book, The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, was on nearly everyone's Top 10 list so I felt compelled to check it out. Lucky for me, I got a Barnes & Noble gift card from little Miss Isla for Christmas. Thanks, baby girl!

I have mixed feelings about this book. The general idea is to teach us all to present ideas and problem-solve visually by drawing pictures, charts, maps, etc... As a leader and a communicator, it got my gears turning and thinking in some different directions, but I personally felt a big portion of the book was overkill. How to "see" the problem/issue and the section on using your imagination was too boring to me. However, I think that was Roam's intention. He attempted to cover all bases so that the concepts could be learned even by non-creative types.

I found the rest of the book to be extremely engaging and practical. I learned what kind of visuals are suitable for specific types of problems.
For a Who/What question, use a "portrait."
For a How Much question, use a "chart."
For a Where question, use a "map."
For a When question, use a "timeline."
For a How question, use a "flowchart."
For a Why question, use a "multiple-variable plot."
In ministry, there are obvious leadership uses for the concepts in The Back of the Napkin. Assessing congregational needs, planning unveiling a new program, organizational issues, budgeting issues, etc... But what really got my juices flowing was thinking through the preaching implications of Roam's concepts. ( )

If money or portability are your primary considerations, then get a used copy of the first edition, as it communicates the central ideas (the power of visual thinking for the workplace) in an almost identical fashion and is easier to read on the bus. However, if a few more dollars and a slightly-bigger book don't bother you, consider buying this new edition, as it's subtly-revised diagrams and improved explanation of key brain science concepts make it easier to understand on the first read.

For more detail on the differences between this and the previous edition, as well as an outline of the concepts in the book, read my blog post at:
http://adellefrank.com/blog/review-back-of-the-napkin-solving-problems-and-selli... ( )

After watching his presentation at http://videos.visitmix.com/MIX09/C16F I had to get the book. I really like the ideas in the book. I think the SQVID scale will be very helpful as I try and use these techniques. A great thing about the book is that 2/3rds of it apply to problem solving in general, even if the visual thinking doesn't hit home with you, although, after reading the book and watching the video I think it will.

A quick and easy read. I do like the frameworks presented: the 6 W's (who/what, how much, when, where, how, why) and their corresponding typical pictures, the SQVID (simple/elaborate, qualitative/quantitative, vision/execution, individual/comparison, delta/status quo), and the matrix of the two - the so-called "Visual Thinking Codex". It may be somewhat oversimplified, but it's a useful starting point. I think it's worth buying to put on the shelf next to Presentation Zen and Slide:ology. My primary complaint is the size/format of the book. In an effort to be cute or prove a point, the publisher and author decided to make the book the size of a cocktail napkin. Nice for marketing, but horrible for legibility. Some of the hand-drawn pictures are so small as to be impossible to "read". ( )

The subtitle of this book is Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. I find the Selling Ideas part to be much more useful. For me, the most important information gained was in the Visual Thinking Codex – the diagram that shows when to use what type of picture. I often find myself wanting to use a picture to describe an idea with no idea where to start; now I have that starting point. ( )

Compact enough and provides a theoretical framework for creating visuals that will have some real impact on the audience and help them see the 'big picture'. A very nice biograph on visual thinking and exercises is a real plus. ( )

I like graphic organizers – that invention to represent ideas in picture form. Most teacher librarians know and use Inspriation or Kidspiration and teach young people how to organize their thought and ideas from what they read. But if you don’t know about those packages or cannot afford them, then Roam’s system is interesting. Essentially, Roam shows how the created a system of pictures that represented ideas – a picture shorthand of sorts. For example, a rectangle represents a what problem to solve. Two arrows pointing the same way with a question mark means a when problem. So, his scribbles help him attack who, how, when, where, and how problems. And, the more he uses them, the more complex they become as thinks through the symbols. So, what does this have to do with teacher librarians? I think the discovery here, is that we give a gift to learners who embrace graphic organizers. It is a gift of thinking, analysis, synthesis, and seeing the big picture. While a computer program may be quite helpful to a novice learner, we can encourage leaner’s to go beyond what a computer is doing for them to invent systems that stimulate their own thinking. It is the push a piano teacher gives the student at the point where it is time to take flight. “You don’t need me as your teacher any more.” You are a performer (an information literate). Perhaps that is why this book appeals to me – it represents a challenge every teacher librarian faces. How many of our students become independent learners because of us? Read a bit in this book. It may stimulate your own thinking about problem solving through graphic organizers. I’m talking about personal and professional ones as well as what we can do for our students.

Back of the Napkin is a book about transforming and energizing business communication. Through modeling a tight functional process for imagineering drawings from business problems, the author gives non-artists a chance to communicate better. In our age where virtually every important (and most unimportant) business meetings are anchored by a slide presentation, a book like this is almost too little too late. With the rise of books like 'Beyond Bullet Points' and other articles and efforts to transform the excruciating 'bulleted lists' we see every day, Back of the Napkin goes one step further. It takes an everyday businessperson and artistic layman and makes them dangerous--someone who can communicate just as well with pictures. This is a must read for all you PowerPoint Jockeys (which today is probably at least 50% of all businesspeople), as well as any graphic artists who work for business clientele.

The downside of the book is that the author, in a definite left-brain, engineering way, dissects his process to turn any business problems into a series of compelling communicative images. This simple process, being parsed over and over into tiny bits ultimately becomes almost unreadable. Better to read quickly and not get caught in the formal morphology. (At it's lowest level of granularity it shows an amazing 30 cell grid with 60 symbolic pictures). Read loosely though, the reader can get tons of ideas--many of them actually just lifting specific example drawings. As I read this, I almost wished the author had put in an appendix of his top 100 drawings.

Overall a very practical, non-theoretical, non-Tufte approach to how to think about replacing those bulleted lists, making sure you're using the right kind of graphic (map?chart?picture?) for the question at hand, and doing it in a fun way that would benefit everyone from the presenter to the audience. ( )

Problem solving ; Management ; audio-visual aids ; Visualization ; Creative ability in business