Visualization
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Many athletes routinely use visualization techniques as part of training. There are stories and examples of how such techniques provide not only a competitive edge, but a renewed mental awareness and sense of well-being.
Visualization has also been called guided imagery, mental rehearsal, mediation, and a variety of other things -- no matter the term, the basic techniques and concepts are the same. Generally speaking, visualization is the process of creating a mental image or intention of what you want to happen or feel.
Two-time Olympic silver medalists in the shot put Adam Nelson knows this visual process very well. In his hopes of obtaining Olympic gold in Beijing, he went through a session of hypnotism to try to reach "a deep and profound sensory comprehensive subconscious power experience". He believed this intense visual experience would help him achieve his goal of Olympic champion. Click here to learn more about his experience in visualization.
Tribute to Nelson's Intensity
As designers we are called to be visionaries. How do you prepare for a critique or presentation? Does visualizing events or designs help your design process?
When I began to think about anything it first starts as just visualizing in my head. Even when I am just driving in my car I plan out the trip visually before starting it. Visualization of designs is key to any important design. When starting to sketch or make plans the designer must visualize what it is that they would like to create, without visualization there would be no plan and no basis to begin the design off of. While the design may be altered to a different vision nothing can be started without the initial visualization done in brainstorming. It is also important to visualize constantly throughout any project to ensure that the design is headed in the direction that it is supposed. By visualizing the end product there is a goal which designers can work towards.
To prepare for a critique or presentation I visualize how my final presentation will look from another's standpoint. By visualizing my work from another person's shoes I am able to see any errors that may need to be changed that I had not thought of before. I also try to visualize myself talking about my work and what I would say to best get my points across. This process of visualization is one that is inherent in every designer, whether they know it or not. Without visualization design would not be able to begin.
Posted by Josephine Skinner on November 12, 2008 at 08:29 AM EST #
This example of visualization builds an athlete's mental game. One of my closest friends is a golfer who stresses the importance of this strategy. Once ranked as the second best golfer in the state in his age division, he slowly felt a decline. This recession was not do to physical restraints but to losing part of his mental game.
In this regards, I feel that design is also in a way a "mental game". Look at our courses we are taking now; they all focus on the self. Without an understanding of who we are as designers, our work lacks dimension. While everyone else here is learning complex calculus and chemistry, in design we are focusing on what internally will make us better designers in the future of our design legacy. I feel that this practice is a form of long-term visualization.
As far as visualization in a short-term view, it is very seldom that a designer will not have any sort of mental image in mind before creating a project. Personally, I find it beneficial to visualize the main ideals of the piece and work it down slowly to details of contour, color, shape, etc. This sort of general to specific strategy is also used in presentation. Starting with the main ideals, you can practice and rehearse specific lines or inflections. Not only do these strategies prepare the designer but they also build a sense of confidence to know they can create and present successfully.
Posted by Kirsten Southwell on November 17, 2008 at 01:04 PM EST #
Kirsten makes a valid point about design being in a way like a "mental game". Although sports are very physical games, as Kirsten touched on design is more a mental game that has certain rules which vary for each field of design. Both can be played solo or in teams and all the qualities of “winning the game”, so to speak, apply as well such as execution of the visualization, teamwork, practice, etc. Anyone can succeed in creating, but to an extent design takes a certain training in visualization. Design also takes a rigor of thought process, of editing our minds original picture of the idea to make the most successful real manifestation of the thought. As designers and possibly sports players, we could all benefit from exercising visualization into our studio work and critiques. It would be interesting to see how visualization impacts our work and critiques.
Visualization, I would argue can also play a significant role in all of life’s practices. If we positively visualize a project presentation going well with no glitches, just like a sports player visualizing a game played well/going smoothly, there is more likelihood the player/designer/etc. will do well at the job. Likewise, if we negatively project circumstances in our lives, we are less confident and there is a greater chance things will go wrong. As the Dean has alluded to in some of his lectures if we expect an outcome it can easily be manifested or projected into creation.
Posted by Tia Simpson on November 17, 2008 at 03:46 PM EST #
. We all, as a people, visualize within our minds. Whether the images we see are recollections of past experiences, our imagination, or a combination of the two, the results are the same. All visualizations are extremely effective at preparing the body for a task. Any task that can be improved on through practice and experience is a product of visualization. Be it designing, athletics, playing an instrument, or even juggling, the processes are visualized in the mind's eye.
. The mind constantly recall past experiences to attempt to predict the future and prepare the body for such an experience. When a baseball player is up to bat and sees the baseball leaving the pitcher's hand, the mind knows what to expect next. The mind has learned from past experiences, and knows that in a split second the ball will be over the plate. Experienced player's minds know to ready the body for the upcoming swing that will need to be called upon instantaneously. Even in a split second like this example, the mind has used past images to learn to visualize and predict what is to come.
. When designing and drawing, the mind guides the hand to create. An experienced mind has learned from past examples to learn what is “good” and what is “bad”. The mind can take these examples to assume what will be pleasurable and desired in a design. A good design is established after the mind recalls past images and combines these with imagination established within. Every step in the design process involves visualization within the mind. From the appropriately named “brainstorming” to the completed product and critique, the mind of the designer instinctively “pictures” and “imagines” the pleasurable elements together, establishing a desired end design.
Posted by Andrew Speight on November 17, 2008 at 05:24 PM EST #
As an athlete in high school, I can definitely relate to Nelson’s theory about visualizing the task at hand. Before every cross country or track race, I had to find a quiet place by myself to mentally run through the course. I would first have to study the area by checking out the terrain, finding out where the hills where, and where I should start my final kick to the finish. Once I had all of that information, I would visualize the gun going off, running up the hills, through the woods, and back down to the finish. This strategy helped my races because I was more prepared than the other runners. I knew how the course worked and when I should use different race tactics to beat out the competition. I was mentally prepared for my race.
When it comes to being a designer, I believe that we need to use the technique of visualization in order to succeed. The classes we are in now help us reflect and learn about ourselves which I believe is the most important thing we can do at this time. Without knowing who we are, how we think, and what makes us tick, this leaves no room for us to grow as designers, to grow as people. When preparing for a critique or presentation, I have to visualize myself in front of the class with my project in front of me. In fact, it helps to pin it up previously to see what everything looks like all together. I replay in my mind what I am going to say, thus allowing my presentation to convey the thought behind my work as best as possible. I believe this technique helps my design process because it allows me to communicate my thoughts better. As designers, a lot of work can get lost in translation but if you are prepared beforehand, your audience can grasp a better understanding of your own process and how you think things through as a designer. Therefore, I believe that visualization is a great technique to use and is something that can definitely help us grow as designers.
Posted by Lisa Simorelli on November 17, 2008 at 08:23 PM EST #
Visualizing your process, visualizing your strategy, and visualizing your success is all key in preparing for critiques and presentations.
Before entering the design school, I competed in the North Carolina Theatre Competition (NCTC) with my high school theatre group. This is a competition were high schools from around the state present shows in 45 minutes or less, and are then critiqued by a panel of judges. The competition created a high-stress environment, and every single move could make or break the show you were in. Every time before we would perform I would sit by myself and visualize my self in the role, really becoming that character. I would visualize all the moves I would have to make, and really try to see every little thing that I had to do to get through the show. After doing some self-visualization, our director would gather the cast in a circle and we would all join hands and visualize hitting all the right cues and running a perfect show. And after all of this, we would go and perform our play. I can’t even begin to describe how this helped improve my performance. I was in such a concentrated zone, that nothing fazed me at all, I was able to focus solely on the show and I really began to feel like a part of the story instead of an actor.
These visualizations were key to my success as an actor, and the techniques I learned from performing have really transferred over into my design work. When I’m working on a project, I visualize presenting my work at that moment to my teacher and thinking about what they would say. I visualize how I would defend my work, and then I visualize how the teacher would respond. From these visualizations I get a better view on my own insecurities in my work, and it gets me thinking from an outsider’s perspective as well. It really acts as a great editing tool for my designs. Right before critiques I employ the exact same techniques I did as an actor. I visualize the “script” of what I want to say, and I see myself working through what I want to convey and what I want to show. It’s all about getting into that character for me, about getting into “the story” of your work, and I know that if you believe in your work, you can make other people believe in it as well.
Visualizations are extremely important for any designer to be successful.
Whether in design, in art, in theatre, or in whatever you’re doing, visualizations help put you in a place where clarity and success are the only possible outcomes. In the end, it’s all about putting your-self in “the story” and sharing that “story” with everyone else and visualizations are key in making that happen.
Posted by Eric Stewart on November 17, 2008 at 09:02 PM EST #
Visualization allows us to glimpse in our mind’s eye the fruition of our goals. This practice is applicable to design processes or any other procedures involving a progression of ideas. Playing soccer in high school, I too prepared myself mentally before games. Most nights before soccer games I would imagine myself playing well and making good touches on the ball. Occasionally I would have dreams about me playing as well. I employed this mental process to provide myself with a positive outlook before games. Positive energy is vital to one’s confidence and quality of work whether it be in playing soccer or working on a design project.
Specifically, when starting on a design I visualize an image to represent my goal for project’s end result. I then jot this general image down on a piece of paper. While modeling the image in my mind, I slowly piece together the tiny details of the design. In this way, visualization provides a great technique in smoothing out all of the fine points of a design process. Visualization also offers a helpful tool in preparing for critiques or presentations. Before speaking with my professor or class about my project, I envision a script of words and main points to employ in the explanation of my work. This process makes my words more articulate and meaningful to my audience. Getting your point across mean everything in the proper explanation of your design.
Posted by Ethan Sitver on November 18, 2008 at 12:11 AM EST #
In my experiences, the design process is completely dependent on visualization. Everything from perceiving the problem, envisioning a possible solution, and executing the design to accurately depict my idea is a product of my ability to conceptualize. Without the ideal mental image of the solution there would be nothing to work towards, and no goal of a completed project would exist.
When working in studio this semester my main ambition for a project that will be critiqued is to fabricate the image of the finished product that is in my mind. Keeping this picture in my head keeps me focused and on task so I can complete a work that I am satisfied with. It is so helpful on the day that a project is due to visualize a successful critique. It is extremely beneficial in the fact that it will encourage you to be optimistic and more confident about your work. Envisioning your complete design can also help make flaws in your work or design process more apparent. This makes it much easier to identify and fix problems before your finished product is judged. Visualization is a vital component to all designs and is very helpful in enhancing the ease of the design process and quality of your final product.
Posted by Kathleen Stewart on November 18, 2008 at 12:11 AM EST #
i have to admit that in athletics it is much easier to visualize the goal than it is in design. In athletics, you can visualize the reaction that you will get from making a play, or hitting the ball or scoring the run or touchdown. But in design, i have only personally been able to visualize tangible items, such as the design of the projest or the layout of the presentation. It seems that in athletics, visualizations can be more predictable like everyone will cheer when you score a touchdown (or boo if you are at there field), but with design the reactions are random. the reactions are based solely on personal opinion and personal style. so no matter how much you love your idea when you visualize it, its really hard to visualize the reaction of other people since you cant actually tell what they are thinking.
Posted by Sean Steinbugler on November 24, 2008 at 02:50 PM EST #