Visualization Studio – MCAD

In the professional world, projects are successful completed through the efforts of teams: through leadership and collaboration, planning and innovation, structure and flexibility. For the last two years I have been assistant teaching a class at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) called Visualization Studio, teaching students skills to visuals problems and work together to find solutions.

Trying to understand that our thoughts, perceptions, memories, interests, and knowledge, are made up of mental images and models that we create and carry with us. These visualizations help us gain a sense of place, being and understanding. The visualizations we create in the class offers maps, explanations and narratives to the audiences we wish to communicate with.  They help us provide understanding to others in regards to needs in design. It’s how we explain these narratives to clients and coworkers to make a project come to its full potential.

While teaching these practices of visualizing the process of design and how to better communicate ideas, I learn something new from each class. It’s a struggle at first for groups of: designer, project managers, and web developers to come together and talk the same language. To be creative and talk about expectations, I see the similar problems semester after semester but never the same solution. This class is constant reminder of the energy around students that is irreplaceable and innovative.