Sketchplanations
Big Ideas Little Pictures

Sketchplanations in a book! I think you'll love Big Ideas Little Pictures

Sketchplanations podcast photo of Rob Bell, Tom Pellereau and Jono Hey

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Explaining the world one sketch at a time

Sketchplanations makes complex ideas simple with clear, insightful sketches. Explore topics from science, creativity, psychology, and beyond explained in pictures.

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Learn something new in a sketch each Sunday

Recent sketches

Dark and light are the keys to one-way mirrors

One way mirrors definitely do something, but a lot of what they accomplish is also due to maintaining dark on one side and light on another.
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6 simple ways to draw people

6 simple sketch people

Always handy to be able to draw some quick sensible looking people. Worth practicing.
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Stationary and Stationery

Though the words are linked through two simple connections. Books used to be big and heavy, so rather than travelling market stalls the first shops for books were in fact stationary - stationarius. And writing implements, paper and the like began to be sold at these stationary stores. Various sites will explain the history.
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The position of a rainbow is predictable

The sun behind you, the rain in front of you, and the angle is due to the refraction of light in the raindrops.
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What is the SUCCESS framework for making ideas sticky from the book Made to Stick, highlighting six principles: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Stories

Make your idea sticky

SUCCESS is a mnemonic for making your idea sticky, from the entertaining and informative book Made to Stick, by the Heath brothers. It outlines six principles that help ideas resonate, stay memorable, and inspire action: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Stories. • Simple: Strip your idea down to its core, making it easy to understand and remember. • Unexpected: Capture attention by surprising your audience or breaking their expectations. • Concrete: Use vivid, tangible details to make your idea real and relatable. • Credible: Build trust by including authority, data, or real-world examples. • Emotional: Tap into emotions to make your message resonate on a deeper level. • Stories: Use storytelling to create connection and drive engagement. By applying these steps, you can communicate ideas that stick in the minds of your audience long after they’re shared. Related ideas The Marketing Rule of 7 Examples of the principles of Made to Stick in action: Eat the Frog Frog boil The bullwhip effect The cobra effect Goodhart's Law Survivorship Bias
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An office worker glumly thinks about their lack of window while a frustrated manager looks on which is transformed when the employee asks for a window

Ask for what you need

Ask for what you need or it’s on you if you don’t get it. The frame change for me was that you’re not owed anything. It’s on you to help yourself and help others out in the process. I learned this at Jump.
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