As designers who engage in solving complex problems, we need to use a visual language that can communicate high-level concepts and support abstract, goal-directed, thinking. Diagrams serve to do just that. An imperative language for designers to master, we learn to traverse the concrete-to-abstract scale in our visual representations in a way that is appropriate to the context at hand.

Whether to help us solve a problem, analyze research, or present concepts, capturing the essence of a body of information using symbols and text allows the viewer to focus on the conceptual substratum of the topic and to pass over irrelevant details. Situated midway between written prose and visual illustration, diagrams help designers become better communicators under conditions of complexity and ambiguity.

“Earlier iterations explored the extremes of various visual ideas, to the point of being ugly, disjointed, and too intentional. I found a joy of balance in my final piece by honoring a mix of experiment and convention.”

— Aamena Ansari