Rock the Whiteboard: one-day workshop at Indy Hall on developing ‘visual thinking skills’

Participants in one of Jonny Goldstein’s whiteboard innovation workshops looking at a user history

Two years ago, graphic artist Jonny Goldstein and his wife moved to Pittsburgh. Next Monday, Nov. 19, Goldstein will be back at his old coworking haunt Indy Hall to host his first ever public ‘Rock the Whiteboard’ one-day workshop to help develop your visual thinking skills. The workshop costs $179, and includes lunch, with a discount for Indy Hall members. RSVP here.

This post is from Goldstein, as Technically Philly is a media sponsor of his workshop.

One of the things I loved when I lived in Philadelphia was the entrepreneurial energy that surrounded me as I worked out of Indy Hall. I loved partnering with startups to help them visualize how to pitch to potential funders, or how to present their service to potential users. But as I looked at the whiteboards where I turned their ideas into visuals, I thought “wouldn’t it be great if they could do this for themselves?”

You can almost think of visual thinking as a superpower. It can help you develop ideas, analyze them, and communicate them better and faster. The good news is that if you are reading this, you already have that superpower within you. You just may need a little coaching to use it to its fullest potential.

People have been using visual thinking for a long time. Why? Because it works. Just ask a cave dweller.

Up until now I have been teaching visual thinking workshops to graduate design students at University of the Arts, companies and professional groups. Now, for the first time, I am offering a public workshop called “Rock the Whiteboard.” I am delighted to debut this first ever day-long public workshop at Indy Hall in Old City.

A common question: “Does this mean we will be drawing? But I can’t draw!” Yes, we will be drawing, but the good news is I can get you from “can’t draw,”to “can’t stop.” Using simple shapes and lines, we’ll be able to draw pretty much anything by the end of the day.

The workshop will be an immersive day-long dive where we will use simple but powerful hand drawn pictures and information graphics to develop projects. My approach involves you working on a project you are passionate about with other participants, In turn, you will help them visually explore their projects. This adds a social element which will make your learning even more fun and powerful.

The learning continues after the workshop. We will have seven brief homework assignments to help you lock in what you learned. And you will be invited to join an online community of your fellow workshop participants where you can look at and give feedback on each other’s work. Plus, you will get a booklet detailing the ideas and techniques we cover at the workshop. And because we will be burning a lot of energy, a delicious locally sourced lunch will be provided to fuel your day.

Who this is for: This is for anyone who wants to enrich their innovation toolbox. You may be a solo entrepreneur, a forward thinking public employee, or an in-house innovator for a Fortune 500 company. The common thread: you want to innovate to create big impacts and you are open to new ideas and ways of thinking.

To register or just learn more, visit Rock the Whiteboard.

P.S. And who is this Jonny Goldstein? Jonny is a former Philly resident currently based in Pittsburgh. He creates large scale visual notes for clients from Stockholm to Philly, to Las Vegas, teaches visual thinking workshops at University of the Arts and select companies, and consults with startups to help them develop visual stories to communicate their value potential to funders. More info at envizualize.com