The BLT Episode 10: Booze, Lawsuits and Telescopes
There are few things certain in this life. The classics include death and taxes, but if this week is anything to go by, we can add discoveries and consequences to that list.
The other constant is of course the weekly news stories and curiousities that provide such rich material for illustrating the BLT!
Are there stories perfect for the BLT that we’ve missed? Tell us, and find out more about how we work by getting in contact today!
NASA open a window back in time
This week was a momentous achievement for astronomers seeking to get a deeper understanding of the universe and it’s origins, as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) sent it’s first stunning images back to Earth. Succeeding Hubble, the JWST will be our eye in space for the next twenty years, bringing an even greater level of detail thanks to its use of infrared.
Van Gogh is still surprising us
After more a century in obscurity, an undiscovered self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh has been found when an X-ray of his painting ‘Head of a Peasant Woman’ was taken by the National Galleries of Scotland. Hidden under layers of cardboard and glue on the back of the canvas painting, experts are looking into how the two pieces could be separated. This story and the JWST story are perfectly timed, we loved paying homage to both in Van Gogh’s iconic visual style.
The new fungi species hiding in the Cairngorms
It’s not just galaxies and galleries giving us new discoveries, Mother Nature also reminded us that she still has plenty of mysteries this week. A species in the group Squamanita that’s new to science, was discovered. The species is also known as a ‘strangler’ fungus thanks to its tendency to take over other fungi.
Tweet revenge
After he made a move to buy Twitter, only to decide it was better to pull out of the deal, Twitter is suing Elon Musk. Twitter has accused Musk of a long list of violations relating to the merger. Musk claims that he was given ‘inaccurate representations’ and didn’t have the full facts about spam accounts. It’s now up to a Delaware court to decide.
The wait is over, there is now a hangover pill
There are many things happening in the world that could drive someone to drink, and now you can do it without paying the price of a hangover. The pill is named Myrkl’, and fittingly pronounced ‘miracle’, the company responsible claims the pill breaks down ‘up to 70% of alcohol consumed within 60 minutes’ and the pill has already sold out in the U despite costing 30 quid a pack. We’re waiting eagerly for the reviews!
Landscaper can’t escape the law
Meanwhile in Florida, police have arrested a man who tried to give them slip on a ride-on mower. Landscaper Dusty Mobley was wanted by police and had previously escaped by diving into a swamp. When police finally caught up with him, Mobley was tased and faces charges such as grand theft, resisting an officer, drug raps and possession of a concealed weapon by a felon.
The answer my friend, is laying in the asparagus
UK politics is facing uncertainty as the Conservative leadership content continues. While we all wait to see who the winner is, Jemima Packington, otherwise known as ‘Mystic Veg, has a different technique. By throwing asparagus spears into the air and interpreting how they land, Mystic Veg predicts events in politics. She correctly predicted Brexit and Boris, but her prediction about Ben Wallace as the next Conservative Party leader hasn’t turned out to be quite so accurate.
We love using visual thinking and visual storytelling to create connected and layered whiteboard animations like this. We’d love to talk to you about how your message could look as a whiteboard animation, contact us today!
Let’s face it, presenting isn’t just about showing up with slides and stats. It’s a performance. A dance. A chance to make ideas leap off the screen and stick. But how do you know if you’re nailing it? That’s where the Presentation Pulse Check comes in.
The familiar feels safe, even when it’s clearly sinking. Here’s the harsh truth: in a world that moves as fast as a TikTok trend, being slow to adapt is a recipe for stagnation.
Over-complication isn’t just tedious—it’s the nemesis of efficiency. Enter the KISS principle: “Keep It Simple, Stupid.”
Here’s the thing about getting comfortable – it’s the silent killer of real growth, and I am not talking about bottom-line growth – I’m talking about the type of growth that is far more valuable.
Ah, the Inverted Pyramid—It sounds like a tragic prog rock album you might find at a car boot sale, but it’s a concept that’s as intriguing as it is practical.
Sometimes it’s bloody tempting to focus on fighting today’s fires while forgetting the bigger picture, isn’t it?
Affordance is how something shows you what it can do, like a door handle that makes you want to pull the door open or a button that looks like it should be pressed.
Have you ever been in a meeting where you could just feel your team's energy slipping away? Sometimes meetings drag on, and fresh ideas are as rare as a decent cup of tea, well, in the whole of America!
This peculiar proportion, approximately 1.618, has been lurking in the shadows of human creativity for millennia, like a mathematical James Bond, seducing architects, artists, and designers with its promise of perfection.
Have you ever been in a meeting where you could just feel your team's energy slipping away? Sometimes meetings drag on, and fresh ideas are as rare as a decent cup of tea, well, in the whole of America!
Why do we see faces in clouds, cars with expressions, or even attribute human emotions to our household appliances (admit it, your Henry Hoover has feelings)? The answer lies in the ancient concept of anthropomorphism—a principle as old as humanity itself, born from our inherent need to understand and relate to the world around us by projecting our own characteristics onto it.
Picture this: You walk into a diner with a menu the size of a small novel. You’re hungry, but now you’re stuck—overwhelmed by choice, paralysed by indecision. Welcome to Hick’s Law in action, a psychological principle that’s been quietly dictating human behaviour since the 1950s...
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? That frantic rush, always trying to keep up with the latest trend. Blink, and it’s gone—again. It’s like standing on a moving walkway, but it’s speeding up, and you’re dragging along a suitcase packed full of never-ending to-do lists.
Understanding the Scaling Fallacy isn't just for philosophers or over-caffeinated academics. It's vital for anyone who wants to make an impact with their ideas, especially in creative fields where size does not always equate to success.
Here’s the thing—staying in your comfort zone isn’t just boring; it’s risky. You know what they say: “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.”
Performance Load teaches us that less truly is more. Visual thinking is about distilling complexity into clarity, turning a tangled web of ideas into a neat, navigable roadmap.
You know that feeling when you’ve just nailed a quick win? The rush, the thrill, the sense of accomplishment—it’s like a hit of dopamine, making you feel like you’re on top of the world. But here’s the thing no one tells you...
Ever heard of the phrase, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’? Turns out, constraint is its often-overlooked sibling—perhaps the unsung hero of creativity.
Ignoring burnout doesn't just impact outcomes; it gradually wears down the very essence of team connection and effectiveness. But here's the encouraging part: there's a way forward that is both within reach and within our control.
In the chaotic symphony of modern life, where every ping and notification competes for our limited attention, the concept of ‘signal to noise’ has never been more relevant. But before it became the buzzword of the digital age, it had its origins in the dry and dusty world of early telecommunications.
It is more than just rounding off; it is a psychological experience where the brain concludes what remains hanging in the balance.
Have you ever wondered why certain stories just hit us in a different way? Chances are, you're in the grasp of something archetypal; those universal, almost sneaky patterns of theme and form that are hardwired into our very being.
When we design, whether that be a piece of graphic design, a software integration or a whiteboard animation, we should strive to minimise errors and make them easy to correct.
Today, I want to explore a theme that is as ancient as it is perpetually relevant, failure. It’s a concept that shapes our very DNA, prompting where we go, helping us grow in our personal and our professional lives.
Bridge the knowledge gap by exploring the role of advanced organisers in visual thinking and comms.
It gives us great pleasure to have you join me for this issue, as we explore the fascinating and always relevant subject of "The Medium is the Message."
This week's theme is a topic that is close to my heart: visual metaphors. Visual metaphors are at the core of visual thinking, and I'm excited to investigate them with you in this issue.
Mind mapping is a powerful tool for visual thinking that can transform the way you organise information, brainstorm ideas, and enhance creativity.
When done well, the ingredients in an explainer video combine to create powerful animations that inform, entertain, inspire and stay with viewers. In this post, we look at how they are made.
Explainer videos take your vision, message and story and transform them into a feast of storytelling, visual thinking and inspiring communication. This feast is served in the perfect way to capture your complexity and depth, and serve it up to your audience.