Jono Hey, author of Big Ideas Little Pictures and creator of Sketchplanations, shares his journey of simplifying complex ideas through visual sketches. He explores the power of visual thinking and how to build a creative identity during career transitions. Jono discusses the importance of knowing when a piece is ready for publication and offers tips for aspiring sketchers. He also reflects on his experiences illustrating for Bill Gates, outlining the intricate balance between structured creativity and deep work while navigating the publishing landscape.
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Starting Sketchplanations
Jono Hey started Sketchplanations in 2013 after receiving a drawing-a-day journal from his sister.
He shifted from casual sketches to explaining complex ideas with visuals weekly while still working full-time.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Share Work to Improve
Share your creative work publicly to improve quality and receive valuable feedback.
Other people's engagement motivates you and sharpens the work beyond private effort.
insights INSIGHT
Drip Feeding Your New Identity
Evolving a new identity publicly through gradual sharing builds confidence and feedback.
Identities are multi-faceted; side projects reveal different aspects without full commitment.
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Jono Hey's "Big Ideas Little Pictures" is a compilation of his best sketches from the Sketchplanations project, spanning over a decade of visually explaining complex concepts. The book offers a unique blend of visual communication and insightful explanations, making complex ideas accessible to a wider audience. It's a valuable resource for anyone interested in visual thinking, creative problem-solving, or simply appreciating the power of concise visual storytelling. The sketches cover a wide range of topics, from cognitive biases to creative processes, offering a diverse and engaging reading experience. The book is a testament to the power of visual communication in simplifying and clarifying complex ideas.
Back of the Napkin
A Start-Up’s Legal Path from Idea to Enterprise
Alicia Locheed Goodrow
This book provides practical advice on how to save money in legal fees, headaches, and conflicts as you move from idea to enterprise. It covers topics such as beginning with the end in mind, surrounding yourself with the right team members, determining who to join at the 'founders table,' identifying your leadership paradigm, and understanding the legal basics for handling IP, leases, customers, suppliers, and employees. The author also highlights various organizational models and ways to court angel investors.
Jono Hey, author of Big Ideas Little Pictures and creator of Sketchplanations, shares insights from over a decade of explaining the world through sketches.
We discuss:
The power of visual thinking
Building a new identity when changing careers
Knowing when a piece is done and ready for publishing
Tips to get started with sketching
& lessons from long-term creative projects, including illustrating for Bill Gates.
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ABOUT JONO HEY Jono Hey is the author and illustrator of Big Ideas Little Pictures, a collection of the best of Sketchplanations—his decade-long project dedicated to explaining complex ideas through simple sketches. With a background spanning academia, business, design, product development, and engineering, Jono has helped build two successful companies and holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. His work has been featured in Bill Gates’s book How to Prevent the Next Pandemic, and he co-hosts Sketchplanations – the Podcast, where he and two friends dive deeper into the ideas behind his sketches. Find his latest work at sketchplanations.com.
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Lulu. If you're interested in self-publishing, Lulu has free resources such as helpful tutorials, templates to help you layout a book, design for print, and they have a very watchable YouTube University channel. Our community anthology is in fact published using Lulu. Check them out at lulu.com.
London Writers' Salon 