by Bonnie DeVarco and Eileen Clegg The tree is history’s most enduring symbol, one that demonstrates beautifully how our visual representations are shaped by human perception. We use shapes to visualize knowledge. These visualizations, in turn, shape the way we perceive the world. Using the Shape of Thought Approach [1], we can see how history and the leading edge meet in a universal image that has transformed as humanity has transformed. Traveling through history in a short series of images and visualizations of the tree, we can see a very different story about human perception than that told in the... Continue reading

by Eileen Clegg and Bonnie DeVarco “The beautiful is a manifestation of the secret laws of nature. When nature begins to reveal her open secret to a person, he feels an irresistible longing for her most worthy interpreter, art.” Johann Wolfgang Goethe Patterns of Genius While most of us “read” the language of shape subliminally, many of history’s notable artists, philosophers and scientists did so intentionally enabling their genius creations and discoveries. Leading thinkers in many disciplines explored shapes and their geometries, learning Nature’s language so they could translate sound into music, words into poetry, canvasses into art, and observations... Continue reading

by Eileen Clegg and Bonnie DeVarco "Words and language, whether written or spoken, do not seem to play any part in my thought processes. The psychological entities that serve as building blocks for my thought are certain signs or images, more or less clear, that I can reproduce at will." Albert Einstein The Intersection of Nature, Geometry, and Communication Shape of Thought mural, Eileen Clegg & DeVarco 2009/2010 Across cultures and throughout time, certain shapes have carried the power to inspire, intimidate, delight and inform. A spiral, a pentagram, a labyrinth may invoke momentary longing, fear, or curiosity, although we... Continue reading

An Explosion of Visual Language Today we are witnessing unprecedented innovation in visualization practices from all disciplines. Through new technologies and approaches, we can map the functioning of the brain in three dimensions, create dynamic carbon maps of the planet during a time of increasing climate crisis, and collaboratively generate the patterns of changing socio-economic indicators. We can, for the first time, visually analyze the structure of knowledge through large-scale data visualizations and fly through abstract space and multiple scales. One thing is certain: today’s visualization tools offer new pattern languages that help us sift through massive amounts of information... Continue reading