Why isn’t the same true with visual language?”īrown uses “infodoodles” to explore, express, and teach new ideas. “Everyone is encouraged to write words and speak,” Brown says, “whether or not one wants to be a writer or an orator. To doodle has conventionally meant “to scribble absentmindedly.”īrown takes issue with this mainstream definition, along with its counterpart “to dawdle, to make meaningless marks.”īrown’s understanding of doodling - which informs her books “ The Doodle Revolution” and “ GameStorming” as well as her Ted talk - is “to make spontaneous marks with your mind and body to help yourself think.”īrown told me that doodling is an underappreciated, underused learning tool. And it may help mitigate the tech overload you might be feeling during the pandemic. These interviews, supported by scientific research, make a convincing case that doodling isn’t a bad habit.

Sunni Brown is a visual consultant, best-selling author of “The Doodle Revolution,” and founder of Deep Self Design. Tracey Trussell is a graphologist with an interest in doodling analysis. I decided to interview her and two other doodling experts. Williams leads a meditative doodling class for adults, though. Teachers used to scold me for doodles on papers, and my own kids got grades docked for sketches in the margins. I’ve always assumed doodling was a minor order bad habit, like putting your feet on the furniture.

They love it and it helps them focus, even on Zoom,” Williams said. “Just let the students doodle for 2 minutes first. I told the education director, LeeAnn Williams, about their difficulty staying engaged. This summer I facilitated a virtual journaling workshop with young students at my Unitarian church. And it doesn’t give us the movement or touch we crave. Even so, screen time can still be draining. For many, the new normal includes a lot of virtual meetings.

Doodler meaning