Short explanation of Michael Erickson\'s approach to the Visual Practitioner skillset

1. Hello.
I’m Michael Erickson.
I’m the
For your consideration...
Or, What I’m about. © 2010 Michael Erickson
All rights Reserved

2. So I’m a cartoonist/illustrator who
works in the aerospace business.
But I can only show you things I’ve made on my own at
home… and from a few of my freelance gigs. Not necessarily
my best stuff.

3. So I’ve noticed that, most
of the really troubling, or
challenging things we
have to deal with in our
work
(as well as in our lives),
exists right out in plain
sight…
Where everyone sees,
But few dare to
speak of it….

4. So I listen to what I
hear, and draw it,
by hand,
usually in ink.
Then I scan,
trace the art into
a vector format,
Add color…
Compose/typeset.
My main “thing” is
helping people
“see” themselves
and their work.
The idea is to help my customers “see” below their surface…

5. The thing is, In the aerospace business, people tend to
bury themselves (and if you are a tech, it’s worse).

6. Living, as they do (all in their heads)… they need help to
see the bigger picture.
And there’s a LOT to get buried in, so it can end up being a pretty BIG picture
(or a map).

7. Most of my customers work is around Large scale system integration. So I use
Visual Display to show all the many dimensions in a story.
It ends up looking something like this (only usually bigger).

8. And unlike the “analytical” way of thinking things through…
The pictures contextualize and relate ideas that belong together.

9. Cartoon art is particularly helpful, since it gets below the
surface, underneath the “logic and reason” of a system or
design, to the “emotional” and human level. It helps
people see enough to make better decisions.

10. The idea is to get below the surface. Get them to think differently.
I use a lot of metaphor and analogy to do that…

11. I think it’s time for me to start working with people outside of
aerospace. I’m sure there are other places where “monsters”
lurk and where fear and control obscure facts and fantasy.

12. There’s “other fish in
the sea” and it’s time
I went looking for
them.

13. That’s how it is, when you’re the Map Maker…
Michael Erickson