There is a power in visual conceptual drawings that extends beyond simply complementing speech and writing. I’ve been fascinated, for example, at the proliferation in recent years of visual “note-takers” at convenings. It suggests that, at least in some circumstances, visualizations can be a superior form of capturing, distilling, and communicating ideas.

They imprint on memory in a way that recalling words on a page, or uttered from a podium, can’t. They can invite people into conversation while conveying that the analysis isn’t iron-clad. They can be suggestive, like a Rorschach test but with more definition. They can be playful or whimsical, letting people dwell on idiosyncratic or intriguing images before engaging the deeper substance. They can challenge a predisposition to let the left brain’s logical, categorical thinking take full control. They can contribute to problem-solving by depicting the simultaneity of issues, the multidimensional qualities of a problem or solution, the sinews between different players acting in separate spheres, the cascading of consequences over time.

The drawings contained on this site cover everything from a framework for the reimagination of Detroit’s future to an encapsulation of a foundation’s talent strategy ... from a plan for the renewal of a shuttered college campus to a depiction of the complexities of landing federal ARPA dollars in local communities ... and quite a bit in-between.

Interested in learning more about Rip's drawing process? Read Portrait of the Grant Maker as an Artist in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.