Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
This month our DesignOps community was joined by Abby Covert, a founding member of the Design Operations community, and eMcee for DesignOps ‘18. Abby has two decades of making and teaching diagrams to other people. She is currently on a mission to rid the world of bad diagrams, one diagrammer at a time. And we think the DesignOps could learn a thing or five from her about how we could up our diagram game.
Key Insights
-
•
Diagrams combat the VUCA forces—volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—by providing stability, transparency, understanding, and clarity.
-
•
A fifth superpower of diagrams is kindness, offering emotional relief and a pause mechanism when people feel stuck.
-
•
Diagramming is a craft informed by multiple disciplines, including cartography, math, machine design, and metadata systems.
-
•
Designing diagrams requires clear consideration of audience, including individual and group dynamics.
-
•
Effective diagrams can serve as life rafts through volatile and complex challenges, such as cyber hate or public health crises.
-
•
Simplicity is not always the goal; understanding the audience’s needs and context determines the best level of complexity in a diagram.
-
•
Diagrams must be accessible; providing alternative text or alternative content is crucial for people with visual or cognitive impairments.
-
•
Excessive color coding without clear structure can increase ambiguity rather than clarity.
-
•
Narrative storytelling can be a powerful alternative content strategy complementing complex diagrams.
-
•
Diagram accessibility solutions, like structured summaries or phone-tree style navigation, empower users to consume information at their own pace.
Notable Quotes
"When was the last time that you felt stuck? The one where you feel a sense of being stuck trying to understand something."
"Diagrams are life rafts crossing the sea of volatility, helping to get everyone on the same page."
"Diagrams provide transparency in the face of uncertainty by showing what there is to know, even if the news is not good."
"Simplicity is not always the answer to complexity, but understanding often is."
"Just because you can color code something doesn’t mean you should."
"Diagramming is kindness we give to ourselves and others to get our bearings on things we’re stuck on."
"Providing alternative content is often a kinder gesture than any lengthy alternative text could be."
"The key to good diagrams is accessibly rendered, content driven, and visually supported."
"Diagrams help when we feel stuck—providing stability, transparency, understanding, clarity, and kindness."
"Diagrams allow us to emotionally hit pause and come back ready to dig further."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"We are truly in a golden age for our profession."
Doug PowellClosing Keynote: Design at Scale
November 8, 2018
"If a group session with middle schoolers goes off the rails, one-on-one sessions can save the research."
Mila Kuznetsova Lucy DentonHow Lessons Learned from Our Youngest Users Can Help Us Evolve our Practices
March 9, 2022
"If we’re really centering it on people and experiences, consider life before place, and place before technology."
Sarah GallimoreInspire Progress with Artifacts from the Future
November 18, 2022
"Field usability testing showed stakeholders immediately how much value UX can add by catching issues before deployment."
Lada Gorlenko Sharbani Dhar Sébastien Malo Rob Mitzel Ivana Ng Michal Anne RogondinoTheme 1: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"Our goal is to be AI fluent, not necessarily AI experts."
Alnie FigueroaThe Future of Design Operations: Transforming Our Craft
September 10, 2025
"Driver modeling tells you which research initiatives matter most based on their impact on key outcome metrics."
Landon BarnesAre My Research Findings Actually Meaningful?
March 10, 2022
"Sometimes we have to murder our darlings—let go of favorite parts to let the story or design grow."
Emily EagleCan't Rewind: Radio and Retail
June 3, 2019
"We neglected our power users during the responsive, one-size-fits-all strategy, and it really hurt us."
Malini RaoLessons Learned from a 4-year Product Re-platforming Journey
June 9, 2021
"Project management was focused on outputs, assuming the correct feature was already defined."
Asia HoePartnering with Product: A Journey from Junior to Senior Design
November 29, 2023
