Dan Roam, The Journey of a Visual Storyteller - SE17/EP01

In this episode, Dan shares how his childhood love for drawing led him to discover surprising parallels between visual thinking, biology, and organic chemistry.He reflects on his journey from the analog days of graphic design to the digital era, drawing comparisons to what is currently happening in the AI space. Dan also reveals the origin stories and ideas behind his bestselling books and how they came to life.Sponsored by The Reflective Travel Workshop VideoHave you ever wanted to create travel sketchnotes from an experience you’ve had, just using the photos and memories you’ve got?In the Reflective Travel Workshop Video Replay, I’ll guide you through my process for creating travel sketchnotes and then help you reflect on your own photos and memories so that you can make travel sketchnotes of your own trips, too!This 2-hour recorded video includes a set of downloadable, printable sketching templates and a process to kickstart your own travel sketchnoting practice.All this for just $20.https://rohdesign.com/travelRunning OrderIntroWelcomeWho is Dan RoamOrigin StoryDan's current workSponsor: ConceptsWhere to find Dan RoamOutroLinksAmazon affiliate links support the Sketchnote Army Podcast.Dan's websiteDan on LinkedInDan on IntagramBack of the Napkin 2.0The Back Of The NapkinBlah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Don't WorkShow & Tell: How Everybody Can Make Extraordinary PresentationsDraw to Win: A Crash Course on How to Lead, Sell, and Innovate With Your Visual MindPop-Up Pitch: The Two-Hour Creative Sprint to the Most Persuasive Presentation of Your LifeCreditsProducer: Alec PulianasShownotes and transcripts: Esther OdoroTheme music: Jon SchiedermayerSubscribe to the Sketchnote Army PodcastYou can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or your favorite podcast listening source.Support the PodcastTo support the creation, production, and hosting of the Sketchnote Army Podcast, buy one of Mike Rohde’s bestselling books. Use code ROHDE40 at Peachpit.com for 40% off!Episode TranscriptMike Rohde: Hey everyone, it's Mike and I'm here with Dan Roam, the Dan Roam calling to us from his studio. You can see he's got whiteboards and he's got paintings. He's drinking tea, it looks like.Dan Roam: Absolutely.MR: So welcome to the show. Thanks for being here, Dan.DR: Mike, it is always, always a pleasure. You and I've been talking for a long time, and every time we get to, I enjoy it. So this is fabulous. Thanks for having me.MR: Same here. Same here. So our history is in 2016-ish, I recorded a podcast with you, and I lost it. Something happened with the audio, and that's bugging me for like forever. And so, having Dan Roam on the show is like a huge get for me. So I feel really excited to have you here. Even though you know, I've been on your sessions and stuff and we've done stuff together. Like, it's always bugged me that I lost this, and we had a really good discussion, which I can't prove. So now we're just got to do it again.DR: Oh, we'll just do it again and we'll take it into completely different way. And the other thing, Mike, just if I might, is just the fact the nature of our careers and our passion is so interwoven, if you will. Like we keep popping up.MR: Yes.DR: I just keep seeing you everywhere. It's like, hey, there's Mike, you know.MR: Same thing with you.DR: Yeah, exactly. So it's a pleasure.MR: So, the couple things I wanted to talk about were your books, of course. I'm kinda curious about your painting.DR: Hmm.MR: But we always sort of start the show off with origin story. So I think we all know what you do, but you can start with what you do and then go right into like how did you end up here? Like as a little kid, what drew you into this visual thinking stuff? I think we're both also user experience people. So maybe that had some impact. I'm really curious about that trend. Like how did you get here?DR: Wow. Well, that's a fantastic question, Mike. And what a great place to start. And the simple, simple answer is, I actually drew something out in anticipation of this.MR: Nice.DR: As a little kid, you know, there I am like everybody else, I'm looking at the world and it's awfully confusing.MR: Yeah.DR: People are telling you to do things and here's how to act and here's what to learn. And a lot of it was very confusing. And I've spent everything, this is the entire summary of what we're gonna talk about. How can I figure out a way to go from that to that so that things are clear. So, like every kid I drew a lot, but like many kids, I never stopped the drawing part. So I've learned to draw badly really, really well. And I'm sure that people who follow you probably have similar types of stories.MR: Yeah.DR: Like the visual thinking side, the visual storytelling side. Maybe can I have, you know, mom, dad, school teacher, maybe could I have a few less words and maybe a few more pictures. And so, that's really the origin story. Nothing ...