Master Visual Thinking: Turn Complex Ideas Into Clear Visual Models

Join thousands of learners on the journey to master the skill of creating hand-sketched models as you turn complex ideas into clear, memorable visuals—no artistic experience required.

Start Making Models

Three weeks after reading that important book, the ideas have already faded. When you try to explain a complex concept at work, you watch confusion spread across people's faces. Your meeting notes make sense in the moment but feel useless a week later.

Visual thinking changes that. Instead of watching ideas slip away, you capture them in models that stick. Instead of explaining concepts with words alone, you sketch diagrams that make the connections obvious. Instead of forgettable notes, you create visual assets that you reference months or even years later.

I'm Doug Neill, and after a decade of teaching visual thinking to thousands of learners worldwide, I've distilled everything I know into one comprehensive curriculum. This isn't about making pretty drawings—it's about creating visual models that help you make sense of information and communicate ideas with clarity.

Don't Take My Word For It

Here's what visual thinkers in the community are saying:

A Decade of Teaching, Distilled Into One Comprehensive Curriculum

I spent a decade teaching visual thinking through workshops and courses, learning what works and what doesn't. This curriculum brings together all of those insights into a single, cohesive learning journey. No more hunting through scattered resources—everything you need is here, organized to support your growth from day one.

This curriculum teaches you how to sketch out your own visual models for use as a learning, problem-solving, and communication tool.

Yes, you learn the basics of diagramming and drawing, but more importantly, you learn how to direct your visualization efforts toward a cohesive model that becomes a visual asset you can use for years to come.

The Visual Thinking Journey: Four Comprehensive Modules

Within this curriculum you'll find a complete system for developing your visual thinking skills in a way that will serve you for years to come.

Part 1: Foundations

Start with the right mindset and approach. Learn what visual thinking really is, discover the three key shifts that unlock lasting benefits, and overcome common barriers as you develop your personal visual thinking roadmap. Watch the first lesson above.

Part 2: Methods

Master the specific techniques that bring ideas to life. I share a flexible framework for creating powerful visual models and you'll build your mark-making skills from the ground up. These aren't art lessons—they're thinking tools.

Part 3: Reflections

Develop the skills to evaluate and improve your work over time. Learn what makes good models effective, discover guiding principles for visual thinking, and learn how to keep things fresh as you keep growing your skills.

Part 4: Examples

Get inspired by real visual thinking work from practitioners around the world. Study frameworks from experts like Dave Gray and Abby Covert, explore creative approaches from visual storytellers, and see how others within the community are using these skills in their professional and personal lives.

Everything Included In Your Investment

The Complete Curriculum

Lifetime access to all four modules, where in each lesson I present a visual model that demonstrates the concept while teaching it. Every lesson includes follow-up activities and additional resources to help you put the ideas into practice.

Eight Specialized Bonus Courses

Along with the core curriculum, you get access to eight bonus courses that explore the full range of what you can do with these skills, from learning languages to making videos and courses to a deep dive on digital tools.

Six Months of Community Access

Learning thrives in community, which is why your enrollment includes six months of access to The Verbal to Visual Community. Through our online learning environment powered by Mighty Networks, you can share your work, get feedback, and be inspired by what other members are creating.

An Introduction to Visual Note-Taking. Laptop, desktop, tablet, and smartphones screens showing the online learning environment.

You can also join us for weekly live workshops that rotate between open Q&As (where you can ask any question about visual thinking or share your current project for feedback), structured skill-building sessions (where we dive deep on specific lessons within the curriculum), and book clubs (each quarter we pick a book or two to read and sketch out together).

Those workshops take place on Zoom from 9:00am to 10:30am Pacific Time on Thursdays, and the replays are posted later that same day.

Your Investment

Pay in full ($299) or four monthly payments (4 x $75). Both options include:

Lifetime access to all lessons within the core curriculum.
Lifetime access to eight specialized courses that explore different applications of visual thinking.
Six months of weekly live workshops and asynchronous sharing of your work for feedback.

After your first six months, you can choose to continue your community membership for $10/month or $90/year. Many members choose to stay connected to keep learning and sharing with the community. Regardless of whether or not you stick with the community, you'll continue to have access to the core curriculum and the bonus courses.

Start Making Models

Frequently Asked Questions

All you need is something to sketch with and something to sketch on. Printer paper and whatever pen you have on hand will do just fine! This curriculum is tool-agnostic - you can bring either analog or digital tools. I'll share some specific suggestions in Part 2 of the new curriculum, and within the course Digital Sketchnoting we do a deep dive on apps and how to use them. Plus you'll see lots of great tool combinations posted by community members.

Hi, I'm Doug! I was on a path toward becoming a high school teacher when I got pulled into the world of visual thinking thanks to Sunni Brown's TED Talk called Doodlers, Unite! I now help people make sense of the world by making marks on the page. I'm the founder of this here project called Verbal to Visual, an education company that teaches the skill of sketching out ideas as a learning, problem-solving, and communication tool. Through a YouTube channel with over 128,000 subscribers, online courses with thousands of participants, and live workshops and talks, I'm on a mission to spread the word about the power of visual thinking.

With your purchase you get lifetime access to the core curriculum as well as the eight bonus courses. You'll also get six months of access to community features like live weekly workshops and forums where you can share your work and get feedback from other community members. If you'd like to continue with those community features after the sixth months, you'll have the option (but no obligation) to sign up for a monthly or annual subscription.

YouTube Tested: 128,000 Subscribers and Counting

Before you invest in this curriculum, you can see visual thinking in action on my YouTube channel, where I've been demonstrating these skills for years.

I create visual book summaries that distill complex non-fiction books into hand-sketched models. Each video shows you what's possible when you develop these skills.

The channel has grown to 128,000 subscribers because people find value in seeing ideas presented visually. They remember the content better. They understand the connections more clearly. And many say to themselves: "I want to learn how to do that myself!"

That's where the curriculum comes in.

If you're already familiar with my YouTube work, you know my teaching style. If you're new here, go watch a few videos. See if the way I think and communicate resonates with you. Then come back when you're ready to develop the skills yourself.

More From The Community

Ready to transform how you learn, solve problems, and communicate?

Start Making Models

Questions? Email me at doug@verbaltovisual.com.

Cheers, -Doug