Thinking with a Pencil

In the field of rapid visualisation, there are only two books I would often recommend to others: For left-brainers, i.e. people who are naturally logic-oriented: get hold of 'Thinking with a Pencil' by Henning Helms; For right-brainers, i.e. people who are naturally creative & /or imagination-oriented: get hold of 'Rapid Viz' by Kurt Hanks; Both books cater to all those who wish to use a simple drawing as a tool for thought & communication. They explain how to draw & /or sketch quickly as well as how to use graphic illustration as a thinking tool & as a means of organising & presenting ideas on paper. This, in a nut shell, is essentially the process of rapid visulaisation. The only difference between the two books lies in their approach to the process, even though both have a free-hand style. 'Thinking with a Pencil' has a more structured approach, with a slant toward technical drawing. It has almost 700 technical illustrations. 'Rapid Viz' has a more free-form or creative approach, with a emphasis on speed & simplicity. In essence, it's more wholistic in terms of the process. It has some 900 illustrations & is also packed with ideas, games, puzzles & exercises to guide the reader. As an engineer by training, I have owned the first book since the late sixties & the latter book since the early eighties. During my engineering days, the first book has been my field guide. I have found that both books are written for the novice in mind. They provide easy-to-follow step by step instructions. They are the only two true classics in the field!

...this is the sort of book that causes its readers to long for it well after it has been loaned to a friend for good. Once you break through the "I'm not a drawing sort of person" wall with teh helpful advice of Henning Nelms, you are empowered to communicate your thoughts in a more powerful way.I would love to see this book back in print, or in a new edition that extends the concepts to the digital age and teaches us also to "Draw with a Digital Pencil."

Thinking with a Pencil is the best book I have read on how to make your concepts into recognizable sketches that can convey your ideas to other people. You do not need to know how to draw to use Nelms's ideas. I had a copy of this book, gave it to a graphic artist, and now want another one myself. Please, publisher, reprint it again.

I first found this book in a used book store in 1971. Since then I have searched it out in other used book stores to give as a gift to my friends. I am a craftsperson. But I never had any formal training in drawing. It was very difficult for me to draw my ideas, or execute a high quality drawing for a craft project, until I got this book. I still do not consider myself an expert with a pencil, but now I can draw recognizable images. If you need to draw, but don't really know how, this is an excellent book to get you started. It really should be reprinted!

This book contains the best instruction I've ever seen for the proper way to present data in a graphical format. Its comments about how data should be presented in graphical format are more valid today then they were when it was first written.