David Winkelman

 Applying the skills and tools of DVL may be easier than you think. . . . Identify a situation where visualizing something more clearly will make difference . . . then experiment!

In contrast to my using over 900 words to discuss clarity, I’ll use less than half that to convey the meaning and importance of connection to DVL. Connection is more than “half the battle” so to speak.

If you naturally lean towards building skills, like finding greater clarity or making new connections as a skill, our exploration of DVL will likely be more emotionally engaging for you than if not.

From that moment forward, DVL became “a thing” in our minds, with the power to shift peoples’ perception of what’s possible and empower them with a mindset and an extensive set of practical skills.

The richness of our story is something almost out of fiction. In addition to the obvious geographical challenge facing Bart and me, there were other interesting gaps: a 24-year difference in our age, plus differences in culture, language, educational level and lifestyle: I’m American and he’s Polish.

Let’s quickly cover a few ideas about literacy. My outlook about literacy began to change in my first conversation with Bart, after realizing that literacy means far more than reading, writing and speaking.

In our very first conversation, a Zoom call in June 2020, my collaborator, Bart, and I coined a phrase for ourselves: Digital Visual Literacy (DVL). We immediately looked up any references to the term, but couldn’t find any.

The concept of “Making the Invisible Visible” can be applied to almost every complex problem or challenge you’ll ever face in life. Yet given its fundamental “common sense”, (as far as I’m aware,) neither the concept or expression is widely taught in our schools.

As most of us realize, meaningful problem solving — especially involving behavior change — is difficult at best. It can be so frustrating that many of us give up along the way or before we even start. 

In the most practical and general sense, literacy in a particular domain or realm is the ability to use a set specific skills, tools, and resources needed to understand, move around, and accomplish things.