Should you want to download the presentation so you can freely explore it or copy elements to your drawings, you can do so by following this link.
Last week, I sat down with @Stephan for a deep dive into the origins, philosophy, and future of the Sketch Your Mind Community.
Read the transcript here: The Hidden Cost of AI: Why We Need Community More Than Ever
Let’s discuss in Members’s Lounge: The Story Behind Sketch Your Mind (And Where We’re Going Next!)
During our conversation, we mapped out the 5 Personas of visual thinkers that this space was built for. I’ve realized that at different times, we all step into these different roles:
- The Deep Researcher (Making sense of dense PDFs and complex literature)
- The Visual Habit-Builder (Craving a frictionless, beautiful daily visual log)
- The Mess-to-Clarity Architect (Turning digital noise and chaos into clean, actionable dashboards)
- The Engaging Storyteller (Ditching text-heavy slides to captivate audiences visually)
- The Community Tinkerer (Pushing the limits of PKM workflows and Excalidraw automation)
Which one are you right now?
The Power of Collaborative Thinking
(A Case Study)
One of the best parts of building this community is what happens when we share ideas. Just today in the community chat, @Bart_van_der_Pot introduced us to a brilliant visual thinking tool: the 9-field model by Jefta Bade. (see Bart’s post here: Do you have a toolbox and what’s in it?)
It’s a powerful, structured way to break down complex topics into a single visual overview. So you can easily spot patterns, see how it works, and to help you see the gaps.
The underlying logic of the 9-field structure
The meaning of each field
To practice the method, I decided to fill out the 9-field structure using our new Sketch Your Mind Community as the core case study, based on my conversation with Stephan:
- CORE (What is it really about?): A single, unified home for visual thinkers to master Excalidraw, build visual workflows, and connect.
- PURPOSE (Higher goal in the end): To make Visual PKM mainstream and cultivate a space for joyful, creative, and collaborative thinking.
- BEFORE (Status quo): Note-taking is lonely, text-heavy, and my own content was scattered across 10+ different channels and domains.
- AFTER (When did we do it right?): Visual thinking becomes a frictionless daily habit. Members feel safe sharing “half-baked” ideas and build on each other’s strengths.
- AMBITION (The values we are aiming for): Human Community Intelligence (HCI), mutual support, deep connection, and a safe space to grow.
- FOUNDATION (The values we come from): Curiosity, tinkering, the joy of the “inner child,” and the desire to make sense of a noisy world.
- CAUSE (Trigger): The realization that AI is making learning increasingly isolated, plus the need to simplify my scattered platforms into one focused hub.
- PEOPLE INVOLVED: The 5 Personas (Researchers, Habit-Builders, Architects, Storytellers, and Tinkerers).
- TO DO (Call to action): Stop taking notes alone, share workflows, and build the future of Visual PKM together.
The 9-Field analysis of the Sketch Your Mind Community
If you want to see exactly how this model, and so many other visual frameworks, can transform your daily note-taking, the door is open.
One quick reminder before I go: Our special founding members promotion is currently active, but it is only available until the end of May. If you join before the deadline, you’ll lock in half-price access for life. I would absolutely love to see you inside!
Happy sketching!
— Zsolt