My Icon Library looks to 'empower readers' in visual thinking

Author Willemien Brand is founder of Buro BRAND, a visual communications agency that offers up drawing-based solutions to people and organisations to solve all kinds of problems, as well as publishing books including Visual Thinking & Visual Doing.

This new book draws together a collection of icons and visual concepts that help the reader in their visual thinking process. The concepts are grouped into categories that regularly crop up at the workshops the author runs: 'finance', 'technology', 'innovation', 'agile' and 'sales', as well as broader themes such as 'team dynamics', 'way-of-working', 'politics' and 'the world we live in'.

Overall, My Icon Library promises to be a source of inspiration and a go-to reference for "whenever you need a visual that's a tad too complicated for your imagination or a Google Images search".

Author Willemien Brand has a longstanding passion for drawing and design and graduated with distinction from Design Academy Eindhoven. She went on to become an award-winning industrial designer. She launched the Buro BRAND in the late '90s. Together with her team, she developed solutions based on the idea that drawing and visual thinking are key tools in strengthening employee engagement and building bridges between businesses and their customers.

"These are not meant to be finished visual products. I want them to spark your creativity and inspire you to make your own icons, instead of plucking generic icons from the internet that often don't accurately express your story," writes Brand in the book's introduction. "And remember that every story has its own quirks and context, and therefore its own blend of icons and visuals. Keep practising, keep expanding your icon library, so you will have the courage to tell your own visual story."