The BLT Episode 3: The Winner Techs It All
It’s been a big week in the news, full of terrible events and big announcements. All of which need full coverage and thorough explanation. That’s why the BLT will stick to the lighter side of the news, with our trademark style and joined up visual thinking.
Every week we love seeing the layers of connection that run through the news stories that the team bring to our writer’s room. Despite being from every corner of the news, they all fit beautifully into a visual narrative. Connecting and layering ideas is something we are big fans of at We are Cognitive.
This week we tackle the virtual and the real, going under the sea and back to dry land. If you see a story you think we should include, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us!
Hologram technology giving some the chance to retire, and bringing others out of retirement
Holograms still feel like something straight out of science fiction, but it’s brought some very real benefits to circus animals in France and to ABBA! The French circus L’Écocirque has created holographic animals, using them as an ethical way to include animals in their shows. Spectators will be treated to lions, elephants and even whales! ABBA on the other hand, have embraced the technology (also used to create digital effects in Star Wars) for their ABBA Voyage tour, creating ‘ABBAtars’ to tour for them until 2026.
How long until you’re watching a holographic version of the BLT?!
How do you take a remote swimming test?
COVID lockdowns have changed many things about our lives, who even knew what Zoom was three years ago? The latest part of life forced to adapt has been swimming tests. Shanghai University have asked students to complete an online ‘Basic Theory of Swimming’, instead of their 50-meter swimming test as the city responds to a COVID outbreak.
Maybe there are even more uses for holograms than we first thought.
The meaner side of goldfish
Pets helped many of us get through lockdown, and goldfish were a popular choice. As life returns to something like normal though, some pet owners have been releasing their goldfish into rivers. This is very bad news for our native fish species, Dr James Dickey of Queen’s University Belfast has found that these released goldfish combine insatiable appetites with bold behaviour, making them a real threat to biodiversity.
When hamsters get hostile
Staying with pets, hamsters found their way into the news this week. Georgia State University scientists were left in shock as gene-editing designed to make hamsters more peaceful and social made them hyper-aggressive instead. While this wasn’t what the scientists intended, GSU professor H. Elliot Albers explained that it does provide a startling conclusion about the Avpr1a receptor.
Does anyone else remember the Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters?
The case of the missing ape
Back in the world of the virtual, this week saw the theft of Seth Green’s NFT ape Fred Simian. Part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, the loss of the Fred is even greater, as he was due to be the star of Green’s new hybrid series White Horse Tavern. One of four NFTs stolen in a phishing scam, the loss of Fred has raised questions about the future of White Horse Tavern, which had got as far as having a trailer made.
Monkeypox cases are on the rise
Although human monkeypox cases are usually rare, they’ve been spreading across Europe, North America, Australia and Israel. The symptoms usually clear up on their own and the virus is transmitted through close contact. If you have any concerns, the NHS have provided advice.
Jackdaws are democratic
Anyone that has been following the BLT will know we love a good bird story, and this week did not disappoint! Alex Thornton, Professor of Cognitive Evolution at University of Exeter, has been researching jackdaws and discovered that they use a democratic process to decide when it’s time to leave in the morning, casting votes with their calls.
It’s always nice to see democracy in action.
What does a coral reef sound like?
It’s an interesting question, and the answer is a chorus of clicks, clacks and pops. The discovery by Senior oceanographer, Lauren Freeman and her team at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center is good news for the coral reefs because it provides an unobtrusive way to check on them. However, it also raises questions about human noise pollution.
There’s good news for anyone thinking of touring the Bermuda Triangle
Have you ever dreamed of touring the Bermuda Triangle, but held back in case your ship disappears? Well, thanks to the Norwegian Prima liner, you’ll now get a full refund if the ship vanishes. And if the ship does go missing, we’re not sure the money will be any good to you, but is there a price for peace of mind?
The sharkcano
There’s no need to get in the water for this next item, you can see it from space! The Kavachi volcano is near the Solomon Islands, and NASA have observed two species of shark living in its crater in high numbers. Known as ‘Kavachi’s oven’, it recently erupted, prompting NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre to tweet ‘you’ve heard of sharknado, now get ready for sharkcano’.
Life imitates art
Romance novelist Nancy Brophy is not new to the idea of murdering their husband. She wrote about the topic in a 2011 blog post, and took her speculation a step further by actually doing it. Despite saying a fictional version of her case would not stand up to scrutiny, Brophy will be sentenced on the 13th June.
Giving back to the earth after we’re gone
Thanks to the creation of a ‘living’ coffin, we can now do that in a very literal sense. Described as ‘the Tesla of coffins’, start-up Loop have developed the fully biodegradable mycelium caskets, which transform bodies into compost with the help of mycelium.
We’ve included a cameo from Ray Liotta. Ray played some iconic characters and he will be missed.
We love using visual thinking and visual storytelling to create connected and layered whiteboard animations like this. We’d love to talk to you about how your message could look as a whiteboard animation, contact us today!
The familiar feels safe, even when it’s clearly sinking. Here’s the harsh truth: in a world that moves as fast as a TikTok trend, being slow to adapt is a recipe for stagnation.
Over-complication isn’t just tedious—it’s the nemesis of efficiency. Enter the KISS principle: “Keep It Simple, Stupid.”
Here’s the thing about getting comfortable – it’s the silent killer of real growth, and I am not talking about bottom-line growth – I’m talking about the type of growth that is far more valuable.
Ah, the Inverted Pyramid—It sounds like a tragic prog rock album you might find at a car boot sale, but it’s a concept that’s as intriguing as it is practical.
Sometimes it’s bloody tempting to focus on fighting today’s fires while forgetting the bigger picture, isn’t it?
Affordance is how something shows you what it can do, like a door handle that makes you want to pull the door open or a button that looks like it should be pressed.
Have you ever been in a meeting where you could just feel your team's energy slipping away? Sometimes meetings drag on, and fresh ideas are as rare as a decent cup of tea, well, in the whole of America!
This peculiar proportion, approximately 1.618, has been lurking in the shadows of human creativity for millennia, like a mathematical James Bond, seducing architects, artists, and designers with its promise of perfection.
Have you ever been in a meeting where you could just feel your team's energy slipping away? Sometimes meetings drag on, and fresh ideas are as rare as a decent cup of tea, well, in the whole of America!
Why do we see faces in clouds, cars with expressions, or even attribute human emotions to our household appliances (admit it, your Henry Hoover has feelings)? The answer lies in the ancient concept of anthropomorphism—a principle as old as humanity itself, born from our inherent need to understand and relate to the world around us by projecting our own characteristics onto it.
Picture this: You walk into a diner with a menu the size of a small novel. You’re hungry, but now you’re stuck—overwhelmed by choice, paralysed by indecision. Welcome to Hick’s Law in action, a psychological principle that’s been quietly dictating human behaviour since the 1950s...
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? That frantic rush, always trying to keep up with the latest trend. Blink, and it’s gone—again. It’s like standing on a moving walkway, but it’s speeding up, and you’re dragging along a suitcase packed full of never-ending to-do lists.
Understanding the Scaling Fallacy isn't just for philosophers or over-caffeinated academics. It's vital for anyone who wants to make an impact with their ideas, especially in creative fields where size does not always equate to success.
Here’s the thing—staying in your comfort zone isn’t just boring; it’s risky. You know what they say: “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.”
Performance Load teaches us that less truly is more. Visual thinking is about distilling complexity into clarity, turning a tangled web of ideas into a neat, navigable roadmap.
You know that feeling when you’ve just nailed a quick win? The rush, the thrill, the sense of accomplishment—it’s like a hit of dopamine, making you feel like you’re on top of the world. But here’s the thing no one tells you...
Ever heard of the phrase, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’? Turns out, constraint is its often-overlooked sibling—perhaps the unsung hero of creativity.
Ignoring burnout doesn't just impact outcomes; it gradually wears down the very essence of team connection and effectiveness. But here's the encouraging part: there's a way forward that is both within reach and within our control.
In the chaotic symphony of modern life, where every ping and notification competes for our limited attention, the concept of ‘signal to noise’ has never been more relevant. But before it became the buzzword of the digital age, it had its origins in the dry and dusty world of early telecommunications.
It is more than just rounding off; it is a psychological experience where the brain concludes what remains hanging in the balance.
Have you ever wondered why certain stories just hit us in a different way? Chances are, you're in the grasp of something archetypal; those universal, almost sneaky patterns of theme and form that are hardwired into our very being.
When we design, whether that be a piece of graphic design, a software integration or a whiteboard animation, we should strive to minimise errors and make them easy to correct.
Today, I want to explore a theme that is as ancient as it is perpetually relevant, failure. It’s a concept that shapes our very DNA, prompting where we go, helping us grow in our personal and our professional lives.
Bridge the knowledge gap by exploring the role of advanced organisers in visual thinking and comms.
It gives us great pleasure to have you join me for this issue, as we explore the fascinating and always relevant subject of "The Medium is the Message."
This week's theme is a topic that is close to my heart: visual metaphors. Visual metaphors are at the core of visual thinking, and I'm excited to investigate them with you in this issue.
Mind mapping is a powerful tool for visual thinking that can transform the way you organise information, brainstorm ideas, and enhance creativity.
When done well, the ingredients in an explainer video combine to create powerful animations that inform, entertain, inspire and stay with viewers. In this post, we look at how they are made.
Explainer videos take your vision, message and story and transform them into a feast of storytelling, visual thinking and inspiring communication. This feast is served in the perfect way to capture your complexity and depth, and serve it up to your audience.
When it comes to your brand, video offers a whole range of ways to feature your brand both subtly and more directly.