One of the ways to get more “fluent” with discerning ideas, arrangements, and effects is to practice mapping them onto articles, photos, or videos. Here are some to start with, but you can also try a daily newspaper, youtube videos, or even your organization logo or mission statement if you work for a nonprofit.

Close reading is the practice of continually asking ourselves and one another: What is it you’re seeing, that I can also see, that has you draw that conclusion? Or that has you make that interpretation?

The slider tool is useful in both the specification and iteration phases of designing an intervention. It borrows from digital photo editing programs where sliders are used to let you see changes before committing to them. A slider for saturation lets you see how an image would appear with heightened color or with almost no color, for instance.