Sketchplanations
Big Ideas Little Pictures
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Explaining the world one sketch at a time

Have great conversations about ideas through simple and insightful sketches.

Hi, I'm Jono 👋

I'm an author and illustrator creating one of the world's largest libraries of hand-drawn sketches explaining the world—sketch-by-sketch.

Sketchplanations have been shared millions of times and used in books, articles, classrooms, and more. Learn more about the project, search for a sketch you like, or browse by topic below.

Recent sketches

Moravec's Paradox meaning for AI with examplesMoravec's Paradox (opens in new tab)Eminem rhyme with orange example: "I put my orange four-inch door hinge in storage and ate porridge with George" showing how "nothing rhymes with orange" is wrongSo Nothing Rhymes with Orange? (opens in new tab)The McNamara Fallacy, also known as the quantitative fallacy, where we measure what is easy and ignore what is hardThe McNamara Fallacy (opens in new tab)All models are wrong, but some are useful - George Box statistics quote example and meaning with a map and simple modelAll models are wrong, but some are useful — George Box quote (opens in new tab)The Iceberg Model in psychology and systems thinking - above the surface and beneath the surfaceThe Iceberg Model (opens in new tab)What is uitwaaien: Dutch word meaning walking in the wind to clear your head, with worries blown away on a windy beachUitwaaien: The Dutch Word for Walking in the Wind (opens in new tab)Coffee: the glorious solution to the coffee sleep cycle with poor sleep caused by coffee, leading to tiredness, solved by coffeeCoffee: The Glorious Solution to The Coffee–Sleep Cycle (opens in new tab)Pyrrhic saving concept showing shoppers leaving a megastore with an overloaded trolley under deal signs, captioned “If we save any more money, we’ll be ruined” – spending more to save money examplePyrrhic Saving: "Saving" money by spending more (opens in new tab)Volcanic Explosivity Index VEI 0 to 8 with examples Kilauea, Etna, Mt St Helens, Pinatubo, Tambora and Yellowstone, each level about 10 times more materialThe Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI): Comparing Eruptions (opens in new tab)The Mathematics of Everyday Life showing everyday maths examples including budgeting, shopping, splitting a bill, travel planning, buying a house, voting statistics, baking measurements and fitting furniture, created for the VERDI inclusive mathematics project.Mathematics in Everyday Life (opens in new tab)When there’s a gold rush, sell shovels and picks, a classic business and entrepreneurship quote with prospectors chasing gold and suppliers lining the roadWhen there's a gold rush, sell shovels (opens in new tab)Front-load key words in lists and when writing for the web for clearer communication with a conference features exampleFront-load Key Words (opens in new tab)Laplace's Demon thought experiment quote by Pierre-Simon Laplace about determinism and predictabilityLaplace's Demon (opens in new tab)Common dune types showing how different wind patterns and sand availability shape transverse dunes, linear dunes, barchan dunes and star dunes.Dune Types: Transverse, Linear, Barchan, Star Dunes (opens in new tab)What is contentment? Happiness, wellbeing and contentment is what you have relative to what you want, from Morgan Housel’s The Art of Spending Money.Contentment: What you Have Relative to What you Want (opens in new tab)Explanation of SMART goals meaning, showing that SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound, and how setting SMART goals leads to clearer progressSMART Goals (opens in new tab)What is diagonal billing in cinema, film credits, titles, and design? Example of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman from the Towering Inferno in a movie theatre. Also staggered billing.Diagonal Billing (or Staggered Billing) (opens in new tab)Cornwall vs Devon cream tea styles shown side by side: jam first for Cornwall, cream first for Devon.Cream Tea: Cream First or Jam First? (opens in new tab)What are the contradictory traits of creative people? Illustration of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s 10 paradoxical personality traits, showing each pair of opposites such as energetic and restful, smart and naive, and passionate and objective.10 Contradictory Traits of Creative People (opens in new tab)How to remember latitude and longitude on a world map, understand which is which, which is x or y, and how to read lat–long coordinates using an easy mnemonic: latitude is flat and longitude convergesLatitude and Longitude: How to Remember Which is Which (opens in new tab)View all
Big Ideas Little Pictures Book

This is such
a cool book.
— Bill Gates

In a Book: Big Ideas Little Pictures

5-star rated on Amazon!

Absorb big ideas with crystal-clear understanding through this collection of 135 visual explanations. Including 24 exclusive new sketches and enhanced versions of classic favourites, each page shares life-improving ideas through beautifully simple illustrations.

Perfect for curious minds and visual learners alike.

See inside the book

Explore visuals for

Teachers

Managers & Leaders

Writers

Developers

Entrepreneurs

Product managers

Parents

Data scientists

Marketers

Designers

Wellbeing

Psychology

Science

Productivity

Motivation

Geography

…and many more
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