Vision Mapping 101
Quick Summary:
The heart of vision mapping with my step by step process that I use with clients and how to do it in Canva whiteboard with a video example. 1. Set your intention 2. Pick an analogy 3. Map using your analogy as a boundary/container 4. Play detective with your findings and 5. write your action steps.
This will take around 17 minutes with video walkthrough and 5 minutes to read without the video
This is a preview of the Vision Mapping 101 lesson from the Brand Vibe Course
Let’s Get Started!
Where are you going?
The very first step before starting a vision mapping session is to set an intention for your mapping time.
If you already know what the goal is go ahead and write that on the top right corner of your page or document.
If you don’t know which intention to start with because you have so many going on - set a timer for 10 minutes and write everything you think of until the timer goes off. Now that your mind is clear what goal is coming to mind? There isn’t really a wrong answer here. Let your subconscious pick something.
If you want to address another goal after this mapping session you can always start over again with the same process.
Tell Yourself a Story
Now it’s time to come up with an analogy around your goal.
If you were explaining this problem to someone what would you say it’s like?
For example, if you are mapping out your marketing plan for the next year and you decided you want to increase your email list size as your goal. And let’s say you’re a nutrition business who challenges standard diet culture. How can you apply the idea of “challenging the norm” or “eating when you’re hungry” or even “sitting down to a meal” to your marketing plan? Let’s go with the analogy of choosing a path less traveled. So now you can use that analogy to work within while you map.
Ask yourself: “Okay I’m taking a journey on the road less traveled what is a different way to invite someone to my email list?” Put a little stick figure future subscriber at one end of the path and the email list at the other end. What steps would someone need to take on an untraveled path? How could that be like the journey to your email list?
Vision Map It
This is the part of the process where you doodle, collage, write or type out everything for your process so far so that it's all together, blending into a story (a vibe) and you can start to see overlaps and places where new ideas could be brainstormed with your team or a friend.
From the example before you would now map out the steps to travel an uncharted path. They need to clean up some debri, dress appropriately or get the tools they need to clear the path, identify dangerous plants and foods, maybe keep an eye out for predators, etc.
Then map alongside it the nutrition path - identify harmful thoughts and beliefs, learn about the food you eat, learn how to read your body cues, etc.
Play Detective
Now you ask the moving forward questions. Like:
Which of these tools or learnings would be most helpful for my future subscriber?
Which tool would they want first?
Which tool is trendy and therefore interesting to your client first?
Is there an order to the learning that needs to happen? What’s first? What’s last?
Your Next Best Move
Time to write your action steps!
Which tool did they need first? Use that as an invite to the email list.
Do they need some education before they know they need that tool? Create some social or blog content that educates about the journey.
Now that they have the tool, how can you continue to guide them through this charted pathway to learning how to let go of diet culture norms?
And now how can you invite them onto the next path of working with you? Time to vision map that step!
This article is preview from the vision mapping lesson within the brand vibe course - which covers:
I’d love to hear how self-vision mapping worked for you! If you have questions or want to share how it went you can leave a comment below or email me at laura@illustrative.us
AUTHOR | LAURA MATTESON
Laura is a neurodivergent artist, mother, wife, founder of Illustrative with fancy drawing skills and a huge bucket-full of hope and love for humanity.
