This interview was conducted after Learner #1 interacted with the software. Learner #1 is here referred to as "1." The VizAbility interviewer is referred to as "V."

V: What was your overall impression of the software?

1: It was interesting to look at the various environments. I don’t think it taught me anything, though . . . it just gave a sample. I don’t see how you could look at the pieces-break it down into the key dimensions [that foster visual thinking]. Like, I spent all day looking at office furniture; seeing the stuff on the CD-ROM didn’t help me make choices about what to buy.

V: What objects do you surround yourself with to foster creativity?

1: One thing we surround ourselves with [at my company] is whiteboards. We have whiteboards floor to ceiling in our halls. Unfortunately it’s too expensive to put them in the individual cubes. Actually, one thing we find is that letting people go outside is important in this sort of thing—that’s why we’re focussing on more patio space. People typically have a hard time thinking outside the box, and tools to help people do that would be useful. Like, what if the world was like this? It’s a matter of reframing the problem in a different space to generate new ideas. Take some examples here and move them into the office of tomorrow—have people imagine what that would be like. For example, Anderson Consulting’s "House of Tomorrow"—they put every kind of futuristic gadget in there and the effect of visiting it is that you really "feel the future." It changes your whole perspective on things.

V: In your profession, is sketching/prototyping an important way of communicating your ideas? Do you think you would benefit from using sketching more often? In what ways?

1: Well, sketching isn’t important in what I do specifically [web design], but it is for the graphic artists. Even I do a lot of visual thinking though. I’m a very visual person. I tend to put thoughts down in blocks the way I would want it to appear on the page.

V: How relevant did you think the hidden pictures section was to your professional work? To your personal interests? To your perception of the world around you?

1: [mistaking hidden pictures for flask sketching]: Well, it was certainly "fun." It didn’t get you to pay more attention, though, which is what I think they were trying to do . . . If it threw up a picture for 2 seconds and then asked me a question about it, that would help.

V: What did you think of the critiquing segment?

1: What would have been interesting is to show two people in conversation and then have you guess whether they agree or disagree . . . that’s the most important factor in getting people to work together. Most people are subtle in their disagreements with each other.

V: Would some kind of assessment have been helpful for you?

1: I would rather have had a point system. I don’t know who this product’s for; it has great methodology but the content doesn’t really apply to anyone. It’s like the choice between building a lot of 1-story houses or a skyscraper; with the latter, you can go deep and really hit your mark, but with the former you just end up spending money on the real-estate. Because of the de-focused content, no-one’s going to find this product extremely relevant. They have all the right methodology, paradigms of teaching . . . but every paradigm needs different content for different types of users.