Illustrator profile

Oliver Caviglioli

Who are you?

I’m a former special school principal who, from childhood, has been interested in visual communication. My architect father introduced me to diagrams, typography, and the fine arts in general. So when I became a special school teacher, this focus on visual depiction served me well, and by working with educational psychologists for a number of decades, I found an increasingly useful range of applications for my growing set of skills.

How do you use your visuals to aid learning?

In addition to illustrating books, I also create posters and slide presentations, as well as designing documents. Then there’s something called sketchnotes. These are live notes made of presentations at conferences. Or, alternatively – and rather less stressful – they can be hand-drawn summaries of book chapters, for example. Napkin sketches are similarly hand-drawn, but focus on depicting either the structure of concepts or stages of processes. They are immensely helpful in analyzing and depicting the steps involved in teaching techniques.

Have you worked with the Learning Scientists before?

Yes, last year we collaborated in the creation of a set of posters of the top six learning strategies as identified by cognitive psychology. The posters have now been translated into a dozen languages and can be found on classroom walls around the globe.

What do you get out of working with the Learning Scientists?

I end up getting the most marvelous education! As we discuss how best to visually explain some pieces of research, for example, I receive explanations that are personalised to my level of understanding. Being able to ask questions until you think you have established a good understanding is a treat, as well as being essential for creating the illustrations. And, of course, the illustrations become feedback to Yana and Megan on the effectiveness of their explanations. A perfect loop in which to learn!