The resent development of graphical 2D and 3D design tools has led to a new state of visualisation in the design process. A whole range of visual representation-forms have emerged and gained increasing importance and influence on the design process, and hence the final result.
From this follows that visual thinking is more important than ever. The visual is no longer limited to represent the product as such but extends to embrace all kinds of representations, from metaphor to diagram. Abstract levels of visualisation gain in usability and implementation.
The renewed interest in the diagram in the architecture of the 90ties and the invention of the generative and dynamic modes of the abstract diagram are closely linked to the emergence of graphical computing. Though the theoretical aspects of the diagram has been unfolded during the 90ties, its underlying conditions and reliance on visual thinking has largely remained unexplored. This essay will present some resent research in this field.