Did You Know?

HERE IS A NEW VIRAL VIDEO FROM MY FRIENDS AT XPLANE, the visual thinking company (TM) located in St. Louis, Portland and Madrid, Spain. The folks at Xplane do one thing and they do it like no other—they take complicated and often massive amounts of information and simplify it. They are visual thinkers, they un-complicate a complex or confusing message, business model, or program for employees, other businesses or consumers. Dave Gray, the founder and genius behind the whole thing, said to me 10 years ago: “Think back to when you were in school. Remember the filmstrip ‘How a Bill Goes to Congress?’ It’s like that. We simplify, in steps—with diagrams, with pictures—a complicated message.”

In today’s overwhelmingly complicated world of high technology, products and businesses, Xplane brings clarity to the world. As Xplane describes themselves: “Xplane is an information design consultancy that collaborates with companies to create understanding.”

They are obviously doing something right. Between the years of 2005 and 2008, XPLANE experienced growth of 186.4 percent, exceeding the average growth of 126 percent by Inc. Magazine “5,000 companies” list. This year, 2009 marks the third consecutive year XPLANE was included on the Inc. 5,000, listed as #1,708.

Kudos to Xplane.