Permacultrure is Common Sense ... for a world ... where sense is no longer common

The Dyslexic Way of Creating Permaculture Documentation

Location: Personal practice
Year: 2012
Methodology: SADIM
Scale: Personal / professional practice
Focus: Design documentation, working with dyslexia, communication

Overview

This is perhaps the most personal design in this portfolio. Its purpose is to create a systematic, achievable way of documenting and presenting permaculture designs for someone who is dyslexic and has a deep-seated phobia of formal writing.

Presenting to clients is straightforward. There is a clear goal, a known audience, and verbal communication supported by printed materials works well. But creating general documentation for unknown readers has been a major block. A single paragraph can take hours to write, and the result still feels unsatisfactory. With over 60 designs completed, the task of documenting them all felt overwhelming.

This design asked: what if the documentation challenge itself was treated as a permaculture design problem?

💡 Meta-Design
This is a design about designing. A meta-design. It demonstrates that permaculture methodology can be applied to any human challenge, including the challenge of sharing knowledge itself. The fact that you are reading this documented design is proof that the design worked.

Methodology

SADIM — Survey, Analyse, Design, Implement, Manage

Given the complexity and personal nature of this design, and because the challenge was not land-based, the choice was between SADIM and OBREDIM. SADIM was chosen for its robust survey and analysis phases, which were needed to honestly examine the strengths and weaknesses involved.

Working Through the Design

  1. 1

    Survey — Mapping Strengths and Weaknesses

    The survey mapped the designer's strengths and weaknesses honestly and in detail. A core strength was the ability to understand complex patterns and simplify them. The most significant weakness was a complete mental block when required to write formally for an unknown audience.

    The survey also identified existing assets. A large body of design documentation already exists, just in non-standard formats: hand-drawn mind maps, Xmind digital maps, Sketchup models, slide presentations, and verbal explanations.

    Mind map showing an honest survey of the designer's strengths and weaknesses in the documentation process
    Survey mind map — strengths and weaknesses mapped honestly
  2. 2

    Analyse — Implications and Opportunities

    Each point from the survey was examined for its implications. Several unexpected opportunities emerged. The existing documentation, while non-standard, is actually rich and detailed. The challenge is not creating documentation from scratch. It is finding a way to present existing material accessibly.

    Mind map exploring the implications of each point identified during the survey phase
    Analysis mind map — implications explored
    Summary mind map distilling the key points from the analysis phase into clear findings
    Analysis summary — key points distilled
  3. 3

    Design — A Documentation System That Works

    The design phase worked through the permaculture principles to develop an approach to documentation that plays to strengths and works around weaknesses. The key insight was not to try to write in a way that is unnatural. Instead, use the visual and structural formats that come naturally (mind maps, models, images) and organise them within a minimal written framework.

    Overview diagram of the proposed documentation system design
    Design overview
    Diagram showing the elements selected for inclusion in the documentation system
    Elements to use in the documentation system
    Mind map showing permaculture principles applied to the documentation design challenge
    Principles applied to the documentation design
    Final diagram showing how all elements of the documentation framework fit together into a workable system
    Fitting it all together — the final documentation framework
  4. 4

    Implement and Manage

    Mind map outlining the step-by-step implementation plan for the documentation system
    Implementation plan
    Mind map showing the ongoing management and review plan for the documentation system
    Management and ongoing review plan

    The Documentation System in Practice

    These images show the documentation system working across different contexts: on a laptop during preparation, as printed materials, laid out on a table for client review, and projected during a presentation.

    Permaculture design documentation being prepared and reviewed on a laptop Printed permaculture design documentation as finished physical output materials Printed permaculture design documents spread out on a table for client review and discussion Permaculture design documentation being presented to an audience using a projector

Reflections and Outcomes

The fact that this design portfolio exists, and that you are reading it, is the most direct measure of this design's success. The approach that emerged was to use visual formats as the primary medium, provide brief written contexts rather than full written explanations, let the images and mind maps carry the substance, and choose the most natural format for each element rather than forcing everything into one style.

✓ Key Outcome
A workable, achievable documentation system was designed that works with the designer's strengths and around their weaknesses. It enabled a portfolio of 60+ designs to be shared publicly, something that previously felt impossible.