As a "successful" performance designer for 52 years, I always wondered why drawing my costume designs was so very tiring - I can manage 2 characters a day max. I then recognised myself as aphantasic a couple of years ago. I've become intrigued less by the binary of the situation than the complex way our different brains work to get stuff done. When I'm asked to visualize something I have various responses, usually a flash image of the type of thing named. I then 'lose' the image and cannot hold it. Sometimes varied images of the same thing immediately flash past - eg 'table' is seen as a kitchen, a dining style, a bistro street table and others. But all such references just flash past. They cannot be held or visually investigated. However, I can verbally describe each one in intense detail if requested . . . ie I have exceptional conceptual visual recall, it's just not 'seen' as a picture in my brain. I cope with life through sound, speaking tasks aloud, always using aural aide memoirs. And I keep written lists of absolutely everything. On a side note I have perfect color pitch. I can go to a fabric shop and find a perfect color match with no reference sample to help me, and have done so on many occasions. I write because I don't think it's 'all or nothing' as regards how aphantasics conceptualize. I really think we all have very unique strategies.

You might find the work of art historian Matthew MacKisack interesting: his research on aphantasic artists found you literally can't tell someone's imagery experience from their work. What differs is the process, not the output - he calls the aphantasic approach "external composition," using words and materials as tools to imagine with rather than copying from an inner picture: https://aphantasia.com/video/art-of-seeing-differently We've also featured stories from aphantasic creators across all kinds of mediums - writers, painters, illustrators, sculptors, designers. You can find them here: https://aphantasia.com/topic/creativity Creativity is one of those fascinating frontiers in aphantasia research, and we really hope to see more of it!

This is pretty weird. I was planning to open a discussion about lack of aphantasia representations in media, but I guess it's usually people with hyperphantasia who create works for pop culture.

As a "successful" performance designer for 52 years, I always wondered why drawing my costume designs was so very tiring - I can manage 2 characters a day max. I then recognised myself as aphantasic a couple of years ago. I've become intrigued less by the binary of the situation than the complex way our different brains work to get stuff done. When I'm asked to visualize something I have various responses, usually a flash image of the type of thing named. I then 'lose' the image and cannot hold it. Sometimes varied images of the same thing immediately flash past - eg 'table' is seen as a kitchen, a dining style, a bistro street table and others. But all such references just flash past. They cannot be held or visually investigated. However, I can verbally describe each one in intense detail if requested . . . ie I have exceptional conceptual visual recall, it's just not 'seen' as a picture in my brain. I cope with life through sound, speaking tasks aloud, always using aural aide memoirs. And I keep written lists of absolutely everything. On a side note I have perfect color pitch. I can go to a fabric shop and find a perfect color match with no reference sample to help me, and have done so on many occasions. I write because I don't think it's 'all or nothing' as regards how aphantasics conceptualize. I really think we all have very unique strategies.

You might find the work of art historian Matthew MacKisack interesting: his research on aphantasic artists found you literally can't tell someone's imagery experience from their work. What differs is the process, not the output - he calls the aphantasic approach "external composition," using words and materials as tools to imagine with rather than copying from an inner picture: https://aphantasia.com/video/art-of-seeing-differently We've also featured stories from aphantasic creators across all kinds of mediums - writers, painters, illustrators, sculptors, designers. You can find them here: https://aphantasia.com/topic/creativity Creativity is one of those fascinating frontiers in aphantasia research, and we really hope to see more of it!

This is pretty weird. I was planning to open a discussion about lack of aphantasia representations in media, but I guess it's usually people with hyperphantasia who create works for pop culture.