Imagination Styles at Work: Designers, Writers, and Problem-Solvers

Work often asks us to imagine before we act: to picture an outcome, hear how a sentence will sound, or feel a movement before we do it. But "imagine" doesn't mean the same thing for everyone. Your imagery profile—how strongly you use each sense in your mind—shapes how you design, write, and solve problems. There's no single best profile; there are different strengths for different roles.

Designers and Builders

Design and building often involve spatial layout, proportion, and visual detail. People with strong visual imagination may mentally prototype before opening a tool: they "see" the layout, the color, the composition. That can speed up iteration when the internal picture is clear.

But strong visual imagery isn't required. Many designers work from references, sketches, and iteration. They may rely more on motor imagination—the feel of the hand and the gesture—or on verbal and conceptual structure. Low visual imagery doesn't mean low design ability; it often means a different process: more external sketching, more trial and error, or stronger reliance on language and logic. Our visual imagination page notes that designers and builders can use visual imagery for rapid mental prototyping—and that other cognitive styles work too.

Athletes and Performers

Motor imagination—imagining movements without executing them—is one of the best-researched applications of imagery. Imagined movements activate brain regions that overlap with actual execution (premotor cortex, supplementary motor area, primary motor cortex), and training with motor imagery can induce cortical plasticity similar to physical practice. A large meta-analysis of 86 studies with over 3,500 athletes found a significant overall effect of imagery on performance, with particular gains in agility, strength, and sport-specific skills (e.g. tennis service accuracy, basketball free throws, soccer penalty taking). Effects are often strongest when imagery is combined with other psychological skills and when practice is consistent—e.g. on the order of about 10 minutes, several times per week, over time. For a full breakdown of dosage, neural mechanisms, and practical takeaways, see Mental imagery for athletes and performers. So performers and athletes don't just "visualize" in the abstract; the research supports the idea that mental rehearsal engages the motor system in a way that supports learning and performance.

Writers and Communicators

Writing draws on language, rhythm, and sometimes sound. Writers with strong auditory imagination may "hear" sentences before they write them, catching tone and flow internally. Those with strong visual imagination may see scenes or images they then put into words. And many writers work largely in concepts and structure, with less vivid sensory imagery—creativity doesn't depend on mental pictures. For research on imagery and creative writing, and how writers' imagery varies, see Mental imagery for writers and creatives.

So imagination at work for writers can be auditory, visual, verbal, or conceptual. Knowing your profile can help you choose how you draft and revise: read aloud, outline first, or lean on the sense that's strongest for you.

Problem-Solvers and Strategists

Problem-solving and strategy use many channels: diagrams (visual), internal dialogue (auditory and verbal), and the feel of steps or sequences (motor). Some people think in pictures; others in words, lists, or "gut" direction. How imagination affects memory and learning applies here too: the way you imagine shapes how you encode and recall information, which in turn shapes how you analyze and decide.

A single "problem-solver" imagination style doesn't exist. The useful move is to notice which channel you use most—and to pair that with the right tools and habits (whiteboards, voice memos, written plans, or physical rehearsal).

Students and Learning

In education, visual imagery interventions (e.g. creating "mental movies" of narrative text) have been shown to improve reading comprehension and recall; mental imagery can enhance memory encoding in ways that are comparable to viewing actual pictures. Research has not always isolated individual differences in imagery strength as a direct predictor of grades—so we can't say "strong imagers always do better." What we can say is that imagery is one channel for encoding and retrieval, and that teaching strategies that use imagery can help many learners. Students with stronger auditory imagination may benefit from verbal rehearsal; those with strong motor imagination from mental practice of procedures. Knowing your profile can help you and educators choose strategies that fit.

What You Can Do

If you want to see how you imagine across vision, sound, movement, and the other senses, the Imagination Index assessment gives you a profile in about 12 minutes. You get a clearer sense of which strengths you bring to design, writing, or problem-solving—and where you might lean on different strategies. The core assessment is free; optional paid reporting adds more detail and context. For practical ways to use that profile at work—rehearsal, communication, and team alignment—see How to use your Imagery Profile at work.

Further reading (motor imagery): Meta-analysis of imagery and athletic performance – PMC; Motor imagery and cortical plasticity – PNAS.