When you see people passing by, where are they looking? You’ll notice that either they look straight ahead or down at their feet (or phones). But unless they are tourists, they never do look up.
It’s because they are so used to their surroundings, right? Looking at the same buildings over and over again does not seem particularly exciting.
But I think people are missing out. Not only you’ll see new things by changing your perspective, but you’ll improve your ability to notice details as well.
To become master at his craft, Leonardo da Vinci used to take endless walks through the city and made himself notice something new at any object that he saw, even if he was already familiar with it. Doing this he continued to train his eye, which helped him to create paintings with tremendous detail and made him one of the most recognisable artists in the world.
And this is not limited to Leonardo—one of the exercises when learning to draw is to flip picture upside down and try to redraw it. It tricks your brain and forces you to look at the details rather than a picture as a whole.
If you want to have the ability to see things that people usually miss, you need to train your eye. It is not a simple process—you have to have an intention to see things that others do not see, rather than expect that it will happen automatically. But this will help you to stand out whenever you’re a product designer, business owner or a photographer.
And you can begin today. Skip your phone, eyes up and let your mind wander.