Gwendolyn Galsworth

Gwendolyn Galsworth
Born	upper New York State
Citizenship	American
Education	Montclair State University, Sorbonne Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana (Masters and PhD)
Occupation(s)	Author, researcher, consultant, practitioner
Organization(s)	Visual Thinking Inc.; Visual-Lean Institute; Visual Thinking Europe
Known for	Focusing on Visual workplaces and visual management
Awards	Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award 2011 and 2006

Gwendolyn Galsworth is an American author, researcher, hands-on practitioner, and consultant known in the field of workplace visuality and visual thinking. She is the founder of Visual Thinking Inc. and the Visual-Lean Institute, serves as a Faculty Fellow at the Shingo Institute, and is a Lifetime Member of the Shingo Academy. She has written seven books, two of which—Visual Workplace-Visual Thinking and Work That Makes Sense—have received the Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award. ^{[1] [2]}

Galsworth was one of the ten original members a team assembled by Norman Bodek in the early 1980s to document and explain what was then called The Japanese Manufacturing Miracle, exemplified by the Toyota Production System through books and resources from Japan.

Early life and education

Gwendolyn Galsworth was born in upper New York State. She was raised in New Jersey and graduated from Montclair State Teachers College. After teaching Latin in New Jersey, she started an acting career in New York, studying at the Gene Frankel Studio and performing in plays. Galsworth later traveled to Europe where she studied French at the Sorbonne, learned Italian, and acted in Paris and London. Returning to New York, Galsworth joined the experimental acting group, The Performance Group (Richard Schechner), and then traveled to Poland to study with experimental director, Jerzy Grotowski. This was followed by an invitation to audition for Peter Brook and his London-based National Repertory Theatre. She later enrolled in a Master’s Program/Hunter College in Special Education for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired.

Galsworth received both her Masters and PhD in Education and Statistics from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

Awards

• 2024: Inducted into the Shingo Academy as lifetime member
• 2011: Awarded the Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award for her book, Work That Makes Sense: Operator-led Visuality ^[3]
• 2006: Awarded the Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award for her book, Visual Workplace/Visual Thinking: Creating Enterprise Excellence Through the Technologies of the Visual Workplace ^[4]

Books

• Work That Makes Sense: Operator-Led Visuality—1st ed. (Visual-Lean® Enterprise Press, 2011); 2nd ed. (Taylor & Francis / Productivity Press, 2022).
• Visual Workplace–Visual Thinking—1st ed. (Visual-Lean® Enterprise Press, 2005); 2nd ed. (Taylor & Francis / Productivity Press, 2017).
• Smart Simple Design—Reloaded (Visual-Lean® Enterprise Press, 2014). ^[5]
• Visual Systems: Harnessing the Power of a Visual Workplace (AMACOM, 1997).
• Smart Simple Design (John Wiley & Sons, 1994).

References

1. "About Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth – Visual Thinking Inc". Visual Workplace. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
2. "Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award Recipients – Utah State University – Shingo Institute" . Retrieved 2025-10-24.
3. "The Shingo Prize – A World Standard…For a Global Economy". Shingoprize.org. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
4. "Shingo Prize : Past Recipients" (PDF). Shingoprize.org. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
5. Schonberger, Richard (2016). "Review: Smart Simple Design—Reloaded". Target Magazine.