Many important objects in algebra can be encoded using simply defined “string diagrams”. These diagrams often simplify presentations and illuminate connections with other areas of mathematics. In this talk, I’ll give a few examples, including the symmetric group and web diagrams. I’ll also illustrate the important perspective these diagrams provide in representation theory, including the classical theorem now called Schur-Weyl duality. After reviewing some classical results, I’ll discuss recent work with Kujawa, Muth, and Zhu to “deform” these diagrams using superalgebra.