Which kinds of event benefit from graphic recording?
You saw something exciting at an event recently - a drawing coming to life on the big screen as the speaker is talking, capturing the main points and having the audience hooked. You spotted the artist sitting to the side of the stage, tablet wired to the projection. You learned it was called “graphic recording” (or “graphic facilitation”, “sketchnote”, “live visualization”, and its many other names). You want to implement it into your own event but wondering if graphic recording is a good fit. You want to make the panels memorable, impactful, and for attendees to have a visual summary to remember the key points afterwards. But your event has multiple speakers, a technical topic, and a tight budget…
Which kinds of events can benefit from graphic recording anyway?
The short answer: Any event with a flow of information that can be captured and visualized will benefit from graphic recording.
The long answer: Any event, still. Let’s break it down!
First, what is graphic recording? Graphic recording is a relatively new field where an illustrator listens attentively to the information presented and synthesizes them into precise words to be paired with impactful drawings. Traditionally, graphic recording is done on massive sheets of papers with colorful markers. Nowadays, many artists also work digitally on tablets which are then projected onto bigger screens.
The benefits of graphic recording include:
Boosting comprehension and retention: Imagine instead of having only vague memories about the 5-hour guest keynote at your conference, you would have a one-page image with the most important information, color-coded and emphasized with beautiful illustrations. Humans learn better with visual aid!
Adding visual anchor: A conference is filled with distractions - your seat neighbor, your rumbling stomach, and the miracle little screen in your pocket filled with all the entertainment in the world. And while speakers can have their own slideshows, having an interesting drawing unfolding live can provide the audience with somewhere to rest their eyes during long presentations and promotes active learning
A souvenir to remember: How many of us have skimmed through a post-event email full of PDFs and PDFs of texts? With graphic recording, everyone would have beautiful illustrations to reference and share whenever they think of your event. Graphic recordings also serve as exciting content you can post on social media channels and the event website!
Make your post-event package stand out with vibrant visuals!
“But my event…”
has multiple speakers!
does not have a straightforward one-sided flow of information!
only has a one-sided flow of information!
is about a difficult technical topic!
does not have a big budget!
only has one (1) cable!
These concerns are absolutely understandable, as prominent examples we see of graphic recording are of artists working in carpeted conference rooms where there is a giant stage and two thousand spotlights and a team of robust IT-specialists effortlessly switching between the keynote and the illustration.
However, we tend to not see the other, much more realistic and common instances where the graphic recording artist is:
sitting at a long table in a small university meeting room capturing an annual budget planning session
quickly jumping between five break-out groups during a nurse union get-together
working quietly in the background in a confidential client meeting
Graphic recording can be understood as elevated note-taking, so any event where you can benefit from taking notes, we can do graphic recording!
Let’s discuss some of the concerns:
“My event has multiple speakers and not a straightforward one-sided flow of information!”
This is one of the prime types of events where graphic recording thrives! During an expert panel, a roundtable, a workshop, or a break-out group, ideas are bounced around between multiple speakers and they should not have to worry about creating a comprehensive structure. The graphic recorder will catch the most important points and create an easy-to-understand visual.
A graphic recorder can provide structure to a panel where there are multiple speakers.
“My event only has a one-sided flow of information!”
With lectures and keynotes, there can be a worry of there being too much information - how can the graphic recorder fit all of them onto a single image? The answer is: we don’t! Our goal is not to write a transcription. Your event speakers are experts in their field, and graphic recording artists are experts at identifying the highest impact points of the presentation.
Capturing the most important ideas is key.
“My event does not have a big budget!”
While graphic recording can be a luxury service, it does not have to always cost thousands and thousands of euros. Many graphic recorders now offer remote services, where they call into the event, thus saving on travel and accommodation. Event organizers can also identify the most important segments of the day and only request graphic recording for those timeframes.
That being said, I have personally not heard of any event that has hired a graphic recorder and regretted it. Attendees have always been excited to see ideas become drawings live, speakers touched to see their hard work captured with care, and event organizers delighted at the value for cost of graphic recording.
This eye-catching image was for one 2-hour panel!
“My event is about a difficult technical topic!”
The role of the graphic recorder is not to become an expert in the information, but rather to be a dedicated active listener. We are trained to identify points of data that are interesting with high impact, even if we don’t fully understand the nitty gritty. This is what we are trained and paid to do!
Graphic recorders do not need to know all of the technical details to draw a comprehensive summary.
“My event only has one (1) cable!”
I will translate this one into “Our event has never had a graphic recorder before and does not have a big IT-team, we don’t know how to set things up!”
Worry not! Most graphic recorders who work digitally come prepared and can advise you on the technical details of how to project their tablets far before the event date. Some graphic recorders don’t need cables at all! They will bring their giant paper sheets and collection of vibrant markers.
Those are only a few of the values graphic recording can add to your event. Whether in massive conference centers or a public library meeting room, bringing a graphic recorder onto your team can guarantee to transform your event. To borrow folk wisdom: an image can convey a thousand words!
The example graphic recording works in this article are part of my portfolio. For my own scale-adaptable, cost-flexible graphic recording services, simply write to buffienguyen@gmail.com. I will even bring my own cable!
