Graphic Recording Services
for Workshops and Events

What is Graphic Recording?

(Also known as Visual Recording, Visual Notetaking, Live Scribing or Visual Harvesting.)

Graphic Recording turns spoken words and ideas into visuals. As a Graphic Recorder, I listen deeply, synthesize, and draw real-time visual summaries.

You can integrate this form of Visual Notetaking in meetings, workshops, conferences, and events. The visual summaries help capture the key points of the discussion. They can make it easier for participants to understand, remember, and engage with the content.

Simply put, a Graphic Recording makes visible what people say.

What about Graphic Facilitation or Sketchnoting?

Graphic Facilitation is a related but distinct service. As a Graphic Facilitator, I take an active role in the facilitation of an event. That means I focus not only on capturing information, but I also help to shape the conversation. (Contact me for more information about my Graphic Facilitation services.)

Further reading: Learn more about the difference between Graphic Recording and Graphic Facilitation on Wikipedia.

Finally, there is Sketchnoting. In my practice, Sketchnoting refers to my personal visual notes. These are usually small-scale, like in a sketchbook, and focused on my own interests.

Graphic Recording Examples

Explore some of my projects to learn more about the use cases.

See all projects

Benefits of Visual Notetaking for your Events

Visual Recording turns conversations into a tangible, shareable outcome. It captures key messages in real-time and creates visual summaries that help participants, facilitators, and event organizers:

Get Clear on Key Messages

Information overload is real these days. With packed presentations, tight schedules, and back-to-back sessions, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed during events.

The truth is, our brains can’t process or retain too much information at once. While Visual Recording won’t reduce the amount of information, it can bring clarity. It distills the key messages and summarizes them visually for participants, making the content easier to grasp.

Participants can easily come back to this overview of important points in their own time. Be it during a break or afterwards when they’re ready to absorb the details.

You can use the Graphic Recording to recap the highlights of the day as part of your agenda. I’m happy to assist with that. This helps to anchor the information. Presenting the visual also makes it more memorable and meaningful for participants.

Remember More

We’ve all been there: you leave a meeting full of great ideas or an inspiring keynote. In the moment, you’re certain those key points will stick with you. But a week later, or even a month, how much do you actually recall?

That’s where Graphic Recording can help.

How? First, it deepens your understanding. When you understand something better, you’re more likely to remember it. Graphic Recording gives you a clear overview, shows connections, and adds a new perspective through visuals. This richer picture makes information easier to remember, especially for those who learn visually.

But it’s not just for those who like visuals. Combining audio and visuals helps everyone create a richer memory. And the richer the memory, the easier it is for people to recall it later.

Second, visual notes are perfect for recaps. We can use the visual to revisit the key points in a short session during the event. Or the participants explore the image during a break. A quick glance at the image, even weeks later, can bring the main ideas back to mind. And we all know, repetition strengthens memory.

What Event Types and Formats Most Benefit from Visualization?

Graphic recording is a powerful tool that can support a variety of event types and methodologies. Here are some common categories of events that benefit from visualization:

• Workshops
• Team Retreats & Offsites
• Training & Learning Events
• Conferences & Summits

Is Graphic Recording the Right Tool for Your Objective?

The first step in determining if graphic recording is the right fit is to clarify your event’s goals. What are you hoping to achieve? What experience do you want to create for the participants?

Defining the core purpose of your event will help us identify how visualization can best support your objectives. Here are some possibilities:

• Learning & Knowledge Sharing
• Sharing Information
• Co-Creation
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Getting on the Same Page / Alignment
• Making People Feel Heard
• …

When you know your purpose, we can think together about how to integrate visualization to best support it. To get more concrete, it helps to ask yourself:

What outcomes do you hope to create?

Event Formats & Methods

This brings us to the question of process. What event formats do you plan to use for achieving the desired outcomes?

Let’s talk about how we can best integrate visualization to support your process. It’s helpful to have this conversation early in the planning process. This allows flexibility to tailor the agenda, align with facilitators, and work out the logistics.

Some formats that typically lend themselves to visual capture include:

• Facilitated Discussion
• Panel Discussion
• Keynote Presentations
• Ideation & Innovation Workshops (e.g., Design Thinking, Design Sprints, …)
• Vision, Mission, Values Workshops
• Strategic Planning
• Change Process
• Futures Thinking
• Art of Hosting
• World Café
• Stakeholder Engagement Workshop
• …

No matter if you’ve already chosen a format or are still in the planning phase, let’s have a conversation!

Graphic recording is only one of many options to bring visuals into your event. I’d be happy to brainstorm with you on how visualization can add the most value for your participants and organization.