Hand-drawn visuals are far friendlier than standardized fonts and stock photos. And hand-drawn visuals are even more inviting when created live, right there where everyone can see.
The drawing above was created during the opening remarks at the Women in Cyber Security conference the end of March. It was then displayed near registration to welcome late-comers. Not a high resolution file shown here, just taken with my iPhone in the moment.
To see the whole set of visual notes from the Women in Cyber Security conference, check out this Flickr album.
Visual Thinking: Webinars, Social Media & Real-Time Drawings
A lot of information and ideas that used to be shared in person are now being shared online. Surprising to some, hand-drawn visuals can still be created in real-time, even when the entire interaction is taking place through a screen. Hand-drawn visuals are especially powerful in these situations because they give a very personal touch.
Webinars are a great example. Most webinars have an accompanying slide deck, chat room, and Twitter hashtag to follow. While the slides may have some visuals, the are generally seen in a completely different context than the chat room or Twitter stream. And with a lot of people interacting through chat and social media, it's really easy for comments and insights to get lost.
When hand-drawn visuals are posted in real-time during your webinar, they immediately grab people's attention. They keep the conversation alive, even after the webinar ends, thanks to your webinar hashtag. And hand-drawn visuals allow others to interact with core nuggets of your content, even if they missed your webinar. That can make them want to learn more and lead them to join you at your next event.
Be sure to watch this 15 second video to see what I mean. It shows 12 visuals that were drawn and posted to social media in real-time during the main 45 minutes of a webinar. The last 15 minute were devoted to Q and A, which I did not cover, but certainly could have, if needed.
To take a closer look at the visuals and see them all at once, check out this Flickr Album.
Please keep in mind, these were all drawn and posted in real-time. That means there was only about 4 minutes to draw, photograph, and post each picture!
Graphic Recording: Use those visuals after the event!
Graphic recording happens live, in real-time and on a large scale right in front of everyone. That's part of what makes it so powerful, engaging, and memorable. But those images can be quite powerful, engaging, and memorable after the event, too. So how do you put them to good use? Shop.Org had a great idea, as shown above in this Twitter screenshot.
Synthesis Images: What Are They?
Who would want a synthesis image and why? Any number of folks for any number of reasons! Companies, nonprofits, or businesses like them to sum up lengthy reports. Website owners like them to show what their website has to offer in a glance. Educators use them to give the big picture of their topic. Professionals use them to showcase their experience...the list goes on!
No matter who uses a synthesis image or why, social media loves them! So if you're looking to draw people into your content, try a synthesis image.
Graphic Recording & Creative Lettering Design: Word Clouds
Word clouds are pretty common these days. They're usually computer generated with standard fonts. If you want your word cloud to really have impact, hand lettering is the way to go!
Hand-lettered word clouds can be created from print materials before or after and event. Or for a report or website, for example. They can also be created live as a different way of graphic recording. No pictures, only words. Words that are carefully drawn and designed to create an impact greater that just a list or something computer generated.
If you relate better to words than pictures, a hand-drawn word cloud can be a great bridge to reach those who are more picture oriented. Experience the impact yourself - contact me to create one for you!
Graphic Recording: What to Do With Your Boards After Your Event
One of the great things about graphic recording is that it's big. Really big. Often 8 feet long by 4 feet high. To put that in perspective, a Smart Car is almost 9 feet long and about 5 feet wide. That's just about a foot bigger than a lot of graphic recording work!
Graphic recording literally gives you the big picture. So why not make the most of it! Like the creative folks at Tech Liminal in downtown Oakland, CA. As you can see in the photo above, they hung their boards right on the wall. That way, every one who comes in can seen what they've been up to. And for those working there, creative inspiration is just a glance away.
The two graphic recording boards above were created live at The Product Summit a few months ago. Each board is 8 feet long by 4 feet high.
Graphic recording...2 years after the fact?!?!
Live graphic recording is great, but so are visuals created before or after the fact. Like this one, which was created earlier this year - 2 years after the original presentation! A fresh visual can breathe new life into an old topic. Not that this topic is old (far from it!) but you get the idea. Visuals simply bring things to life, no matter when they're created.