I am currently including graphic/visual facilitation and the use of collaborative graphic processes with my face to face work. I am also working on developing a practice to do this online . I am available to graphically record live events, use graphic work as part of a group facilitation, train and encourage other graphic/visual facilitators, do live event sketchnotes, and generally play with visuals with my clients. If you are looking for a straight up graphic recorder, I suggest you check the practitioners listed on the International Forum of Visual Practitioner’s site. There are many amazing recorders.
I am also offering graphic recording and facilitation workshops. I have a wiki where I’m collecting graphic facilitation/recording resources. Feel free to join and contribute! One thing that many people appreciate are sources of inspiration for icons and images. I am proud to host Michael Erickson’s amazing cartoon-centric image gallery, and I have collected images here and here (this last one is a harvest over time of images created in our workshops during “icon jams!) I have been halfheartedly curating a Pinterest board as well.
The addition of graphic work has emerged in the past 8 years. Two streams main streams dominate. One is the power of visuals to bridge and help us build meaning together. The other is the pleasure and satisfaction creating visual pieces brings to my life and work. I used to deny the latter, saying “I’m not an artist,” or “I’m not good enough.” Finally I realized that it was part of my practice. So now I embrace it, with all it’s joy and imperfection. Below you can see thumbnails of my work. Click into any image for a bigger picture (hosted on Flickr.)
Related Slide Shows, etc.
Hi Nancy,
I met you at a workshop you conducted on graphic facilitation for the sydney facilitators network. This week I m going to attempt to graphically record, using online tools only, a video web conference! While searching for help on the internet I came across your site and remembered the workshop last year. Not sure how I am going to manage the rather clunky online drawing tools but looking forward to the experience!
Melanie, that is SO COOL! What tools will you be using? Will you share your story afterwards?
Having just finished the conference about an hour ago I am elated and exhausted!
Well it wasn’t easy. We were using Webex video conferencing. Unfortunately I was the host (facilitator) which would have been fine, except that doing so many roles meant I could not concentrate on one role.
I found that I could not draw on the whiteboard when using other applications. So it was fine while people were talking and I was drawing, but as soon as we had to look at another page or a document, I had to stop drawing. However, the participants did enjoy my attempts. I am not an artist so it was very “naive”, but I was able to do cartoon style characters, which the participants recognised from the material they had shared… and that is the main point afterall.
I took a screen shot so will see if the participants will give me permission to post here.
My plan now is to work on it, after the event, to make one that can be kept… so not totally recorded in the moment, but that proved too difficult to do.
I did also have the idea of recording in photoshop at the same time and then sharing my desktop with the conference as it progressed, but realised that 3 days is not enough time to get to grips with photoshop.
Still, I can see the possibilities for the future, when webconferences allow one person to keep the whiteboard open while the rest of the conference is viewing different screens, or perhaps having it available as windows, and with some slightly better developed drawing tools… it could really work well in real time!!!!!!!!
Melanie, I’m very slow circling back, but a big and belated thanks for telling us how it went. I continue to work more on using the whiteboard in online events. I still have yet to try actual graphic recording per se!
Nancy, Doing some research tonight for my thesis (Gonzaga U.) and I was looking at Etienne Wenger’s website…found your book …and then remembered (I doubt you will recall this, but I do) we connected on The Well about 2 years ago. ]This past two years in Gonzaga’s communication and leadership program –and all the ideas and experiences that most resonate with me– are now coming together in the journey to my thesis. I believe I will find your book quite helpful as I explore online engagement in higher education. I look forward to reading it.
Regards, Marty
also…I am a visual artist…I teach at a community college art department and, of course, am “drawn” to your visual work. I’ve wondered about working with visual arts or incorporating the visual arts into online courses and your work is encouraging…grazie Marty
Hi Marty – glad you refound me and our shared connections to community and visualization/art. I have really been doing a lot more graphic facilitation. IN fact I have a pile of half edited blog posts … I should get cracking! Let me know what you think of “Digital Habitats!”