So, you've been working on organizing this amazing Conference or event, and are looking around for ways to enhance the attendee experience?
The most commonly known Event Visualization approach is Live Graphic Recording (also known as Live Scribing or Live Illustration). As a Graphic Recorder, my task is to listen closely to the speakers and draw what I hear - linking ideas together to create a visual map of the message.
These Visual Notes can be taken in many styles and in varying detail, usually filling a canvas during one session of an event. Graphic Recording has become a popular and effective event visualizing service in the past 50 years.
Lately, I've been getting more and more requests for something else; to create a Visual Summary of the entire Conference Day!
Though it's great to have the content of each session documented in such a creative way thanks to Graphic Recording, through our conversations, I'm noticing that many event organizers are looking for something else: a simpler, more comprehensive visual conference summary to take away!
Why would one prefer a Visual Conference Summary?
Perhaps they don't see the need for each session's visual documentation
Sometimes the details are too confidential to circulate around on the internet in the form of a graphic - they just want to see the big picture
The Conference Producers see the need for one graphic they can share in a follow up email or on social media, as a high-level summary
How are these Conference or Event Summary Graphics created?
Live Visual Event Summary: Just like in the case of Live Graphic Recording, the Artist could be present during the whole day, to make sure that all sessions and talks are covered.
For example, when I was invited to create a Live Illustration at an NHS Event, the Sharing Best Practice Festival, I walked around all day to peak into all the sessions that took place during the day!
Another recent Live Illustration example from the NHS Nursing and Midwifery Conference
Post-Event Graphic Conference Summary
based on a video/audio recording of an event
using photo documentations, slides and notes from the conference
or based on my own Graphic Recording work from the Conference
Here's an example; this Visual Conference summary was created right after the Innovation Acceleration Forum held on 11 December 2023 at the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition in Kigali, Rwanda.
I created it based on 3 session graphic recordings I had created during the forum itself! Once those were approved, I could take the highlights from each session to build this final event summary.
These Visual Conference Summaries can complement or replace Live Graphic Recordings for those looking to have a beautiful, stylish, yet high-level summary of the key ideas during the Conference Day.
These artworks are a fantastic way to thank attendees for coming and share the outcomes with the world!