Graphic Recording

Imagine having someone visualise your conversation as it happens. The group’s energy rises, new connections are formed, new ideas emerge, and at the end a colourful, engaging graphic summarises all of the key points.

This is the power of graphic recording.

A woman taking visual notes from an event called "Leading the Product".

Graphic Recording: your words, visualised in real-time.

Sketchnoting, scribing, live drawing, graphic recorders… no matter what you call it, the end result is the same: an illustrator listens, synthesises, and visualises your presentation, webinar, or group discussion in real-time.

It almost seems like magic.

Why engage a graphic recorder?

Having someone create a visual summary of your conversation is useful in a number of ways:

Of course, the finished artefact is a terrific asset to reflect on, share with attendees, or gift to the speaker
In addition, watching the canvas come to life in the moment keeps attendees more engaged
Seeing a visual summary can trigger new ideas and bring clarity to the conversation

Learn more about different types of graphic recording

A person in black uses a marker on a whiteboard filled with colorful sketches and notes, including topics like Navigating Food Landscapes.

Brands we’ve worked with

Events that we’ve captured

Conference presentations
Executive and board meetings
Community or customer engagement sessions
Panel discussions
Internal presentations to staff
On-demand illustration at innovation workshops
Webinars and remote collaboration sessions

A collage of seven images showing people drawing on whiteboards in different settings. Text includes: "How many trucks?", "THE YOUTH", and "RENEWABLES."

How does it work?

Our graphic recorders aren’t just lightning-fast illustrators, they’re exceptional listeners, and well-rounded thinkers. They’ve spent years training themselves to find connections in what they hear, so they can make sense of it for themselves.

What makes it onto the page might be the hero of the day, but what happens before a graphic recorder puts pen to the page is just as important. While your conversation is taking place, the graphic recorder is:

listening
synthesising, and
capturing

… all at the same time. What ends up on the page is a visual interpretation of your presentation or group conversation.

Yes, it’s amazing—it also just happens to be very useful!

Learn more about different types of graphic recording

Three Polaroid photos showing individuals drawing on whiteboards filled with sketches and diagrams in a professional setting.

Why partner with Sketch Group?

Experienced illustrators: Our team have worked with Australia’s biggest brands, with years of experience capturing events, both on paper and digitally
Australia’s largest team: We are the only organisation in Australia with a large team of experienced graphic recorders, so we have the capacity to ensure your event succeeds (even if someone calls in sick).
Technology is on our side: We’re experts in virtual collaboration tools like Miro and MURAL, and can help you bring a whole new level of interactivity to your online meeting workshop.
Flexible and easy to work with: We consistently hear feedback from our clients that they love working with us!

Man and woman giving each other a high five with illustrations of characters looking at them.

Testimonials

Our clients love working with us. Here are a few examples.

Rating

5.0

18 reviews

Marcail Arbuthnot Strategic Designer

Very effectively surfaced the key themes, was able to quickly identify the important messages and present them in a visually impactful style.
Woody Boyce Researcher

Having Matt illustrating at the workshops brought a really engaging and interactive tool that really made the workshop attendees feel heard, understood, and special.

I think that the participants really enjoyed watching their words ‘come to life’ in front of them.

At times some of the group members (who were teenagers) would get bored with what I was talking about, and at those times they would often watch Matt while he was drawing, which really helped me a lot!

Having the illustrations on the wall also really helped the group remember things they had previously said and topics that they had previously talked about, which was very helpful for me as I could use the illustrations to prompt further conversation.
Melissa Knight Facilitator

People could see that the discussion was being captured warts and all. It also in some way provided a small distraction to what was a heavy discussion. I have continued to refer back to the image to reflect on the content of the day and will continue to do so—so much easier and accessible than returning to a word based document.

Frequently asked questions

Do you capture virtual events?

You bet! Since the pandemic, the idea of running a purely remote event, or a hybrid event, has become normalised—and we’ve adapted our service as well. We’ll sketch on an iPad, so that attendees can see the visual notes in the same way that they would in person.
Do you know the content in advance?

Not really. As a graphic recorder, we listen to what’s being said, and create a visual summary of what we’ve heard. That said, it can be helpful to involve us closely in the lead-up to the event. Knowing the agenda for the day, the names of speakers, and other details makes our job a lot easier!
What surface do you work on?

It depends! Sometimes we’ll work on a large roll of paper, taped to the wall. Other times we might use foam core. Some of our team prefer working on a whiteboard. And sometimes we’ll work digitally (on an iPad) and project that to a screen or onto the wall with a projector. Get in touch and we’ll help you decide what will work best for your event.
Can you teach me how to sketchnote?

You bet! We regularly run classes for those interested in improving their visual thinking skills. Read more about these workshops.
Can we keep the canvas after the event?

You sure can! We’ll also take photographs and provide you with a polished digital copy, so you can hang the original up in the office, and email a copy to all of the participants, share it with those who couldn’t make it on the day, or publish it to social media when promoting your next event.
I’m sold. What’s next?

Great. Just fill out our request for quote form, and we’ll be in touch!