Tag: visual thinking

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What do participants say about our Sketchnoting course?

As 2024 draws to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the feedback we’ve received from participanting colleagues of the “StartSketch: The Basics of Sketchnoting” course. Some 161 colleagues from across the European institutions took part in this immersive, one-day, face-to-face training in the basics of visual thinking. Since end of 2023, we(*) ran 10 sessions in total, held not just in Brussels but also in Ispra, Italy, and Luxembourg.

An impressive 65% of participants responded to the post-course evaluation—a high response rate that we greatly appreciate. And their feedback? A staggering overall rating of 9.5 out of 10. Incredible! We’re deeply grateful for such positive reviews. They inspire us to keep sharing the basics of visual thinking with passion and professionalism, proving that there is a great need for more visual thinking as a tool for reflection and work within EU institutions.

Curious about the impact of the course, I turned to a generative AI tool to summarise participants’ answers to the question, “What is the most valuable thing you have learned that you will apply in your work?” The results were fascinating, see below, and I couldn’t resist illustrating them with a sketchnote.

(*) This course has been a labour of love from the start, and I must thank Catherine Focant, who co-created it with me. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, Catherine and I dreamed of introducing visual thinking and sketchnoting training within the European institutions for over a decade. Although we only had the chance to deliver the course together twice, her influence and input were invaluable. For personal reasons, Catherine couldn’t continue, which remains a source of sadness for me. Since then, Célia Pessaud has generously stepped in to co-facilitate the course with me. Her enthusiasm and dedication have been incredible, and I’m so grateful for her support.

To both Catherine and Célia, I want to express my heartfelt thanks for sharing this journey of spreading visual thinking skills within our European institutions. It’s been a joy to combine our passions and expertise to make this dream a reality.

What do participants say about our Sketchnoting course?

What said participants to the Sketchnote course
  • Sketchnoting is a valuable skill: Many participants found sketchnoting to be a useful tool for their work, allowing them to take notes, communicate ideas, and summarise complex information in a visual and engaging way.
  • It’s not about being a good artist: Participants learned that sketchnoting is not about creating perfect drawings, but about using simple shapes and visuals to convey ideas and information, breaking free from perfectionism.
  • Breaking down complex ideas: Sketchnoting helps to break down complex ideas into simple, easy-to-understand visuals, making it easier to communicate and remember information, distilling complex ideas to their essence.
  • Improved note-taking and communication: Participants found that sketchnoting improved their ability to take notes, communicate ideas, and engage with colleagues and audiences, making communication more effective, engaging, and memorable.
  • Increased creativity and confidence: The course helped participants to think creatively and build confidence in their ability to sketch and communicate visually, encouraging creativity and having fun with the process.
  • Practical applications: Participants identified various ways to apply sketchnoting in their work, including taking notes during meetings, creating presentations, and communicating with colleagues and stakeholders, seeing immediate applications in their work.
  • Simple and fun: Many participants found sketchnoting to be a fun and enjoyable way to take notes and communicate, and appreciated the simplicity of the techniques and tools used, showing that sketchnoting can be a fun and relaxing process.
  • Improved focus and engagement: Sketchnoting helped participants to stay focused and engaged during meetings and presentations, and to retain information more effectively, helping in organising ideas quickly and efficiently.
  • Use of visuals and symbols: Participants learned about the importance of using visuals and symbols to summarize information, make notes more attractive, and communicate ideas more effectively, using basic shapes, icons, and symbols to represent ideas.
  • Applicability to various contexts: Participants saw the potential for sketchnoting to be applied in various contexts, including work, education, and personal projects, expanding the skill and making it applicable beyond work.
  • Visual thinking and empowerment: Learning to think visually and use sketchnoting to enhance understanding and memory was highly appreciated, empowering participants to continue sketchnoting and applying it in their work and personal life.
  • Practical techniques and tools: Participants valued the practical techniques and tools provided, such as basic sketchnoting principles, drawing simple and recognisable sketches, and using icons and colours, providing practical tools such as symbols, basic shapes, and techniques for drawing icons, faces, and connectors.
  • Creativity and inclusivity: Sketchnoting encourages a more engaging and informal approach to note-taking, making communication more inclusive, especially when working with colleagues or diverse audiences, and visualising ideas to make them accessible and engaging for everyone.
  • Learning by doing: A number of respondents noted that sketchnoting requires practice and attention but becomes easier with time, and that the course helped participants gain confidence in their ability to learn and apply sketchnoting techniques.
  • Training quality and resources: Several respondents praised the course’s quality, mentioning the professionalism, structure, and effectiveness of the trainers, and many respondents are looking for resources to further practice and improve their sketchnoting skills.
  • Positive training experience: Overall, the course was seen as inspiring, empowering, and a fun experience that boosted confidence in using sketchnoting regularly, providing a positive learning experience with praise for the instructors’ expertise, the course structure, and the supportive learning environment.

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Workshop on burnout

Burnout is a scourge that affects a large number of people, both in the world of work and outside. The European Commission is no exception. Since this year, a group of volunteers within the institution has formed a network to try to provide help and support. They are either specialists in burnout/mental health or are particularly interested in the subject due to a previous experience of burnout. I am happy and proud to be part of it.

At our last meeting, we discussed the conditions and characteristics that are conducive to leading an individual to burnout. We also discussed the aftermath of burnout, and this is what I personally focused on and took visual notes on. We talked about the warning and protection mechanisms that need to be put in place after a burnout, the sometimes radical decisions that need to be made, and the changes in attitude, behaviour, and mentality that need to be made in the ecosystem of our life.

The conclusion, not easy for everyone to accept, is that burnout is a life opportunity to get to know ourselves better by understanding the deep reasons that led us to it, and an opportunity to change the perspectives of our life. For this reasons, it is important to be grateful, to see the positive that burnout has brought us. The network will continue to work to provide preventive assistance to colleagues, to prevent burnout with more awareness, and to assist those who return to work after burnout.

And you, what have you put in place in your workplace to prevent and/or help burnout victims?

Workshop on burnout - Sketchnotes
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Graphic recording and Communities of Practice

Developing a community of practice is both an art and a challenge. Growing it dynamically and organically, keeping it vibrant, and ensuring it thrives requires specific actions, continuous energy, and unwavering dedication at every stage of its life cycle. While elements like clear purpose, committed sponsorship, strong governance, and an engaged core team can lay a solid foundation, what truly drives a community forward is the passion of its members for their craft.

The HR professionals’ community of the EU institutions exemplifies this beautifully. Through their commitment, energy, and collaboration, they have created a space that feels alive, which is warm and dynamic. I have the privilege of following this community closely, through my normal job but also through my activities as a visual thinker within the EU institutions.

Recently, they invited me for the graphic recording of their meetup and to facilitate a Knowledge Café. The focus of the Meetup was on “trends in the world of Human Resources”.

What stood out to me was not only the relevance of the topic but also the enthusiasm, goodwill, and deep engagement of the members in the room and online, extending even to other EU bodies. Their passion for the discipline of HR is truly inspiring.

This event was particularly special for me because I wasn’t working alone. I had the joy of being joined by two talented colleagues from my own community of sketchnoters, @reiter_petra and Sara Serrano Perez . After attending the sketchnoting training I provide within the institutions with Celia Pessaud , they accepted my invitation to join me for their very first live sketchnoting experience. Their work was remarkable, especially for beginners, and gives me so much hope for the future of visual thinking in our institutions. Seeing their joy and pride in their work warmed my heart and reinforced my belief in the power of communities to nurture and inspire. 

The EU institutions are evolving and innovating, often more than it seems from the outside. Vibrant communities of practice, paired with an increasing number of colleagues embracing visual thinking, are at the heart of this transformation. I’m grateful to witness and contribute to this journey.

Graphic recording at the EU HR Professionals community meet-up
Graphic recording at the EU HR Professionals community meet-up
Graphic recording at the EU HR Professionals community meet-up
Graphic recording at the EU HR Professionals community meet-up
Graphic recording at the EU HR Professionals community meet-up
Graphic recording at the EU HR Professionals community meet-up
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My Inktober 2024

For the edition 2024 of the Inktober challenge, I decided to complete the task by drawing each prompt with one continuous line, then to draw and post every day despite the demanding professional commitments. I made it! I thank all my contacts, known and unknown, for their support, positive comments of appreciation and all their likes on Instagram. It’s great to be part of this sketchers community!

The Inktober 2024 prompt list and my posts on Instagram

Day 1 – Backpack
Day 2 – Discover
Day 3 – Boots
Day 4 – Exotic
Day 5 – Binoculars
Day 6 – Trek
Day 7 – Passport
Day 8 – Hike
Day 9 – Sun
Day 10 – Nomadic
Day 11 – Snacks
Day 12 – Remote
Day 13 – Horizon
Day 14 – Roam
Day 15 – Guidebook
Day 16 – Grungy
Day 17 – Journal
Day 18 – Drive
Day 19 – Ridge
Day 20 – Uncharted
Day 21 – Rhinoceros
Day 22 – Camp
Day 23 – Rust
Day 24 – Expedition
Day 25 – Scarecrow
Day 26 – Camera
Day 27 – Road
Day 28 – Jumbo
Day 29 – Navigator
Day 30 – Violin
Day 31 – Landmark

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My takeaways from the ISC24TX

After 6 editions organised in Europe (*), the 2024 International Sketchnote Camp (ISC) crossed the Atlantic to be held in San Antonio, Texas, and was tagged with ISC24TX. The venue and the location (the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio – Texas, close to Mexico but still in the United States), and of course the majority of participants coming from the American continent influenced the three days of the ISC with an American-Tex-Mex touch; “Howdy, Claudio! :-)”. But this was also the case at the last ISCs with their own national touch.

ISC24TX group shot day1
The group photo from the ISC24TX organisers – See my ISC24TX photo album on Flickr

It took me some time to put down on paper my deepest takeaways from the ISC24TX. Here they are.

My ISC24 takeaways -Sketchnotes

The gratitude feeling

I have a great feeling of gratitude towards all those who allowed me to live the ISC experience. First the organisers who gave their heart and soul to welcome us and created this caring environment where sharing could take place, Prof Clayton, Mike Rohde, Steve Silbert and Ben Norris. Then to all participants, those present in the rooms of the university and those online, for the gifts they gave me (see next takeaway). I am immensely grateful to my family who helped and supported me to participate in this event far from home.

The intangible gifts

As a participant, I could already be satisfied with the goodie bag we received. It was full of items that make any sketchnoting geek crazy. What I learnt from the workshops may also have satisfied me. But the most precious gifts I’ve received are the intangible ones, the ones that participants give each other, at least to me: an incredible recharge of energy, inspiration, creating together, the care and kindness, and the joy of being there.

The precious connections

The connections I make at a sketchnote camp, and again at the ISC24TX, are precious. Whether it was:

  • reconnecting with old friends I hadn’t seen in real life for a long time (Mike Rohde, Prof Clayton, Rob Dimeo, Lorraine Kasyan, Ania Staśkiewicz, Peter Schmitt, Nathalie Grob, Joanna Redzimska)
  • connecting with new people, all interesting and beautiful persons (Alejo Porras, Emily Mills, Ben Norris, Ximena Vila Ferral, Cote Soerens, Ari Alvarez, Gabriela Borowczyk, Ola Krawczyk, Georgina Dean, Sarah Pressler, Omar Lopez, Shelaine, Raj Solanki, who else am I forgetting?),
  • thinking of all the visual thinkers friends who couldn’t be there but with whom I had a virtual connection in my heart (the list would be far too long to mention them all, so just Steve Silbert, Mauro Toselli, Sabine Soeder, and my Belgian friends with whom I organised ISC21BE).

I also really appreciated the connections between people and knowledge that are made through sharing skills and experience in workshops and informal conversations, such as on metaphors, mindful sketchnoting, archetypes, sketchnotes in presentations, hatching, and the business of graphic recording.

And what about the connection with San Antonio’s Tex-Mex culture? Thanks to my walks in the city, the fantastic night on a barge along the River Walk tasting typical Tex-Mex dishes, the great presentation of the city and its culture by Prof Clayton during his opening speech, the sketchnote loteria led by Ximena, and “El Marko” Neuland markers.

The sketchnoting community

This is probably my most biased takeaway because the sketchnoting community means a lot to me. At the European Commission, I work on building communities of practice. Therefore, I see the potential of our community and the great challenges we face. That gives me a mixture of feelings. On the one hand, it was a real joy to see our global community of sketchnoters come alive during the three days of ISC24TX, with a multicultural group of diverse backgrounds and practices in the room, with new members meeting the old, and everyone sharing, caring and learning from others. That’s what a community of practice is all about. But at the same time, I can’t help but feel that our community is still in its early stages, and there’s much more to do to make it strong and sustainable.

These are my takeaways from the 2024 International Sketchnote Camp. The next post is a follow-up to this one with my thoughts on how we could evolve as a community of sketchnoters. I am very interested in your opinion, please feel free to share it.

(*) Previous ISC editions

ISC24TX – 7th International Sketchnote Camp, San Antonio, Texas [Learn more]

ISC23NL LOGO

ISC23NL – 6th International Sketchnote Camp, Leiden, the Netherlands [Learn more]

ISC22PL – 5th International Sketchnote Camp, Szczecin, Poland [Learn more]

ISC21BE – 4th International Sketchnote Camp, Brussels, Belgium (full online due to the Covid pandemic) [Learn more]

ISC20BE – No ISC in Brussels, Belgium, as planned due to the Covid pandemic

ISC19FR – 3th International Sketchnote Camp, Paris, France

ISC18LX – 2nd International Sketchnote Camp, Lisboa, Portugal [Learn more]

ISC17HH – The first International Sketchnote Camp, Hamburg, Germany

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There is a hidden pattern in my event badge collection

My collection of event badges

As I sorted through my collection of event badges, dating back to 2005, I noticed an interesting pattern.

About half of these badges are from events where I was involved in the organisation – unsurprising, given my 20+ years in communication units at the European Commission. The other half, however, are from events where I served as a graphic recorder, harvester, facilitator, or sketchnoter – in essence, as a visual thinker.

Despite the evident demand for visual thinking skills, this role has never been officially recognised within the institution. Each time I transition to a new position or hierarchy, I advocate for this competence to be formally acknowledged in my job description. The necessity and utility of visual thinking in the EU institutions are clear, and I believe it should be developed and recognised across all EU institutions.

This conviction led me to create, with a couple of friends visual thinkers like me, a course on visual thinking for my colleagues, sharing the basics of sketchnoting to empower others with these essential skills. I dream of a future where the role of visual thinker is officially recognised within the EU institutions, enabling us to better serve our colleagues, European citizens and meet the growing demand for these capabilities.

Post first published on Linkedin.

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Graphic recording of a workshop on Values with researchers

I recently had the opportunity to bring together three diverse groups of people for a workshop, and the experience was truly inspiring. Mario Scharfbillig, a colleague at the Joint Research Centre EU Science, Research and Innovation of the EC, reached out to me for assistance with a workshop on the ValuesML project he was organising.

Research ideas to identify values in datasets - Graphic recording

The workshop brought together experts on values from universities and research centres around the world (the first group) to brainstorm research project ideas that would contribute to a future algorithm identifying values in datasets. The ultimate goal of the ValuesML project is to provide policymakers in the EC (the second group) with a deeper understanding of citizens’ values, identities, and aspirations in order to better shape policies. To facilitate the workshop, I enlisted the help of my facilitator friends in Art of Hosting (the third group), Myrto Tsoukia and Maria Samuel Madureira Pinto. We did an outstanding job offering a ProAction Café and adapted the script live during the workshop.

Research ideas to identify values in datasets - Graphic recording

My main role was to take visual notes, capturing the outcomes of the participants’ conversations through graphic harvesting. What I noticed beyond the tangible outcomes of the workshop was the impact it had on all of us.

  • Mario gained a better understanding of participatory methods for facilitating meaningful conversations
  • My fellow facilitators working within European institutions recognised the importance of considering citizens’ values and identities in policy design
  • Additionally, the researchers in the room had the opportunity to experiment with a participatory method for discussing their ideas.
Research ideas to identify values in datasets - Graphic recording

Researchers’ curiosity and eagerness to see my graphic recording filled me with joy. For many, it was the first time they had seen visual notes taken live. What they saw were just the rough sketches on paper of their conversations. I sometimes had difficulty understanding their scientific jargon and I had to confirm with them my correct understanding or correct my approximations. The final result arrived a few hours later with a digital version reproducing my raw sketches on the iPad. I like to share here both versions in order to show that the live capture is not very far from the final version, certainly more beautiful and colorful, but the ideas are the same.

Research ideas to identify values in datasets - Graphic recording
Research ideas to identify values in datasets - Graphic recording
Research ideas to identify values in datasets - Graphic recording
Research ideas to identify values in datasets - Graphic recording
Research ideas to identify values in datasets - Graphic recording

I hope that these visual notes will serve as a reminder of the richness of the conversations and the power of summarising complexity in a simple and elegant way.

It was a truly rewarding experience, and I look forward to future opportunities to facilitate and bring diverse groups of people together for meaningful conversations. And of course…to capture visually their conversations.

To better understand the ValuesML initiative and the purpose of the workshop you may read Mario’s post on Linkedin.

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