Live Illustration for Community Engagement:

To wrap up 2025, I’m taking a look back at my coolest win of the year, and reflecting on why Graphic Recording is so brilliant for community engagement! 

Aside from the fact that having my work displayed so publicly is really really really cool this is a big win for me and for my client!

When the Cherry Orchard Implementation Board brought me in to record the work they were doing, it was important that I made the information accessible,engaging and not too serious. My goal was to present the information in a way that anyone, regardless of their literacy levels, language skills or interest would look at the illustrations and get a broad understanding of what the implementation board was doing to support the community.

Now, this only works if we get it in front of the eyes of the people. The illustrations were shared online and via social media, but I don’t know about you. I haven’t met a granny that uses LinkedIn. By having the illustrations displayed in real life on a wall, even someone who doesn’t have a smartphone, doesn’t know what a “Linked” is or what it goes on has a chance to engage with the information.

The illustrations are alongside one of the main bus routes that services Cherry Orchard on a fairly busy road. People on their daily commutes, or stuck in traffic all get a chance to see what’s happening and why!

These illustrations were completed over a year and half ago, but they’re still relevant and super useful for communicating key messages. When you use graphic recording, you’re investing in evergreen content. In 5 years time, these illustrations will still be valuable, “did all the work go as planned, is there more to be done?” These questions will be answerable, using the Graphic Recordings to reflect on this point in time.

Do you pass by this wall, if so take a picture and tag me :)