Are you seeking to make your conference or meeting exciting, informative and unique? Do your delegates deserve better than PowerPoint and stock images?
As a live illustrator and cartoonist, it’s my mission to make your message memorable and visually compelling. My many satisfied clients include Google, Levi’s, Coca Cola and the NHS.
I have wide experience in corporate visualisations, brainstorming and graphic facilitation. My clients value my ability to convey complex business ideas in a striking visual medium.
Cartoons and Visualisations can be key elements of any business meeting including focus group feedback, 360 degree peer evaluation and strategic planning. Delegates are delighted to see the words they say emerge as pictures before their eyes. This validates their ideas and builds group confidence and coherence.
I like to be particularly attentive to the mood of a meeting and to any strongly insightful, unusual or colourful perspective that anyone in the room, even the quietest person, may bring. Individuals may use my images in presentations to their colleagues. Equally, if I am briefed to do so, I can challenge certain ideas through my images, enabling new perspectives to emerge.
This video, including an interview with David, gives an insight into how David’s visualising work can complement your staff training, including work on core values, business vision and strategy and HR development.
Happy Customers
Various ways in which I can support your event
On Stage
British Aerospace worked with me at their management training event at the Blackpool Winter Gardens. I appeared live on-stage before 300 managers, taking suggestions from the floor about necessary management qualities. I created an instant cartoon figure to illustrate the suggestions, which was then copied and distributed to all delegates.
Big Wall
The most dramatic way of working with me is to give me a whole wall to play with! Whilst your delegates brainstorm their ideas, I capture the essence of the discussion in an original and humorous form. The size of the display ensures that key ideas are not forgotten and ideas that might otherwise be lost are distilled in an effective and memorable manner. I have worked in this way for many international clients including Levi’s, Rabobank and Johnson & Johnson.
The messages I encapsulate include official company statements, insightful heckles, the occasional gentle caricature, cultural and historical references and interesting facts.
Flip Charts
If you want my visuals to have impact but not be on permanent display throughout the meeting, I can generate a lot of cartoons on flip charts. These are more portable than the big wall pictures and can of course be taken away and displayed at your HQ after the event to reinforce the message of the day and also to share with those employees who weren’t at the meeting. Companies who have found this approach useful have included: Nationwide, Amazon and Everything Everywhere.
Small Scale
The most discreet option! I sit in on the meetings and record the meetings as A4 cartoons which are subsequently used either as projections during the course of the meeting or incorporated into the official records of the meeting in company literature. This has proved particularly useful when illustrating dilemma reconciliations for Trompenaars Hampden-Turner. Clients have included BP, HSBC, General Motors and Barilla.
The Benefits of Live Illustration
How many meetings have you attended in your working life? And how many of them were really memorable?
Whether you are a multi-national company holding a conference for hundreds of your employees or a Start-up brainstorming your vision with key stakeholders, it’s vital that the outcome of your meeting is remembered, so that people leave with a sense of clarity and purpose.
HOW I WILL ADD VALUE TO YOUR MEETING OR EVENT
Ensuring it’s memorable
My pictures can spark the memory, years after the event they recorded. That amazing insight the guest speaker shared with you, the witty heckle from the back of the conference room, those surprising survey results – all of these can be lost without a visual reminder.
A unique approach
My illustrations will be unique to your event. I can depict your colleagues in their own words and reinforce their message with an apt metaphor.
Humour leads to greater engagement
The wit and accuracy of my illustrations means that people really engage with the artwork as it develops. They are kept on their toes and feel noticed if their contribution makes it to the picture.
Illustrations linked to greater reach
One of my favourite moments is when delegates take photos of the artwork to send back to the office or to share on social media. I often find that pictures are still being talked about online months after the event is over.
Deepening the ideas
I’m fascinated by culture and history and have a broad awareness of key business concepts and theories. I believe it’s important to give an intellectual hinterland to the meetings I am illustrating. I’m known for including unexpected but familiar references into my artwork – whether it’s Aristotle or Freddie Mercury.
How it works
How much notice do you need for a booking?
Typically, my clients book a couple of months in advance, but it’s always worth calling. If I have availability, I am happy to take bookings at short notice.
What preparation do you need?
Before the event, I always like to talk to my client about their aims for the occasion, the background of their company and its opportunities and challenges. I might also ask for picture references of up-to-date logos, products and key personnel so that I can feature them correctly.
I always like to research the area where the conference is being held as it gives a bit of local colour: Leeds Town Hall, Milan Cathedral, the Brandenburg Gate; all have featured in my live illustration, and it’s nice to get them right!
I would also discuss logistics of the venue, number of guests, timings etc, to help me determine the most appropriate scale of the artwork.
What are the size options for live illustration?
- Super Large. An entire wall covered in paper. This looks dramatic and can be very effective. I would need to be booked for at least a whole day to fill it. You would also need to have access to the room prior to the event, to set the paper up.
- Large. I would set up a roll of paper one and a half metres high by 3 metres long (more if necessary). This is effective and easy for me to put up; all I would need is a flat wall, or a standalone screen or screens for me to stick the paper on.
- Medium. I draw on flip charts provided by you or by the venue. This has the advantage of movability (handy if your event is alternating between plenary and breakout sessions, for example) and is a good option if the venue doesn’t have usable wall space.
- Small. I draw on A3 or A4 paper. This works well if your meeting is small or will be moving around a lot. Though it has less initial impact than the others, it has the advantage of the images being easy to scan (by you or me) and sent on after the event. When working on an iPad (see below), my small drawings can be immediately projected onto a screen.
- Other. You may have a particular surface that you’d like me to draw on and I am very happy to discuss this.
Does Live Illustration work over Zoom?
Yes! I’m glad that in-person conferences are returning, but Zoom conferences are here to stay, and I’ve illustrated many of them. I would draw either A3 or A4, show the delegates what I’ve done at strategic points of the conference, and scan the pictures over afterwards. It’s very straightforward and is effective. A cameo appearance from the family cat is an optional extra.
What geographical areas do you cover?
Everywhere! I’ve worked everywhere from Detroit to Abu Dhabi.
I’m based in London and don’t charge for travel in London or South-East England. Travel costs and, where necessary, accommodation is chargeable beyond this area.
Do you provide electronic copies of your work?
If it’s a Zoom conference, I scan and send everything to you after the event.
If it’s an in-person conference and I’m working digitally, I save the images as I work and send them to you as jpegs or similar, either by email or Airdrop through the course of the day.
If it’s an in-person conference and I’m drawing traditionally, then I give you the actual artwork at the end of the event. If I’m working A3 or A4 and you’d like me to take the artwork home to scan and send it to you, I’m happy to quote for that.
Do you work digitally?
Yes! My background is traditional pen and paper, but I am happy to work digitally on an iPad for live illustration work. One approach may be more suitable than another in a given scenario: if in doubt, please ask.
How much does it cost?
Every booking is unique: please contact me via my booking form to tell me about your event and I will provide you with a quote.
What is your payment process?
I will invoice you once the booking is made. Payment terms are 15 days after the event.
Present complex information in a simple and compelling way…
Tell your story through simple images
