An interview with Katie Chappell - graphic recorder and founder of Illustrated Live
How long have you been doing what you do, and how did you get to be a Live Event Illustration specialist?
I’ve been illustrating for over 20 years now! But I discovered live illustration and graphic recording in 2016 while I was studying for a master's degree in illustration at Edinburgh College of Art.
During my MA studies, I got a bit (very) obsessed with War Artists and reportage illustration, and through my endless digging through thick dusty books in the Art School library, I stumbled across this thing called graphic recording. Tech companies in Silicon Valley in the 1970s had been using this technique to communicate ideas more quickly and help their teams innovate.
My very first ever live illustration job was at Edinburgh University while I was studying there - they were holding a sustainability event, and put a call out for someone to create visual notes during the day.
Next thing I knew I was ready with my pens, a big pad of paper and a huge sheet of wood with a bulldog clip on the top. I didn’t own an iPad yet.
At that first event all about sustainability, I realised
A: I loved graphic recording, visual note-taking, live illustration (whuddeva you wanna call it)
B: It felt nice and easy for me.
C: I was using my illustration powers for good. The client was happy. I was useful! At last!
I WAS HOOKED.
The on-the-spot thinking totally suits how my brain works, and I really enjoy the adrenalin and the high-pressure challenge of turning information into pictures while people are watching.
Since then I’ve rebranded from “Katie Chappell Illustration and Design” to Illustrated Live, and have been thrilled to work with lots of really exciting forward-thinking companies, brands and organisations all over the world.
Who are your clients exactly?
At Illustrated Live, we’ve worked with such a broad range of clients that it’s impossible to narrow it down to one industry segment. Adobe, Google, Apple, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, Penguin Randomhouse, the United Nations are on our nice-people-we’ve-worked-with list (to name but a few), and we’re adding to it all the time.
Ultimately, the people at these companies who decide to use live scribing at their events are all innovative, progressive, they value creativity and they’re not afraid to take risks.
My favourite kind of people!
If that’s too fluffy and you love a cold hard LIST, most of our work ends up being at events around
Technology
Healthcare
Renewable energy
Academia & Education
Finance
Insurance
Charities/non-profits
And the *kinds* of events we work at? Oh, go on then. Have another list.
Panel discussions
University project reports
Roundtables
Fireside chats
Strategy events
Q&A sessions
Online & hybrid events
‘World cafe’ events
Internal meetings
Product launches
Customer appreciation events
Brand launches
Work culture events
Visualising concepts
People often ask us “What happens if you haven’t live illustrated or graphic recorded for my industry/niche before? How will you know what’s going on?”
The best bit about this industry, and the whole reason I set up Illustrated Live, is because I love that we get to discover new things, learn about new industries, and figure out the best way that we can communicate your complex information in a way that is tasty and digestible for the visual brains in your audience.
Before we work together I’ll have a (friendly) stalk of your website to see if we’re a good fit and we’ll usually hop on a call or chat via email to find out a bit more about your event or project.
There are, however, some industries that we just don’t work with because they don’t line up with our values and beliefs. In general, we love environmentally conscious, innovative stuff.
How is Illustrated Live different from other live illustrators and graphic recording agencies?
We’re fussy about who we work with. If we can’t help with your project or event, we’ll help you find an illustrator who’s perfect for the job.
…because we’re friendly!
We prioritise environmentally-friendly practices like being a fully remote company, and working digitally so that we’re not adding to the pointless flights, hotel stays and plastic foamboard that might just trip and fall into landfill after your event.
Professional? Yes. Corporate? No. We do a really good job and we pride ourselves on bringing a breath of fresh non-corporate air.
What type of events do you work with best?
We love to work with events around the themes of eco-friendliness, social justice, innovation and making the world a better, more accessible place.
What type of events/information is live illustration NOT going to work for?
Sometimes people land on the website and they think we’re offering the kind of illustration that involves drawing guests at parties, or fancy ladies in fashionable shops. A quick glance at the live illustration page will show you that we’re definitely more into the graphic recording visual-notetaking side of things. So unless you’re planning a party with a keynote speaker that you’d like graphic recorded, it’s not going to work. (I can totally point you in the right direction of a fashion live illustrator though - just ask!)
If you’re expecting an AI-generated transcript of your event in illustrated form, you will be disappointed. Drawing live while people are talking means that we can’t include every single thing that is said during the event. If there are really important bits of information that you don’t want us to miss, you can let us know before the event and we’ll make sure it makes it into the final live illustration image!
Does live illustration really work?
Yes! But of course I’m 100% biased. Probably the best thing for you to look at is our glowing testimonials, and examples of our work.
We’ve got most of them collected on our Instagram page if you fancy a spy! You can scan this magic QR code to be transported there in a flash!
Can I contact some of your former clients to see what it’s like to work with you?
Of course. Have a look at some examples of our work, take note of the logos on there and let me know who you’d like to speak to and I’ll see if they’re available to talk :)
How quickly can I expect the illustrations?
Your live illustrations will be available instantly! In fact, you get to see them happening while we draw. During the event, you’ll see us scribing. After the event, we always send final files over within 15-30 minutes of the event ending too. (That time = us renaming the files, and uploading them to your folder.)
How can I guarantee myself that live illustration will make the difference I want for my event?
We have been SO careful in making sure our famous ‘Event Information Form’ is designed in a way that makes sure we ask all of the questions we need to ask. Fill that in and you’re golden.
It’s a partnership, so if you want to pick our brains about how best to share your live illustrations during/after the event, just ask.
How will I recover the investment I made in hiring you to live illustrate at my event?
Share your illustrations afterwards on social media, email the illustrations out as a little thank you for your attendees and see if you notice a difference in engagement!
Show off to your competitors too! LOOK HOW COOL WE ARE, WE HIRED AN ILLUSTRATOR FOR OUR EVENT **flips hair**.
Do you just do live event illustrations? What other services do you offer?
Yup. Just live event illustration. We’re sticking to what we’re good at, and that’s online event illustration.
If you need something a bit different, we still encourage you to get in touch to chat about it. Sometimes we do take on infographics, animations, and painting wall murals.
How will we work together and what does hiring you to live illustrate at my event entail?
We’ve made it as straightforward as we can! That pre-event form we mentioned means we know everything we need to know to do what you want us to do, so it really is just a case of booking in/having a briefing chat, completing your event form then it’s event day!
But if you want the proper in-depth details, here’s how it works:
Before your event
You get in touch
We’ll hop on a call or do some emailing to chat a bit about your event
You fill in your event information collector form
**optional** We’ll have a briefing call to go over your event (usually, when the event info form is filled in well, we don’t really need this call. But it can be nice, especially if you initially got in touch a while ago.)
On the day
We’ll log on early to get set up and make sure everything is working
The event begins! It’s totally up to you how visible the illustrations are on the day.
Most clients like to introduce their attendees to the fact that there’s a live illustrator taking notes (it’s exciting!)
Once your event is all wrapped up, you’ll have all of the illustrations and timelapse animation video(s) ready for you to look at and share.
If you have any small tweaks that you’d like to make, we aim to get those turned around for you in 4 working days so that you can share them!
How far in advance do I need to book?
2-3 weeks at the ABSOLUTE latest. Ideally, 2 or more months in advance is dreamy. (Thank you!)
Do you accept credit cards?
Yes we do!
How do I get started?
OK, I’m ready, but I have a couple of additional questions. Can I call you?
You can! If you fill in the form on this page, we can set up a call. It’d be great to hear all about your event plans.
x Katie