Cats, Clients and Creative Collaboration: Inside a Visual Summary for iCatCare with Katie Chappell

Illustrated infographic summarising cat behaviour change strategies for veterinary care, created by UK live illustrator Katie Chappell for iCatCare.

There are few things better than a returning client who lets you draw cats for a living!

But what’s *really* good is understanding that visual summaries are deeper than just a nice piece of paper to look at. Really!

Here at Illustrated Live, we specialise in remote live illustration. That’s our “thing”. BUT we do also offer visual summaries, infographics, non-live illustration and the occasional animation! Recently, a lovely client (iCat Care) returned for a non-live infographic design project, so we caught up with Illustrated Live founder, Katie, to hear a little bit more about the process.

Behind the Scenes: Creating a Visual Summary and Infographic for iCatCare

Was this a live illustration for an event or a different kind of illustration?

This was a visual summary to be displayed during a live event. I supplied individual illustrations to be flashed up on the wall, as well as one big infographic that was printed out and sent home with the attendees as a visual reference for everything they'd learned :)

Infographic Design vs Live Illustration: What’s the Difference?

There's a bit more editing and getting everything juuuuust right, whereas when the illustration is live, it's a bit more organic. When we do infographics, it can be tricky to really cut down the content (less is more!)

Can you tell us more about the client? And did the client give you any indication as to why they wanted this information represented visually?

iCat care is a lovely returning client. We've done lots of cat-related veterinary illustration work over the years, and it's always a pleasure to draw more feline pals. The client wanted this to be represented visually so that their audience would remember the key facts, while also making the whole thing a bit more accessible.

Why Visual Storytelling Works for Complex Veterinary Information

The most important thing to capture here was that there are small changes that nurses and vets can make to create a better experience for cats in their care. Storytelling and visual notes work brilliantly for this because we're literally showing them what the client means!

How Organisations Use Infographics After Their Event

This client, in particular, was excited to be able to reuse the illustration on reports, their website, and other places that might need some colourful visual note goodness. The speakers at the conference were thrilled that their content got turned into visuals too - I think it was a surprise for them too!

There's more than just words on a page here... we have CATS and characters and all sorts!

Why are emotive visuals just as important (or sometimes even more important) than facts and figures?

We're emotional animals. Visual notes are great, yes. But if you can communicate on an emotional level, messages stick even more, and audiences are even more likely to remember what you said and how you made 'em feel.

Ever wished that your work events could have something like this lined up and ready for your audience to enjoy AND take away with them after? Not a problem! 

If your next event, report, or research project could benefit from a custom illustrated infographic, slink into our inbox for a chat if you feel like your next event could benefit from a bit of visual magic!

x Illustrated Live