Extremely different from illustrating, visual sketch note-taking is about turning phrases, expressions, and data into pictures. It requires unique skill set of being able to listen, weed out what’s important, draw those points in relatable images, unify all the sketches… and to do all that almost simultaneously. (Note: The terms visual sketch notes, graphic recording, and scribing all refer to that same art form. I prefer visual sketch notes…)

Visual sketch notes can happen on a large scale at a live event or on a small scale, such as an artist’s notebook. I’ve done visual sketch notes of live marketing events, recorded podcasts, and live virtual conferences.

Here are examples from my visual sketch note-taking.

Small-Scale Visual Sketch Notes

Event: Marketing Smarts podcast
Speakers: Jason Falls and DJ Waldow
Visual sketch notes by: Veronica Maria Jarski

Event: Three Tragic Flaws That Might Mean Curtains for Your Digital Strategy presentation
Speaker: Jason Thibeault
Visual sketch notes by: Veronica Maria Jarski

Event: “How to Give Virtual Presentations Without Freaking Out” seminar
Speaker: Matt Abrahams
Visual sketch notes by: Veronica Maria Jarski

Event: “Moving from the Why to the How of Content Marketing” session
Speaker: Michael Brenner
Visual sketch notes by: Veronica Maria Jarski

Event: Marketing Smarts podcast interview
Speaker: C.C. Chapman
Visual sketch notes by: Veronica Maria Jarski

Event: Live #Blogchat session
Speaker: Mack Collier
Visual sketch notes by: Veronica Maria Jarski

Event: “7 Keys to a Successful Blog” seminar
Speaker: Jennifer Cisney of Kodak
Visual sketch notes by: Veronica Maria Jarski

Event: Content creation course at MPU
Speaker: Ann Handley
Visual sketch notes by: Veronica Maria Jarski

Large-Scale Visual Sketch Notes

(All photos are courtesy of Rob Larkin.)

Seven Minutes of Seven Awesome Insights From Seven Awesome B2B Marketers

A Spirited Debate: Customer Acquisition vs. Customer Development 

Details from the above visual sketch notes.

Creative Digital Strategy That Works

Details from the above visual sketch notes.