At the Colleagues of Calligraphy program on Saturday, February 15, 2020, I was taken on an interesting journey. I learned about the profession of “Graphic Recording” which I’d never heard about before, and it broadened my world.

Graphic Recorder Amy Sparks (A Visual Spark) explained how her education and interests took her into her current field of working with corporations and non-profit organizations, where she captures group conversations to assist them in their goals and objectives.

Working with an organization’s facilitator, Sparks visually captures on-the-spot group discussions in friendly lettering and symbols. While this may seem whimsical at first, the genius comes in when one must cohesively gather complex information, and share it in a manner that shows it as simple. The process allows viewers to discover solutions, concerns, and even new opportunities.

Amy was extremely generous in sharing her own process in working with clients and facilitators. She even shared her markers and pens, and explained more about the tools she and other Graphic Recorders use. Water-based markers are often selected (she has found that other more “stinky” pens have the potential to distract from a group experience).

I came away from the afternoon reminded of the intersection of hand lettering and the work of organizations. We see this in stories like that of Steve Jobs from Apple, whose design style was influenced by a calligraphy course he had taken.

Amy’s Graphic Recording provides an artistic solution for organizational needs. The examples Amy Sparks shared showed the importance of white space, directing thought flow, and the use of different lettering styles/sizes to point out what is most significant. These principles can be relevant to graphic recorders and calligraphers alike.