It’s 2021 and I’m celebrating twenty years of being self-employed at Stone Soup Creative. What does it mean to be a solopreneur and creative professional for this long? I’m old, and I’ve been at this for a while. But I’m also wiser than when I began. Here’s 20* lessons I’ve learned about running a business,…
Inspired by my muse – my bulldog Violet – I created this Doggo Lingo infographic (and a few animated GIFs, just for fun). What is Doggo Lingo? It’s how dogs “talk” online, of course! If you are interested in: 1. Live sketchnoting OR 2. Illustrated infographics, like this one – – I’ll happily be there to make your next event,…
Is there a visual learner in your life that you’d like to encourage or support? Or maybe you wish to engage a group you work with by using visuals? Here is a curated list of ten fun, practical and unique art supplies, tools, books, and other gift ideas for a variety of age ranges, for…
The event has ended and it was a success. Participants are fired up with new knowledge. A graphic recorder captured the event (either virtual or in-person) and people loved seeing their ideas and discussion points come to life, or they were inspired by the speaker’s innovative story-telling. They feel connected to the message and want…
Virtual meeting fatigue is real – but remote digital visual note taking helps people tune in, not check out. Behind the scenes: A marketing course took their instruction online via a zoom webinar. From my home office I was able to draw a lecture on my iPad while the students (all adult professionals from…
I just had the best experience participating in – and simultaneously scribing* and sketchnoting** – a training on learning fun, powerful and practical ways for teams to work more effectively together. Specifically for educators, these protocols are a process developed by National School Reform Faculty (NSRF) to train coaches in their Critical Friends Group® methodology…
World Usability Day I celebrated World Usability Day on November 15, 2019 with the Indiana chapter of the User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) – a single day of celebration and educational events occurring around the world that brings together communities of professional, educational, and other groups for a common objective: to ensure that the services…
Here’s an interesting – and challenging – project I recently completed: the How to Plan Your Meeting or Workshop process map. This step-by-step infographic provides a color-coded, single-page pathway to the significant components of an important meeting or workshop. Background This past spring I earned a certification as a Structured Professional Facilitator with the goal…
The more iconic something is, the more we project ourselves onto it; the more detailed and realistic, the more we see it as something other than ourselves.” – Scott McCloud Drawing out concepts and ideas instead of writing down words is an effective way to communicate. Simple drawings such as icons can help overcome…
HOW Design Live is one of the largest annual gatherings of creative professionals in the world. In the past I’ve been an attendee and a speaker, but this year in Chicago I made a special appearance in the Expo Hall by doing live graphic recording. At an “Interaction Wall” I captured attendees’ thoughts in response…