About three or four years ago I wrote an article on the History and Evolution of the Graphic Facilitation and Graphic Recording Fields.
In May, at the last Meeting Graphics 101 workshop, I finally got around to creating a visual to accompany the article. It’s a large, 12 foot mural, the sketches out the main points of the article. Participants at the workshop really enjoyed hearing the story of this field and how it has emerged (as best as I know from my research and personal contacts in the graphic facilitation field). And I really enjoyed having a map to finally tell the story with.
Here is the map, in two parts for better viewing.
Also the article is below too, if you care to learn more about how graphic recording and graphic facilitation (and now, graphic coaching) got started and how these unique skills have emerged into the niche fields they now are.
For a larger view, click here.
For larger view, click here.
A shout out to Landau Chartworks, my friends and vendor, who do the large size scanning of these charts that results in such excellent reproduction quality – they do great work!
Article: The History and Evolution of the Graphic Recording / Graphic Facilitation Field.
Where DID This Way of Working Come From?
What ARE the Historical Roots of This Field?
At the dawn of this new millennium, there is a growing field of ‘visual practitioners’ moving steadily across the international landscape. Comprised of people calling themselves graphic facilitators, graphic recorders, visual synthesizers, mapmakers and the like … these people are all using visual approaches with varying levels of interaction to assist groups and individuals in thinking, communicating, sharing and making decisions.
This article is an attempt to answer the question of “Where DID this way of working come from? What ARE the historical roots of your field?” Questions that I get asked as I go about my work in my own graphic facilitation and graphic coaching practice. I’ve pulled my answers from the literature that exists in the field as well as from personal contacts and interviews I’ve had with various colleagues and some of the early innovators. This is one person’s admittedly North American-centric view, not to be taken as gospel, but hopefully a useful orientation and context tool nonetheless. … Read full article.
This is fascinating!
I am not sure if you have heard of it, but I learned over a decade ago about the years of work within the Independent Living Movement and its emphasis on using graphic recording/facilitation in their grassroots processes for helping folks with disabilities reclaim sovereignty over their lives while enlisting the love and support of their friends, family and community. (PATHS and MAPS processes are two tools used in this.) The person-centered planning movement was also tied to this, and some of the folks I know involved were John and Connie O’Brien and Beth Mount.
I think this could be a wonderful stream of (I think) concurrently emerging practice to include when you are sharing about the history!
Also, I’m not sure where it fits in but I know the Art of Hosting network and field has been highly instrumental in promoting graphic facilitation as a core ingredient in hosting powerful group processes to innovate amidst complexity.