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Project Category: Visual Language

  • OER24 Logo and Strapline

    OER24

    Phew! I’m just back from Cork City, Ireland, having spent a couple or three days at the OER conference. OER is my favourite conference. Not only is it a chance to catch up with a bunch of Visual Thinkery clients – who I usually only get to see online – but the people that attend this conference are people-people. They care about care. They talk about social justice in their work. They are educators, passionate about what they do. So it’s such a treat to have a few days to hang out and absorb their warmth.

    An Open History of the OER24 logo

    I had run through the Visual Thinkery process with the conference organisers a bunch of weeks beforehand. From that emerged a freehand aesthetic for the conference including a bright and bold logo.

    I’d leaned into a part of our creative conversation about Celtic Ireland being an ancient seat of learning – famous for its deliciously illustrated texts such as the Book of Kells.

    At the conference, a few people told me how much they liked the logo. So I thought I’d create a quick stop motion video exported from Procreate (my iPad drawing software) illuminating part of the drawing process of its evolution:

    A little humour goes a long way

    When having creating conversations with clients, I’m always listening out for little golden nuggets of humour, as they often make great cartoons. A lot of AI-related chatter permeated the conference, and I found myself jotting down a few ideas for future AI related cartoons (if I ever get around to bringing them to life). The cartoon below came from the same creative process as mentioned above and is already a favourite of mine:

    Generative AI and Pesky Ethics

    Pesky Ethics – by Visual Thinkery CC-BY-ND

    Keynote #1

    I sat down to capture the first day’s opening keynote by the lovely Rajiv Jhangiani in a sketchnote form. Sketchnoting is extremely intensive as whilst drawing one thing, you need to listen out for the next thing to draw. On the other hand, the creative constraint of capturing meaning before it disappears means that there is no opportunity to overthink it. Did I mention I tend to overthink things?

    Fairytales and Dystopian futures - Rajiv Jhangiani - oer24

    Fairy Tales and Dystopian Futures – by Visual Thinkery CC-BY-ND

    Keynote #2

    The second keynote was completely different. Catherine Cronin and Laura Czerniewicz were co-presenting. There were interactive elements which provided useful breathing space for me to catch up on the drawing.

    Open Education at a crossroads - Catherine Cronin and Laura Czerniewicz - oer24

    Open Education at a Crossroads – by Visual Thinkery CC-BY-ND

    Keep on running

    I managed to get myself up for a 10k run on the morning of the second day (I’m running the London Marathon – eek! – you can sponsor me here) I ran along the banks of the river Lee on a cool sunny morning. All the way to Blackrock castle and back. It seems I have more exploring to do around that part of the world, and find out where it gets it’s rebellious reputation…

    OER24 Themes Postcard

    OER24 Themes Postcard – by Visual Thinkery CC-BY-ND

    And finally

    I leave Cork with lots to think about and some new avenues to visually explore. A conversation over coffee with Maren Deepwell, Meredith Huffman and Alan Levine about conference formats sticks in my head. We hit upon the Upside Down Pear Cake conference format, where each session starts with the conclusions first, then gathering questions, spending the remaining time answering and explaining how they got there. Maybe a thought for next year’s OER25…

    OER24 Logo and Strapline - transparent

    OER24 Logo – by Visual Thinkery CC-BY-ND

  • GO-GN Suitcases

    GO-GN

    I love a wide brief. Getting people together, and using dialogue to see what we can be unearthed. GO-GN is a postgraduate research programme, connecting and furthering those involved in researching Open Education. They asked if I could help with a brand refresh, and create a set of visual assets along the way.

    In order to capture all the voices, we took the approach of facilitating two conversations: one for participants and a second for the GO-GN team.

    GO-GN Thinkery Conversation

    We had two really rich conversations. I live draw while the conversation is taking place, by using a document camera, but also record the conversations so I can go back through them later and harvest and clues I can tune into.

    Ideas

    A rich conversation also leads to many ideas. My aim is always to capture as many of them as quick sketches.

    GO-GN suitcase sketch

    Creating a Visual Language

    The trouble is, creating a fresh brand for an organisation is tricky. In some ways it’s like buying a bold new coat. Liking it isn’t enough. You’ve actually got to wear it. What are you as an organisation trying to say? To whom are you trying to say it? If you find an aesthetic that fits well enough, it can be used as a visual language, to communicate a feel which is sub-consciously absorbed.

    One of the prompts in our discussion used a poster-making technique to unearth ideas from the participants on the call. An idea emerged relating to “the golden age of travel”, which led to us nailing down a bold visual language. It’s quirky yet intentional. It has momentum built in.

    GO-GN Travel docs

    A quick shout out to the Fabulous Remixer Machine – for providing the necessary inverted earth projections too!

    GO-GN Alternative logo

    Listening with your eyes open

    Video conversations underpin the Visual Thinkery 10 ideas process. By seeing someone as they talk, it’s possible to hear a richer voice. One of the participants in the call, Caroline Kuhn, used this gesture while speaking of the care and respect that exists in the GO-GN network. And it had to be drawn…

    GO-GN hands