What is graphic recording, and how is it different from what you do?

Graphic recording captures and organises what is said, and Draw Stories Live does that too. Its approach is informed by generative scribing, which also listens beneath the words to the themes, tensions and possibilities in the room, and shows them as one shared picture.

What is the difference between graphic recording and visual facilitation?

Graphic recording documents what is said. Visual facilitation uses the drawing to guide a group through a conversation. Draw Stories Live offers a combination of the two: graphic recording in a generative style, used within the event for Q&As and reflection. The drawing then keeps building from what is said, so it is alive in the moment.

What do you need on the day?

In person: a table, a projector or screen, and wifi. For remote live events: the link to join the session.

Is the drawing distracting for speakers?

Not necessarily. The drawing can be made in the background and revealed during breaks, for reflection questions, and at the end of the event.

How can we use the drawing afterwards?

You are welcome to publish and share it, with credit to Draw Stories Live.

Can you draw in other languages?

Drawings are made in English. Words in another language can be added afterwards, once a translation has been supplied.

Do you work remotely?

Yes. Draw Stories Live works remotely and in person.

The finished artwork as high-resolution files, and, if you want one, a timelapse video of the drawing. The drawing is finished and themed once the event ends, so delivery follows shortly after, not straight away.

How far ahead should we book?

It's good to share your dates with us when you have them, so we can make sure Draw Stories Live has availability for you. We will do our best to fit with your dates.

Live conference and event drawing starts from £995 remote and from £1,500 in person. Book a chat to discuss drawing that isn't live, and multi-day facilitation. A subsidised rate is available for NGOs: enquire, or see our yearly call-out, Draw for Good.

Live graphic recording titled Being: flowing white and indigo line work, a seated figure, and words such as Drop the clutter and Partnership

Drawing the bigger picture.

Live graphic recording and visual scribing for conferences, workshops and leadership sessions, in person or remote. Working with NGOs, peacebuilding and systems change.

Visual sense-making and facilitation
Visual scribing and graphic recording
Strategic and information illustration

Get a quote

7years drawing
50+events
6+countries

The Conscious WorkplaceTEDxInstitute for Behavior ChangeEMCC GlobalJoseph Rowntree FoundationRotaryTudor TrustInstitute for Sustainable FoodUniversity of SheffieldGlobal Fund for Community FoundationsINPEX

Film

See it drawn live

Work

Drawings from the room

New work coming soon. Drawings from recent events, including The Conscious Workplace and the Institute for Behavior Change, are on their way.

Visual sense-making and facilitation

A generative approach, with conversation, reflection and feedback.

Graphic recording titled Ethics in Constraining Times: flowing bands of ochre, pink and blue, with the words Ethics Connects Everything across the centre, Hope over Fear, and Ethics as a Compass.

Ethics in Constraining Times. EMCC Global Conference, 2025. Live, in person, drawn on iPad.

Graphic recording on a dark ground about active listening, moving through the levels of listening, from Download and Fact to Empathic and Generative, with a figure lying beneath the words Get out of your head and into the body.

Active Listening. EMCC Global Conference, 2025. Live, in person, drawn on iPad.

Graphic recording on a deep blue ground about AI: two large figures at the centre, the words AI is here, Power, Ethics, and People displaced by AI.

AI is here. EMCC Global Conference, 2025. Live, in person, drawn on iPad.

Graphic recording on a pale yellow ground with an orange figure reaching out carrying a backpack of cultural consideration and training, and the words Pathway to growth.

Embodied Supervision in the Community. EMCC Global Conference, 2025. Live, in person, drawn on iPad.

Brightly coloured graphic recording asking what is the essence of a human encounter, with two figures meeting, a laptop and the question Can we challenge AI.

What is the essence of a human encounter? EMCC Global Conference, 2025. Live, in person, drawn on iPad.

Graphic recording on a teal ground with values in black speech bubbles, Integrity, Respect, Courage, Responsibility, and a pink figure rising from flowing bands labelled Belonging and Growth.

Walking the talk. EMCC Global Conference, 2025. Live, in person, drawn on iPad.

Graphic recording on a grey-teal ground with the words Becoming, New Civilization, Love, Co-operation, Relationships and A.I is a partner, not a tool.

Becoming. EMCC Global Conference, 2026. Live, in person, drawn on iPad.

Graphic recording in blues, black and yellow with the words Presence, Awareness, Courage, Rapid change, Vulnerability, Trust and Future.

Presence. EMCC Global Conference, 2026. Live, in person, drawn on iPad.

Graphic recording on a dark ground with a glowing central figure holding a compass, and the words Ripples in the pond, Connection, Co-creation, Purpose and Silence.

Ripples in the pond. EMCC Global Conference, 2026. Live, in person, drawn on iPad.

Visual scribing and graphic recording

Live visual notes, listened to, scribed and presented live in real time at your event.

Wide graphic recording titled Visionaries Opening Ceremony: swirling bands of teal, orange and gold around a central circle reading The only way out is through empathy and encouragement, with the words More than human, Hope, Disruptors, In community, Liberation, solidarity, regeneration and Self decolonisation.

Visionaries opening ceremony. Welcoming cohort, Joseph Rowntree Foundation. 2025.

Illustrated map on a blue ground asking what #ShiftThePower means for Francophone Africa, with a path from the current system to a new system, and words such as trust, equal partnerships, amplify voices and community investment.

What does #ShiftThePower mean for Francophone Africa? Live graphic recording, remote. In French and English.

Illustration of a TEDx talk by Rita Piçarra, Life Can't Wait, Let's Create the Future Together, with a winding path, the words The Future Starts Now and Have the Courage to Dream Big.

TEDx Praça Gil Eanes, Lagos. Rita Piçarra, Life can't wait. 2025. Live, in person.

Illustration of a TEDx talk by Raphaela Prado Cardoso on listening to the ocean, with a humpback whale, musical notes, a cargo ship and ribbons of blue water.

TEDx Praça Gil Eanes, Lagos. Raphaela Prado Cardoso, Listen to the ocean and transform the future. 2025. Live, in person.

Illustration of a TEDx talk by Inés Martins on how your home can shift your energy, with a rising red arrow, a reading chair, a wardrobe and a bed.

TEDx Praça Gil Eanes, Lagos. Inés Martins, How your home can shift your energy. 2025. Live, in person.

Illustration of a TEDx talk by Achim Nowak, with a green figure with arms raised, the word Limits, a dream house, a door of freedom and a figure with a megaphone for stories of hope.

TEDx Praça Gil Eanes, Lagos. Achim Nowak, Unlimit your limits, please. 2025. Live, in person.

Hand-drawn guide titled Before facilitating a video proposal workshop, with questions about invitation, consent, communication, time and place, involving the group, and documenting the process.

Before facilitating a video proposal workshop. Make It Grow, Workshop series: Video Proposals. 2022. Live graphic recording.

Dark graphic recording with a green and a red shape, a dashed line of dialogue between groups, and the words Hopelessness makes them join armed groups and Dialogue between groups builds cohesion.

Practical peacebuilding and participatory dialogue in Eastern Congo. Build Peace Conference. 2022.

Dark graphic recording with a glowing flame at the centre, a circle of people, a fenced structure and a band reading Living conditions inhumane.

Living conditions inhumane. Build Peace Conference. 2022.

Black and white graphic recording of protest signs along a winding path, with the words Danger, Becoming invisible and How can we help different protest groups with different goals not become target.

Danger, becoming invisible. Build Peace Conference. 2022.

Dark graphic recording with a green circle, a raised fist reading Taking the power back, and the words Visibility, Algo age, Indigenous AI and Power dynamics.

AI for peace: three tales of the unseen in the algo age. Build Peace Conference. 2022.

Dark graphic recording with tables across the top, banners reading Safe spaces and Keep on talking, question marks hanging over green waves, and the words How do we dive deeper.

Surfacing the questions. Build Peace Conference. 2022.

Graphic recording on white with two banners reading I felt and I saw, a heart held in an arm, an eye above green gardens, cattle and cow dung, and feelings such as encouraged, inspired, curious and uplifted.

I felt, I saw. Make It Grow Storytelling Workshop. 2023. Live scribing.

Graphic recording on white with two ladders at the centre and the words Compassion and hope, Provoke change, Critical thinking, Influence action, and Inspire and motivate.

What can storytelling achieve? Make It Grow Storytelling Workshop. 2023. Live scribing.

Graphic recording on white with a figure in headphones under a banner reading I appreciate, and a list including tone and pace, clarity of voice, pauses in speech and a catchy quote.

Reviewing our audio stories. Make It Grow Storytelling Workshop. 2023. Live scribing.

Graphic recording titled How to build communities from inside out, in sage, rose and teal, with banners reading Connection to self, Owning your experience, Safe spaces and Radical acceptance.

How to build communities from inside out. Talk by Silja Silbuch, Lagos Digital Nomads. Live scribing.

Dark graphic recording with a central mouth reading Community voice inside overlapping coloured rings, a researcher on one side, the researched on the other, and the words Power, Reflection, Relationship and Positioning.

Researcher and researched. Decolonization workshop. 2023. Live scribing with dialogue.

Black and white graphic recording of two silhouettes above a stage, a figure bending over a screen beside a ladder, a figure holding up a blue triangle, and a crowd of coloured figures below.

Untitled. Decolonization workshop. 2023. Live scribing with dialogue.

Dark graphic recording with a winding green path through the words Boundaries, Timing, Trust and Access and ownership, between a figure with a screen for a head and a face of many eyes.

Boundaries, trust, access and ownership. Decolonization workshop. 2023. Live scribing with dialogue.

Wide graphic recording on deep blue with flowing white and turquoise ribbons reading Positive peace, Peace as a process and an ongoing journey, Start with self, share with others, and figures for Stillness and Calm within.

Inner peace session. Global Peace Conference, Rotary Peace Fellowship Alumni Association. 2023. Live remote scribing.

Strategic and information illustration

Drawings for strategy, policy papers, information and reporting.

Four-panel illustration of caregivers describing changes in youth after Singing to the Lions workshops in Harare: forgiveness and hope, finding voice, peace at home, confidence and conflict resolution.

Singing to the Lions, Harare. Catholic Relief Services. 2025. What caregivers noticed in youth who completed the workshops.

Twelve-panel illustrated session flow for a video-making workshop: getting to know each other, camera handling, story-telling, mastering your story, video editing, group feedback, celebrating our stories and new skills, crystallising your project idea, road journey action plan, how to make a video proposal, reviewing drafts, celebration and guidance on next steps.

12 session flow. Make It Grow, Video Making Workshop. 2022. Strategic illustration.

Illustration with a central tree inside a maroon ring reading Broader impacts and future potential, surrounded by circles reading Reaching more communities and organisations, Strengthen local impact, Building skills and Addressing barriers, with figures and a ladder.

Broader impacts and future potential. Four Stories of Change, Institute for Sustainable Food, University of Sheffield. 2025. Impact reporting.

Illustrated help sheet of storytelling tips, with frogs hopping along a winding path: use a key character, have a clear beginning, middle and end, use a story arc, engage the senses, use suspense and pause.

Storytelling tips. Help sheet for Make It Grow, Institute for Sustainable Food, University of Sheffield.

Illustrated help sheet showing a story arc as a mountain, with a hiker at the setting, threshold, climax, turning point, transformation and resolution.

Story arc. Help sheet for Make It Grow, Institute for Sustainable Food, University of Sheffield.

Illustrated help sheet of film shot types, from extreme long shot to extreme close up, each with a short description.

Shot types. Help sheet for Make It Grow, Institute for Sustainable Food, University of Sheffield.

Systems map on peach with a rising arrow reading Towards a sustainable food system, and clusters labelled Triggers, Enablers and Blockers, such as training, local leadership, market demand and cultural barriers.

Triggers, enablers and blockers. Systems mapping for research connected to Stories of Change, Dr. Pamela Richardson, Institute for Sustainable Food, University of Sheffield.

Systems map of the current food system, from the past of chemical fertilizer and food scarcity through hubs, training, policy and markets, to future hopes, with a rising band reading Change over time.

The current system. Systems mapping for research connected to Stories of Change, Dr. Pamela Richardson, Institute for Sustainable Food, University of Sheffield.

Systems map with a large arrow looping from the past of food scarcity and conventional agricultural practices back to the old ways, indigenous methods and crop diversity, then up to now and future hopes.

The past, the old ways and future hopes. Systems mapping for research connected to Stories of Change, Dr. Pamela Richardson, Institute for Sustainable Food, University of Sheffield.

Co-Creating Change: Stories of Change Show nine illustrations

Illustrations for community stories of change from Zimbabwe, made for the book Co-Creating Change: Stories of Change by Dr. Pamela Richardson, Institute for Sustainable Food, University of Sheffield. Explore the Stories of Change.

Soil is the cornerstone of life.

Two farmers, one striding and one with arms raised, either side of a flowering plant with deep roots, from conventional farming to biodynamic and organic farming.

I see a great change.

A mother and child walking hand in hand beside a larger figure carrying a basket of tomatoes, under the sun.

A mother's resilience.

A woman holding a large pot of grain, with a milling machine and a rising arrow towards a star.

Small grains: a driver for change.

Hands holding a young grain plant, with arrows from a landscape of swales and trees.

Swales equal better yields.

Good Food Festival.

A woman in a flowing blue skirt of water standing beside a swale, trees and a winding path.

Swales and the landscape.

Hillside with trees, water channelled into a swale, and a farmer holding a bowl of seedlings in an inset frame.

Water harvesting transformation.

Let food be our medicine.

EMCC Global strategy, 2026 Show five illustrations

Illustrations made for EMCC Global's strategy work, shaping their brand, vision, mission and values. Not drawn live.

Illustration of two large hands holding a green space with a gathering of people, with soft trees behind.

Held in community.

Illustration with the letter C above a flower, a tree with golden roots and people gathered around a looped table.

Illustration of a tree with golden roots, surrounded by lightbulbs and people on rolling hills, with the letter L at its centre.

Illustration of the letter I rooted in rolling hills under a blue sky, with small groups of people in the distance.

Illustration of people building a wall of bricks around the letter P, with golden roots beneath.

TED Talk Challenge, 2022 to 2023 Show four drawings

A practice I set up and did with a group, 2022 to 2023. A few of the drawings, with the talk titles and speakers.

Dark graphic recording about creativity and suffering, with a glowing figure, the words Creativity as a force, Safe distance between the creative unknown and the human, and Keep showing up.

Your elusive creative genius. Elizabeth Gilbert.

Dark graphic recording with a title in a maroon oval, a teal and orange balance circle, a house and tower, and the words We need a balance and Bias.

The power of introverts. Susan Cain.

Dark graphic recording with a teal figure holding out scales of moral ambiguity, and the words Serendipity, No absolute truths and Why do things happen?

Where does creativity hide? Amy Tan.

Black graphic recording in blue and gold with a megaphone, a flag title, and the words Fear is an invitation for change and Your voice has power.

An Olympic champion's mindset for overcoming fear. Allyson Felix.

Kind words

Alexandra Plummer's graphic recording aligned perfectly with the design of the EMCC Global Annual Conference 2025 and the intention to explore the art of deeply listening and connecting. The way she captured the insights, the feelings, and the energy was impactful. The intense colours used in the visuals reflect her generative listening and anchor us to each unique moment. Thanks a million, Alexandra.

Cristina Barradas, Director and Head of Global Services, EMCC

Alex is a highly talented visual scribe; attentive and creative, always producing beautiful and engaging graphic notes that capture the core moments of our workshops and meetings. She is also an extremely reliable presence and support, always offering valuable insight and delivering on tasks promptly.

Dr. Pamela Richardson, The University of Sheffield

Alexandra Plummer's graphic recording was one of the highlights of the conference for me. I truly find her work fascinating.

Conference participant, EMCC Global Conference

Approach

Live graphic recording that listens deeper

Scribing draws ideas while people talk. Draw Stories Live also listens beneath the words to what is emerging in the room.

The drawing shows themes, tensions and connections, so people leave with one shared picture. Colour carries mood as well as meaning.

Draw Stories Live is informed by Kelvy Bird's book Generative Scribing: A Social Art of the 21st Century, the work of the Presencing Institute, and Otto Scharmer's four levels of listening from Theory U.

It is delivered in two ways: live from an iPad in the room, or live remote. Draw Stories Live also draws in the background and reveals the drawing during breaks, for time set aside for reflection questions, and at the end of the event. It is also available for facilitation engagements, including across days, for process, change and decision-making sessions.

Alex holding up an iPad showing the finished drawing, in front of the same drawing projected on a large stage screen at the EMCC Global Conference — Presenting the finished drawing, EMCC Global Conference, 2025.

Alex drawing on an iPad at the side of a conference stage while the drawing is projected on the screen behind — Drawing live from the side of the stage, projected as it grows.

Process

How it works

Brief. Share your dates, goals and audience.
Agree. Format, palette and tone are settled in advance.
Draw. Live at your event, in person or remote.
Receive. The finished artwork, and a timelapse if you want one.

About

Alex Plummer, founder

Draw Stories Live was founded by Alex Plummer, a graphic recorder and visual facilitator with a background in community development, peacebuilding and social impact.

Alex's role is part artist, part facilitator, part sense-maker.

Alex was awarded a Rotary Peace Fellowship to study an MA in Peace and Conflict Resolution at ICU Tokyo, and holds a BA in Comparative Media (Leeds). Training includes the Presencing Institute's scribing and systems mapping courses, Social Presencing Theatre and the Art of Hosting. Additional work in embodiment also shapes her practice.

Alex draws digitally on an iPad, in person and remotely.

Alex Plummer smiling at her desk, holding a stylus, with a green painting behind her

Contact

Get a quote

Has this resonated with you? Feel free to contact us and we can discuss your next project or event.

Book a 30-minute chat

Prefer to write? Email drawstorieslive@gmail.com.

Alex Plummer, graphic recorder, laughing as she leans on a white ladder in front of her colourful drawings

FAQ

Good to know

What is graphic recording, and how is it different from what you do?: Graphic recording captures and organises what is said, and Draw Stories Live does that too. Its approach is informed by generative scribing, which also listens beneath the words to the themes, tensions and possibilities in the room, and shows them as one shared picture.
What is the difference between graphic recording and visual facilitation?: Graphic recording documents what is said. Visual facilitation uses the drawing to guide a group through a conversation. Draw Stories Live offers a combination of the two: graphic recording in a generative style, used within the event for Q&As and reflection. The drawing then keeps building from what is said, so it is alive in the moment.
What do you need on the day?: In person: a table, a projector or screen, and wifi. For remote live events: the link to join the session.
Is the drawing distracting for speakers?: Not necessarily. The drawing can be made in the background and revealed during breaks, for reflection questions, and at the end of the event.
How can we use the drawing afterwards?: You are welcome to publish and share it, with credit to Draw Stories Live.
Can you draw in other languages?: Drawings are made in English. Words in another language can be added afterwards, once a translation has been supplied.
Do you work remotely?: Yes. Draw Stories Live works remotely and in person.
What do we receive?: The finished artwork as high-resolution files, and, if you want one, a timelapse video of the drawing. The drawing is finished and themed once the event ends, so delivery follows shortly after, not straight away.
How far ahead should we book?: It's good to share your dates with us when you have them, so we can make sure Draw Stories Live has availability for you. We will do our best to fit with your dates.
What does it cost?: Live conference and event drawing starts from £995 remote and from £1,500 in person. Book a chat to discuss drawing that isn't live, and multi-day facilitation. A subsidised rate is available for NGOs: enquire, or see our yearly call-out, Draw for Good.

Draw for Good

An annual call-out

Each year Draw Stories Live offers its drawing to causes tackling a current social issue. Applications open in December, for events in spring 2027 and beyond. Organisations for whom funding is a limit are welcome to get in touch.

If you are an NGO, a company with a social focus or another organisation, sign up to stay informed about Draw for Good.

Stay informed