Elevate Your Virtual Conferences with Graphic Recording

Visual thinking isn’t just for whiteboards anymore. It’s the missing piece in your virtual event strategy.

When the world shifted online, events didn’t just move platforms—they lost something: energy, clarity, and connection. Attendees tune in… but not always in. Engagement drops. Retention slips. Complexity runs wild. And for event organizers and speakers, it’s hard to tell what’s actually landing.

That’s where graphic recording comes in. Not as decoration—but as a tool to cut through noise, surface what matters, and make your message stick.

What Is Graphic Recording, Really?

At its core, graphic recording is real-time visual note-taking—but don’t mistake it for doodling.

It’s the strategic synthesis of spoken ideas into clear, concise visuals—designed live, during your event. In a virtual setting, it’s a visual companion to your keynote, your panel, or your all-hands. But more than that, it’s a way to help your audience track the conversation, remember what’s said, and see how ideas connect.

At ImageThink, we’ve brought this practice to some of the world’s most ambitious organizations—transforming remote events from “tune-out” to “lean in.”

Why Virtual Conferences Need Visuals

Here’s the thing: People don’t think in bullet points. They think in pictures.

In a digital space where attention is fleeting, live visuals do what slides can’t:

• Hold focus. Movement and drawing in real-time pull eyes back to the screen.
• Clarify complexity. Abstract ideas become tangible frameworks.
• Create continuity. Visuals connect the dots between conversations.
• Encourage engagement. Attendees feel heard when their words show up, literally.

And unlike that flurry of unread chat messages, visual summaries live on—as artifacts that extend the impact of your event beyond the “Leave Meeting” button.

How It Works (Without Adding to Your Tech Stack)

We integrate with your platform—whether you’re on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WebEx, or something else.

Our visual strategists join the session behind the scenes, listening deeply, synthesizing in real time, and creating a live digital canvas your team can see and share. The result? A real-time visual summary unfolding before your audience’s eyes—or ready for reveal at just the right moment.

You decide how it shows up:

• Shared on-screen during the session
• Embedded post-event in a recap email
• Delivered as a visual takeaway for sponsors, attendees, or execs

No extra apps. No audience training. Just visuals that make your message visual, memorable, and meaningful.

Live or Asynchronous? Depends on Your Goals

Go Live When:

• You want to keep virtual attendees actively watching
• The content is fast-moving or collaborative
• You’re trying to replace in-person energy

Go Async When:

• You’re building a post-event library of polished recaps
• Your event is pre-recorded or primarily one-directional
• You need marketing-ready assets to share after the fact

Want both? Many clients do. It’s all about tailoring your visual strategy to your format and your audience.

More Than a Pretty Picture

Here’s how teams are using visual notes from virtual conferences:

• Marketing uses them to create shareable recap content
• Executives use them in debriefs and board updates
• Attendees revisit them to retain and apply what they learned
• Internal teams use them to align on what came out of the session

From nonprofit summits to Fortune 50 planning meetings, we’ve seen visual notes become the most circulated asset of the entire event. One client called it “the single piece of content our team actually read after the conference.”

Questions We Hear a Lot (and Honest Answers)

Can you really do graphic recording remotely?

Yes. We’ve supported hundreds of remote events across industries since 2020. We bring our own tools—we just need a link.

What tech do you use?

iPad Pro, Procreate or Fresco, Zoom or Teams, and a whole lot of listening.

How does this improve engagement?

Live visuals reset attention spans and reinforce what’s said. They also give people a sense of ownership—especially when their words appear in the drawings.

How does this help post-event?

The visuals become evergreen. They’re easier to read than transcripts, and more compelling than video replays.

For Event Planners and Marketers: Why This Matters

You’ve already got the speakers. The platform. The deck.

Now you need something that ties it all together.

Graphic recording adds a human layer to the virtual space—a layer that clarifies, connects, and catalyzes action. Whether you’re after better engagement, higher retention, or more compelling post-event content, visuals make it happen.

Let’s Make Your Virtual Conference Worth Remembering

Talk with an ImageThink visual strategist and see how graphic recording can transform your next remote event.

Talk With a Visual Strategist →