Case study: inclusive live illustration for a neurodiversity conference
I recently had the pleasure of live illustrating for York St John University and Spectrum First on an event focused on neurodiversity in higher education. The event was designed to be inclusive and engaging for academics, neurodiverse individuals, and anyone interested in the topic.
The team reached out about live illustration as they were keen to make the event more accessible for those who process information visually and to help retain the key messages. The illustrations were also used in the final closing talk to summarise the day’s themes and were later shared on social media and the project’s website.
The main themes that emerged from the talks were awareness, enablers and barriers, belonging, and listening. Take a look at the live illustration below to find out more about each of these!
I used a reduced color palette and avoided complex patterns or clashes, to make it as accessible as possible. Here’s some lovely feedback from Jamie at Spectrum First:
“Hugely recommend working with Vicky, and we would do so again for future events. Vicky was highly organised, clear in her communication, and really pleasant to work with from the outset.
The job was not the most straightforward, as it was an academic conference with detailed concepts, but the consultation meeting and how ideas/materials were collected were reassuring, and it felt like all suggestions, concerns and direction were carefully and creatively considered.
Vicky was a lovely and unobtrusive presence on the day and spoke brilliantly about her illustration to the audience, which was very appreciated. ”
If you’re interested in incorporating live illustration into your conference or event, I’d love to hear from you!