community

Collective Impact

Last week was my first on-site job since the twins arrived! I had the delight to work with long-time clients the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Santicola & Co. to bring together tribal leaders and potential funding partners in a unique workshop.

The first two days were a smaller group - the tribal leaders and consultants that support different priorities for grant funding in the community ranging from housing to expanding a solar farm. Small groups worked through focused rounds to clarify their needs and a story that painted the picture of why it matters for the tribe. Then, each group created a pitch, which was presented to potential funding partners on the third day.

Whenever I get to work with the Ute Mountain Ute, I am struck by the generosity, intention, and systems approach that is taken. Each piece is approached in a way that can create a collective impact that is greater than the sum of the parts.

I created a visual summary the work of all 8 project groups over the first two days, as well as making custom flip charts for each group to present their needs and requests to the funders. It felt so great to be in the room with the group, stretch my body and mind, and using markers and chalks to visualize and synthesize the ideas shared.

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers,



Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Westminster, Colorado: With the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Here’s a close-up of part of the drawing from the 3-day workshop.

Wildfire Policy Landscape Mapping: In a virtual workshop with the Federation of American Scientists, I helped map out the complex political landscape of wildfire legislation and initiatives to help the coalition guide a cohesive path forward.

UNICON 2023: Hosted by CKGSB University in China, this year’s Executive Education forum focused on collaboration between East and West and what technology means for the ever-evolving landscape of education.

450 Students Creating A Collective Vision for the Year

Graphic depiction of world cafe process

There’s something that makes you feel more alive when you’re on campus at the beginning of the school year. There’s an energy that’s almost tangible – excited, a little nervous, curious, brave.

Last week I got to sit in on orientation at Regis University in Denver where the organizers were incredibly intentional about the space and thinking they wanted to challenge the students to do together, right from the very beginning. Under a huge open sided tent set up on the quad, over 400 students gathered at round tables to meet each other and begin exchanging ideas.

Using the World Café method, the professors guided the small table groups as they explored and shared with each other in conversations about one of the Core Principles of the University.

As students moved through rounds of conversation, each time with a new group, they were encouraged to leverage previous discussions, eventually using sticky notes to write down their table’s vision for the community they wanted to create together.

I graphic recorded the quick harvests in real-time digitally on site, then we collected the sticky notes from each table while students went off to the next piece of the day. My task was then to synthesize the sticky notes into one graphic that showed the major themes, as well as highlighting creative and unique aspects of each.

Digital illustration of Regis class of 2026 vision for the community they want to build.

The graphic was used the following day as a jumping-off point for deeper reflection with other facilitators, and will be shared with students throughout and at the end of the year to remind them of what they began creating together that very first morning.

What blows me away is that this relatively simple process effectively created space for over 400 student voices to be heard and woven together in just a few hours, into something that hopefully will resonate with them for the year to come!

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers,



Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Aspen, CO: For the annual Tech Policy Institute Aspen Forum. We discussed broadband, antitrust, equity, privacy, and regulations with heavy hitters from around the globe.

Graphic of conversation of State Attorney Generals about Antitrust at the state level. Black and gold text and illustrations on white background.

Regis University: As you just read. Here’s a snapshot of a meditative prayer parents were invited to attend as they experienced the roller coaster of letting their kids go to college.

Graphic depiction of meditation of letting students go to college. Blue and yellow on white background.

And Once Again, for the People in the Back: I’m pregnant with twins! We are due in December, and I will be taking some time off to be a new parent. Here are the details of what it means for ConverSketch.

Image of light skinned pregnant woman with light brown long hair standing sideways and smiling at the camera
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How do You Paint what Makes A Community Unique?

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You’ve probably seen some cryptic emails from me over the past few weeks about a surprise project I was working on. I’m delighted now to share it with you all, along with a special behind-the-scenes look at what went into the design.

On August 2nd, to the sweet sounds of the Hazel Miller Band, the 100th Piano About Town was officially unveiled as a part of our community! And yep, you guessed it, I was the lucky artist to get to paint it!

100th-piano-fort-collins

The typical piano process includes a request for proposals from artists sketched out, which are then reviewed and selected for painting outside where passers by can watch the piano unfolding and sometimes even play while it’s being painted.

For the 100th Piano, the Bohemian Foundation wanted to do something a little different and include voices across the community. Enter: a graphic facilitator to conduct and capture focus groups to gather ideas for the piano content.

I listened to people answering the question “What makes Fort Collins unique?”: from seniors to second graders at summer camp to young professionals to those who represent diverse groups at university to musicians. I listened, captured, asked questions, and scribed each group’s conversations.

100th Piano Fort Collins BaseCamp Kids Graphic Facilitation Chart

Then, I took all the charts and began looking for themes. What places did each group bring up? What characteristics make our community special? Then, I sketched out a concept design to gather feedback and refine before painting the piano itself.

This was, to me, the most challenging part of the whole process. How do you distill over five hours of stories, memories, and connections into a single illustration? That’s where the scribe training of listening for themes, distillation and synthesis really shone in this process. It was important to me to make sure all the ideas were included, that key words emerged throughout the imagery, and most of all, that when anyone from the community looks at the piano, they see themselves somewhere in it.

100th piano draft sketch_conversketch

The painting took place inside so it would be a fun, beautiful surprise when it was unveiled at a free concert series last week. Over 12 days, the landscape, people, and stories emerged!

day-1-piano-ready-karina
karina-branson-100th-piano-fort-collins-painting-artist

Want to tickle the ivories and see it for yourself? The 100th Piano will be in Old Town Square for a couple more weeks, then will live in the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery for the winter.

100th-piano-old-town-square-fort-collins-colorado

For more musings on pianos and creativity, check out this post.

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers, Karina

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

 

On My Way to New York, New York! This week is the first of three meetings between multiple academic groups and the Mayor of NYC to create models and plans for storm water management and sea level rise in the City of New York. Stay tuned, or check ou…

On My Way to New York, New York! This week is the first of three meetings between multiple academic groups and the Mayor of NYC to create models and plans for storm water management and sea level rise in the City of New York. Stay tuned, or check out my Instagram profile and story for real-time videos and pictures.

In the Studio: Working on the third Wildfire Risk Management Science Team illustrated video. This third video focuses on challenges of fires that cross management boundaries, and mapping tools the Team uses to make recommendations for safer and more…

In the Studio: Working on the third Wildfire Risk Management Science Team illustrated video. This third video focuses on challenges of fires that cross management boundaries, and mapping tools the Team uses to make recommendations for safer and more effective fire management.

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An artist, a scientist and an entrepreneur walk into a bar…

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Hello!

Thanks to everyone who shared feedback on my last email. Based on what I heard, this week I’ll return to your regularly scheduled insights & drawing tips. My goal with these emails is to equip you with tools to spark ideas and creativity, so as always, if there are things you’d like to hear about or have been yearning to draw, please let me know!

When was the last time you laughed? Almost certainly it was with other people, and likely not even at a joke. It turns out that laughter is something we as humans use to bond with each other, rather than something we learn. This means it’s actually an instinct, and one that makes us feel closer with one another. Plus, it helps relieve stress and often improves your mood.

So, laughter can help us build great teams. But let’s be real here. Laughter isn’t something you can manufacture or fake, we know when it’s not genuine.

How can you create a space that inspires more laughs, and therefore more synergy between you and your team?

Try adopting a playful mentality. One way to cultivate this is with doodles and drawings. Approaching things from a place of playful curiosity tends to lead to a more optimistic and laughter-prone conversation.  The next time you find yourself tensing up and getting ready to defend something, see if you can take a moment, relax your shoulders, and ask yourself if you could take a more playful approach.

“Smile. It makes people wonder what you’re up to.” - Anonymous
 

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers, Karina



You've got the team, I've got the markers. Click to get in touch about your next meeting or event that could use a touch of visual storytelling humor & magic.
 

Where in the World is ConverSketch

Research in Action! Last week I got to graphic record stories and insights from researchers at CU Anschutz Medical Campus who had spent a week immersed in two communities around Denver. They built relationships and heard needs and perspectives from people in historically underprivileged groups about how medical research could be better done and shared in their neighborhoods.

Spring - Nature's way of saying "Let's party!"

I love this quote from Mr. Robin Williams, it just encapsulates the energy of spring and the music of the earth waking up after winter. 

This spring has been particularly full of energy and life for ConverSketch...meaning the blog updates have been thin but I've been on the ground (or the paper, if you will) with several big projects. Here's a snapshot of what I've been up to!

Visual facilitation for the Colorado State University Dryland Collaborative Knowledge and Learning Network:

Partners from Kenya, Mongolia and the Western US visualize their successful collaborative.

Illustrating the City of Fort Collins' Journey to World Class video:

Coming soon to the Internet near you!

Graphic recording the Colorado State University Agricultural Innovation Summit: 

A lively and challenging discussion on water and agriculture in the West.

Months of planning and research went into the two-day visual facilitation for the Colorado State Forest Service Strategic Planning meeting. All the charts I created are proprietary, but here's a nice shot of the Nokhu Crags, an area managed by CSFS and near and dear to my heart:

Photo: Aaron LaVanchy. Rippin' snowboarder: Spencer Branson

Graphic recording for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Native National Partnership meeting:

A synthesis graphic done during the two day retreat.

Graphic recording the University of Colorado Denver's Food Justice Symposium:

 

There's plenty of other exciting projects in the works, including the launch of a quiet and helpful email sent to you regularly (but not too regularly) for drawing tricks, inspiration and updates from me! Stay tuned!

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