Issue 52 - The power of believing in what you do
Being prepared, drawing with children and listening to children drawing
How to be prepared, and the power of believing in what you do
Working as a graphic recorder, live illustrator or business illustrator is an endless exercise in explaining yourself:
What do you do?
How do you do it?
Is it actual magic?!
How did you even start?
Why??
You’ve had these questions too I bet, perhaps a thousand times already! That’s okay, it comes with the territory when you choose to make a living doing something that most people have still never heard of or seen before.
As a small business or a freelancer it’s vital that people understand not only what it is you’re offering, but perhaps more importantly why? How can working visually help them or their business. In order for them to trust you enough to hire you, or buy your illustrations you’re going to need to get used to explaining these two things.
But when you’re starting out, or your business is stalled, and people look surprised or confused at what you do, then it’s easy to self doubt or lose track of the real business benefits of working with someone like you.
What you do is valuable. It’s worthwhile. You can and you do make a difference.
If you currently need to reconnect with that message, then read on.
Know the value
It’s easy to doubt.
If you’ve listened to our first podcast episode you’ll know everyone goes through periods of self doubt (if you haven’t you can listen here) BUT it’s very hard to sell something you don’t believe in. Your doubt will come across in everything you say to a potential client.
So here is a little reminder of why you do what you do, and why it’s worth continuing to bring your gifts and talents to the table (the tablet, the notebook, the wall…)
The first thing to do is get your head straight about why this is genuinely of value. You’re not making it up and it’s not because you want to buy more pens (ok, it is…). There is science behind why this can bring real world business benefits to your clients and knowing this gives you and your work credibility. When you’ve built up a body of work you can also add your own client testimonials and real examples. Stand tall and be proud my friend - you are doing legit good work.
Here are some handy links you might find useful:
Become a collector
Make a folder to keep links to new research that you come across (or ask one of your Ai chums to find for you - just remember to verify!). Read the links above, or get a copy of my book if you want a condensed version of some useful science, and spend a moment thinking about what you might say to a potential client that would feel relevant to them. Try not to over-complicate things.
Example: Imagine I’m talking to a company about graphic recording at a workforce event looking at some big changes in the organisation. You know it is important to your client that people come away from the day with the right messages.
So, I might say something along the lines of, “Research has shown that people remember content shared with visuals for longer. It can be a really powerful way to help people remember the information you’re going to share, even after the event”.
Ask the people who know
As you gain experience and clients it’s important to start gathering real world evidence of the difference your work made or the impact it had at an event.
Don’t be scared to ask clients for feedback, it’s invaluable to your business and should also give you some nice quotes to share. Your clients are the people who actually know the benefits your work brings. They may well be the experts in how the finished visuals worked in their business, but don’t leave it entirely up to your clients; be specific if you’re looking for a quote about a particular aspect of what you do, or how your visual outputs were used.
Share the news
Now you’ve collected and gathered you’re hopefully feeling more prepared to back yourself and your skills when you’re talking to a potential client.
Don’t be shy. Even if the thought of bigging up your work in this way makes you nervous, remember, by sharing the benefits a previous client gained from your work, or some science that supports what you’re offering, you are not bragging, or boasting. You are reassuring, informing and generally being a helpful and switched on business owner.
More power to you.
Over in the graphic recorder club
Our next business post is all about money and pricing your work. If you want to get in on that conversation then join us.
We opened up most of the 2nd graphic recorder club podcast for you all to listen to. In this month’s episode we talk about the imperfect line and ask when is an imperfect line actually just right, and maybe even a happy accident that makes your finished work even better? Listen now to find out!
Drawing with children
You won’t be surprised to learn that I love drawing with my 2 nieces (now aged 10 and 12), who both still love putting pen/pencil/crayon to paper as soon as they’ve come through our door 🥰. We even draw up a visual agenda for each visit (and yes, those are treasury tags, which they had never before seen in their lives)!
I’ve written in my latest JOTT about how we draw when we’re together. It’s our love language. I share some of the ways we entertain them, and they entertain us, as well as connecting on a deep level, all with the power of drawing. If you have children in your life, give some of our ideas a go (the nieces have given permission for you to steal their ideas with pride)!
Listen to children through their drawings
I was just about to post this edition when I came across this article on LinkedIn. With my nieces fresh in my mind, I had to include it this month:
In the words of co-author Dr. Josephine Deguara,
“drawing is… a powerful tool of meaning-making for children and a language through which they communicate meaning, emotion, and identity - it allows us to get to know children better.”
As someone who used drawing to connect with children and young people in my previous role as a social worker, the recommendation to listen to children through their drawings really resonated with me, and I’m sure with any of you who have children in your lives.
The authors have written the book Children Making Meaning: Exploring Drawings, Narratives, and Identities if you want to explore this further. I’ve added it to our Graphic Change Bookshop for visual thinkers.
Bulletin board
If you have any relevant visual thinking news you’d like us to share, email Natasha at support@graphicchange.com
Graphic recorder club member Moi Tu is a guest speaker at the Laydeez do Comics online meetup in September - yay! 🥳 Click here for more details.
Now we’re in September it’s back to school for us in the Graphic Change Academy. If you want to learn to Be a Graphic Recorder or a Graphic Facilitator, there’s just a few days left to register for our final term of 2025. Sign up now for 12 weeks on a deep dive practical course that will change how you work (maybe what you do for work) going into 2026.
Find out more: Be a Graphic Recorder and Be a Graphic Facilitator before 12th September 2025.
If like me you have a well-used original Gamestorming book, then 📢 Gamestorming 2.0 is now out! As icons in the industry I’ve interviewed Sunni (Sun) Brown in the past and Dave Gray kindly wrote the foreword to my own book. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy, which is now also in our bookshop.
If you enjoy this newsletter, I’d really appreciate you sharing and recommending this publication to your network and visual thinking friends.
Hi - I’m Cara, I’ve been a professional Graphic Recorder and Illustrator since 2006.
You’ve just read The Visual Edit, a free monthly newsletter for Graphic Recorders. Upgrade to paid and join me (and other like minded folk) in the graphic recorder club for monthly skills, pod and business posts aimed at live graphic recorders, sketchnoters and business illustrators.
My book, Draw a Better Business is a visual thinking toolkit for creative thinking small business owners.