Sketching the Future: Graphic Recording at UX Australia
Bringing user experience conversations to life through real-time visual storytelling.
How Do You Keep a UX Audience Hooked?
Like many conferences, UX Australia faces the challenge of keeping attendees engaged year after year. In a field driven by creativity and problem-solving, attendees expect fresh, immersive experiences that add value beyond the speaker sessions. The organisers wanted to enhance engagement while also reinforcing the core principles of UX design—particularly sketching and visual thinking.
As longtime supporters of the conference, Sketch Group recognised an opportunity to complement the event’s ethos through live graphic recording, capturing discussions in a way that was both functional and fun.
At a Glance
- Project: UX Australia Conference Series
- Client: UX Events
- Delivered: 2012-2025
- Category: Graphic Recording, Facilitation, Training
How We Captured UX Australia’s Big Ideas
Having been personally involved in UX Australia from its early years, first as an attendee developing sketchnotes, then later as the official graphic recorder, we understood the conference’s culture and audience intimately. Over the years, we have contributed in multiple ways:
- Graphic Recording: Capturing keynote and breakout sessions in real-time, creating a visual record that is both engaging and shareable.
- Sketchnoting Workshops: Teaching attendees how to incorporate sketching into their UX practice, reinforcing the value of visual thinking.
- Sponsorship Support: Providing Neuland® refillable markers in attendee goodie bags, encouraging hands-on engagement with sketchnoting tools.
- Evolving the Experience: Incorporating interactive elements like Augmented Reality to add a novel, playful dimension to the recordings through technology.
Visual Thinking in Action
To ensure UX Australia attendees remained engaged and inspired, we focused on delivering high-quality visual summaries that captured the essence of each session. Our work has evolved alongside the conference, incorporating:
- Live Illustration: Large-scale graphic recordings that summarise complex talks in an accessible, memorable format.
- Video Content: Time-lapse recordings of the graphic recording process, allowing attendees to revisit and share the experience.
- Interactive Elements: Playful additions, such as the infamous “Cuss Counter” during Mike Monteiro’s keynote in 2017, which delighted attendees and reinforced the conference’s energetic atmosphere.
A Lasting Visual Record of UX Expertise
Our collaboration with UX Australia has created an ongoing legacy of visual storytelling, reinforcing the role of sketching in UX practice and enhancing attendee engagement. Key results include:
- A growing archive of visual records from past conferences, serving as reference materials for attendees and speakers alike.
- Positive feedback from participants who find the recordings valuable as both learning aids and shareable takeaways.
- A strengthened connection between Sketch Group and the UX community, highlighting the role of visual thinking in the design process.
