Setup Logistics
Wall Space Needs
I’ll be working on large sheets of paper, averaging 4 feet high by 8 feet long. I bring all of my own markers, paper, pastels, tape and other art materials. You can assure the meeting facility personnel that I’m very self-contained, draping all of the areas where I’m working, not using any liquid medium (no paint), and will be hanging completed charts with high-quality, non-destructive white artist’s tape.
Regarding wall space needs:
- It’s preferable to have the graphics workspace near the front of the meeting room just off to the side, where session participants can easily see the murals being created but won’t be distracted from the main presenter.
- The optimum working wall space to create the charts is 16 linear feet of uninterrupted flat wall surface; unobstructed by molding, chair rails, lighting fixtures, windows, immoveable artwork, doorways, etc. The best wall surface is one that is of relatively smooth texture. I can work on a variety of surfaces, including ballroom dividers/airwalls; though the smoother the surface the better.
- The next best thing to 16 linear feet of uninterrupted flat wall surface is 2 areas of 8 linear feet, unobstructed, smooth-surfaced wall space.
- If the meeting venue does not have any flat unobstructed wall space, an inexpensive solution is to purchase polystyrene foam insulation boards. The boards are a lightweight styrofoam that are the ideal size and come in 4’ x 8’ sheets. The boards can be purchased at Lowe’s Home Improvement stores for approximately $12 each. Lowe’s offers delivery services directly to the meeting venue for a $75 fee. If having the boards delivered, we would just need the name and direct phone number for your venue meeting conference planner. In order for me to work on the boards when onsite, we’ll then need to borrow 2-3 easels from the venue AV department (2-3 easels for each foam board). The foam boards rest on the easels to create a giant art easel on which I can work and also on which to hang the completed charts for display.
Event Setup
Setup for the graphics workstation typically begins 1 to ½ hours before the meeting start time. This is more than ample enough time. I just always like to arrive early to setup in case any last minute trouble shooting needs to occur onsite. If styrofoam boards and easels were brought in, those supplies will need to be in the room the evening before the session or a minimum of 2 hours before the meeting start time. Again, this is just to ensure plenty of time for set up and to trouble-shoot if necessary.
Logistics Needs
Please share the following information as it becomes available:
- Event location, specific meeting room, and location address.
- Recommended hotel (if not the same as the event location).
- Which airport to fly into.
- A copy of the agenda prior with start/end times for each day.
- Your, or a team member’s, cell phone number.
- Security protocols and access to the meeting room the morning of to set up.
- The direct contact information to submit invoicing paperwork.
Additional Frequently Asked Questions
I feel comfortable engaging with the group and introducing myself, but if you prefer to do the introductions, here’s a suggestion:
“I would like to introduce Stephanie Papaioanu. She is here to capture the key content from the speakers, panelists, and participants in words and pictures…all in REAL TIME as our discussion unfolds. These real time murals will help us visualize what we heard and talked about; in addition to serving as a data capture point for our session to free YOU up, the participants, to fully engage with each other and our agenda we have for today. The completed murals will be on display and as our custom art gallery grows throughout the day, we encourage you to have a look take a look and review the key points and refresh what you have heard. After the meeting is adjourned, the murals will be digitized and you will have access to these files to serve as your takeaways.
“Her work has been featured and published in The Harvard Business Review and her career has taken her across the globe throughout North America, Europe, China, Turkey, Africa, South East Asia, and the Middle East; working with a wide range of clients from Fortune 500 companies, to notable non-profit organizations, to government agencies.”
During breaks the charts are hung on the walls in sequence for participants to review; creating a custom art gallery. It is best if the murals can be displayed in a natural gathering place, such as near the food / beverage stations to encourage participant discussion.
We have actually found just the opposite! More than 85% of the population are primarily visual learners so it actually helps participants remember information if they can SEE it. A picture leaves a powerful impact that allows the participant to easily recall the content. Also, speakers love to get a copy of their own words, put together in a succinct, visually appealing way. They are extremely grateful when given a copy as a gift to utilize any way they chose!
You can share with the speakers that they’ll have a unique opportunity to see their own words come to life in pictures in real time as they speak! They will be given copies of their presentation murals to use any way they like – on their website, twitter, blogs, etc.
At the end of the event, I take digital photos of all the murals and ‘clean’ the photos in Photoshop. The murals look like they have been scanned by a large format scanner. All images will be sent to the key client contact person in a jpeg format for distribution. The original 4’x8′ murals are yours to keep. Many clients choose to post the murals in a public place in their facility for a wider audience to see or send the charts on a “tour” to different facilities to share insights.
- The digitized murals are ideal for all sorts of social media applications.
- If the information is appropriate to share, the bulk of clients laminate and post the charts in a public place in their facility for a wider audience to see.
- Many clients choose the option to have a full report created to distribute to all participants.
- Reports can also saved as interactive movies, with links to go directly to certain e-pages of the report, embedded video or sound bites, slide animation, and with external links to webpages.
- Images can be saved as interactive PDFs with links to audio, video, etc.
- Chart images can be uploaded on an internal website to distribute the digitized chart images to each participant.
- Guest speakers love to get a copy of their own words, put together in a succinct, visually appealing way and are extremely grateful when clients give them a soft or hardcopy of the chart image as a gift.
- Small-scale prints made of certain charts generated during the session as make great gifts and mementos for participants. Include a beautiful frame for a truly unique employee gift.
- Clients have created and shared e-newsletters and slide presentations of the digitized charts.
- Some clients laminate the charts and send them on a “chart tour” to facilities to share insights. Others have printed flip-chart size copies of the charts and sent them to different facilities and sites in order to share ideas.
- Some charts and specific images on the charts can be utilized as custom clip art in other related-topic presentations, communications, online, etc.