Live Scribing for Events

Digital Live Scribing In-Person Live Scribing Remote live scribing

See the Big Picture. Shape the Conversation. Drive Action.

Live scribing for events captures speeches, discussions and ideas in real time, turning them into large-scale visuals the whole room can see and follow. A live scribe listens and draws as conversations unfold, making complex ideas clear, memorable and easy to share. The practice is also known as graphic recording or live event illustration.

Why Live Scribing Works

Spoken information is fast, layered and easy to miss. Live scribing changes that by visualising and structuring ideas as they happen, giving audiences something tangible to follow, remember and act on.

Where Live Scribing Works

Live scribing works across conferences, strategy sessions, leadership meetings, innovation events and hybrid gatherings, anywhere organisations need to turn complexity into clarity. Visual summaries created on the day communicate key ideas long after the room has emptied.

Book Live Scribing for your event.

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Live Scribing Formats

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Digital Live Scribing

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In-Person Live Scribing

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Remote Live Scribing

Digital
Live Scribing

Digital Live Scribing brings real-time visual thinking to hybrid, virtual and in-person events. A live scriber works on a tablet, capturing key insights faster and more efficiently than traditional live scribing. Visuals appear instantly on large screens or inside virtual platforms like Zoom and Teams, keeping everyone aligned wherever they are.

Once the event wraps, you receive polished, high-resolution digital visuals ready to use in presentations, reports, social media and internal and external communications.

👉 Start your digital live scribing enquiry

Why Digital Live Scribing Works

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Made for Virtual and Hybrid Events

Everyone experiences the same real-time visual engagement, whether on-site or remote.

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Instant Screen Projection

Visual summaries can be projected live or embedded in virtual meetings.

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Instant Sharing

You receive a ready-to-use high-resolution digital file the moment the session ends.

In-Person
Live Scribing

In-Person Live Scribing, also known as live event illustration, is a hand-drawn experience where a live scribe listens, analyses and translates speeches, discussions and strategy sessions into clear visual summaries in real time. The visual grows as the event unfolds, giving the whole room a shared reference point.

Add more scribes and you cover more rooms, more workshop groups and more metres of hand-drawn visuals across the day.

Our live scribes can also work directly with your audience, gathering and illustrating responses around specific topics on the spot, creating a lasting visual record long after the event. Once the event wraps, you receive both the original hand-drawn artwork and a polished high-resolution digital visual ready to reuse.

👉 Start your live scribing enquiry

Why In-Person Live Scribing Works

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Visually Engaging

A live artist in the room elevates energy and draws attention.

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Encourages Collaboration

Ideas developing on a shared surface naturally spark discussion.

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Visuals That Live On

Your visuals live on as ready-to-use assets for presentations, reports and internal communications.

Remote Live
Scribing

Remote Live Scribing, also known as virtual graphic recording, brings real-time visual thinking to online events, webinars and global meetings. A live scribe works remotely, listening and drawing as the event unfolds, screen-sharing the illustration live so virtual audiences stay engaged and aligned wherever they are.

The visual grows in real time, capturing key ideas, discussions and decisions as they happen, giving distributed teams the same shared reference point as an in-person audience.

Once the event ends, you receive polished high-resolution digital visuals ready to use in presentations, reports, social media and internal communications.

👉 Book your remote live scribe

Remote live scribing in progress, live scribe drawing on a tablet while visuals are screen-shared on a monitor during a virtual event

Where Live Scribing Makes an Impact

Leadership and Strategy Sessions: align teams around goals and make decisions visible
Innovation and Design Thinking Workshops: capture fast-moving ideas and keep energy high
Conferences and Keynotes: engage large audiences and make complex content memorable
Business Transformation and Change Management: create clarity around vision, process and objectives
Meetings and Internal Events: turn discussions into clear, shareable visual outputs

Why Choose Smartup Visuals

With over 13 years of visual communication expertise, we work with global organisations including Google, LinkedIn, Accenture, EY and Siemens, supporting leadership teams and decision makers to make complex ideas clear, memorable and actionable.

We listen, analyse and translate strategic discussions, leadership sessions and key decisions into visual narratives that strengthen understanding, drive alignment and support organisational change. Our live scribes and graphic recorders work in person, digitally and remotely, delivering live scribing and graphic recording across London, the UK, Europe and the US.

The visuals created during your event become lasting assets used in presentations, reports, campaigns and internal communications long after the event ends.

What Our Clients Say:

Smartup Visuals did some amazing work visualizing the contents of our 2-day workshop and were a delight to work with. I can highly recommend them!
Justus Bender-HackePrincipal Account Manager

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Smartup Visuals for our Paris Innovation Summit and their live digital scribing blew the audience away and was a great way for them to share insights from the event with their own organisations. Wishing Smartup Visuals every success and looking forward to teaming up again.
Gaurav GujralManaging Director and Global Consulting Leader

Smartup Visuals transformed a flood of messy ideas into a clear, compelling poster to describe our resilience financing work. They did it in just a few days, with professionalism and an ability to listen for the key takeaways behind our concepts. We’ll be using the poster at conferences and in talks, and I’m so appreciative of their skill!
Eva Vander Giessen Senior Communications Manager

Smartup Visuals did some amazing work visualizing the contents of our 2-day workshop and were a delight to work with. I can highly recommend them!
Justus Bender-HackePrincipal Account Manager

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Smartup Visuals for our Paris Innovation Summit and their live digital scribing blew the audience away and was a great way for them to share insights from the event with their own organisations. Wishing Smartup Visuals every success and looking forward to teaming up again.
Gaurav GujralManaging Director and Global Consulting Leader

Smartup Visuals transformed a flood of messy ideas into a clear, compelling poster to describe our resilience financing work. They did it in just a few days, with professionalism and an ability to listen for the key takeaways behind our concepts. We’ll be using the poster at conferences and in talks, and I’m so appreciative of their skill!
Eva Vander Giessen Senior Communications Manager

Other Names for Live Scribing

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Graphic Recording

Graphic Recording is the most widely used international term for live scribing. In the US, Europe and globally, practitioners and clients use Graphic Recording and Live Scribing interchangeably, with Live Scribing being the preferred term in the UK.

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Event Illustration

Event Illustration is a creative term used in event and marketing contexts, describing the visual capture of talks, sessions and brand activations. It emphasises the artistic dimension of the practice, making it popular for conferences, product launches and brand events.

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Visual Scribing

Visual Scribing is widely used interchangeably with Live Scribing and Graphic Recording, particularly in UK and European contexts. It emphasises the scribing and visualisation process in real time.

Live Scribing FAQ

Can Live Scribing be delivered remotely or virtually?

Yes. Live Scribing can be delivered remotely for virtual conferences, hybrid events, online workshops, and leadership sessions. Visuals can be created digitally in real time and shared live during the event or delivered afterward as a high-resolution summary.

What events use Live Scribing?

Live Scribing is used at conferences, strategy workshops, leadership events, innovation sessions, hybrid meetings, panel discussions, and internal team events where organisations want to improve engagement and capture ideas visually.

What is the difference between Live Scribing and Graphic Recording?

Live scribing and graphic recording describe the same core practice: capturing conversations visually in real time during events, workshops, and meetings. In the UK the term Live Scribing is more commonly used, while Graphic Recording is widely used in the US and internationally.

Read our full guide: Live Scribing vs Graphic Recording.

How does Live Scribing work?

Live Scribing captures key ideas in real time as discussions unfold.

Your live scriber listens carefully, filters information, and identifies the most important insights. These are then transformed into visuals that map connections, highlight themes, and show the “big picture” of the conversation.

This real-time visual mapping helps audiences understand and retain information more effectively — making it ideal for strategy meetings, leadership discussions, innovation workshops, conferences, and business events.

In short:

Live Scribing turns spoken content into a clear, illustrated mind map that boosts engagement and supports better decision-making.

What types of Live Scribing are available for events?

Live Scribing is delivered in three formats, depending on your event setup and audience needs:

1. In-Person Live Scribing (Hand-Drawn) Ideal for conferences and workshops where the artist is physically present. Large-scale, hand-drawn visuals grow in real time, energising the room and creating a memorable event centrepiece.

2. Digital Live Scribing (On-Site or Remote) Visuals are created on a tablet and projected onto screens or shared in virtual platforms like Zoom and Teams. Perfect for hybrid events, leadership sessions, and online conferences.

3. Remote Live Scribing A fully virtual option for online events and global meetings. Your scribe joins remotely, captures key insights in real time, and screenshares the evolving visual with your audience.

What additional value does Live Scribing provide?

Live Scribing delivers far more than a visual summary. It becomes a strategic communication asset your team can use long after the event.

You receive a clear, structured visual mind map that highlights key insights, themes, and connections. This visual can be shared in follow-up emails, presentations, reports, blogs, and social media, helping attendees and those who couldn’t join revisit and retain the most important messages.

How do businesses use Live Scribing visuals after an event?

✔ Strategy and Leadership Meetings

Teams refer back to the visuals to reinforce decisions, align actions, track progress, and support long-term strategic clarity.

✔ Workshops and Innovation Sessions

Visual summaries help teams revisit ideas from brainstorming sessions and carry them into execution.

✔ Internal Communications and Reports

Live Scribing visuals are shared in follow-up emails, presentations, reports, and internal communications to keep teams informed and aligned.

✔ Marketing and Social Media

Businesses repurpose visuals for blogs, LinkedIn posts, and campaigns, making insights more engaging and shareable.

✔ Employee Training and Onboarding

Visual summaries simplify complex topics, making them useful for training materials and onboarding new employees.

Do you deliver Live Scribing for events in the US?

Yes. We work with US-based clients and deliver live scribing for conferences, workshops, and corporate events in New York and across the United States, both in person and remotely.