Hi, I'm Matt. I am a Strategic Graphic Recorder.
I run a creative graphic facilitation service company focused on bringing the best out of conversations.
I bring focused listening, attention to aha! moments, and a swift talent for marker illustration to tell stories and present holistic views of discussions that event attendees value.
Recent work includes large industrial tradeshows, Fortune 500 strategy sessions, community roundtables and teacher conferences. I also offer business drawing workshops to improve visual communication in the conference room.
Backing up a little bit, I am an electrical engineer by education, an artist by choice, a salesman by necessity, and a strategist by skill and experience. My career has been...eclectic. I have designed handheld computers, wall murals, set up corporate processes, sold industrial control systems, and designed websites. Today, however, I Listen.
There are a few people across our country that do what I do- transcribe meetings into visuals. Some call themselves graphic facilitators, scribes, visual practitioners, and even brainstorming artists.
So, where did I get my title of Strategic Graphic Designer? A client that hired me to help out with visual messaging for a number of Cleveland startups gave me this title almost as a joke because of my stepping in at a strategic level. I kept the title. The titles you can give yourself are the most exciting.
My first job as a strategic graphic designer, however, was in 2009. I was hired by a strategy consultancy firm to be an onsite artist for a local manufacturing company. Scared out of my mind, I practiced, I bought bright markers, I pre-drew designs, and... I had the time of my life. A wonderful, overheard compliment from a C-level executive at the event made me think..
I had no idea what the heck you guys were talking about until HE drew it.
I live and work in Exotic Peninsula, Ohio (Between Cleveland and Akron Ohio). My hobbies include reading, bicycling, but I love what I do- so that's practically a hobby in and of itself.
