Live Illustration for the London School of Economics: Building Capacity for Improvement in Social Care
Live illustration for the London School of Economics (LSE) Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, capturing a social care research showcase that brought together researchers, practitioners, policy professionals and community organisations to strengthen research-practice partnerships.
When the LSE Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC) got in touch, they were looking for a live illustrator who could visually capture an important day of discussion, collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Dr Sarah Jasim had been recommended to my work through colleagues at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and invited me to create a large-scale live illustration for their Building Capacity for Improvement: Social Care Research-Practice Showcase in London.
Esther Springett live illustrating for LSE
About the event
Hosted by the LSE Care Policy and Evaluation Centre as part of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North Thames, the event brought together universities, local authorities, researchers, policy professionals, charities, voluntary organisations and social care practitioners.
The aim was to strengthen social care research by building meaningful partnerships between research and practice.
Throughout the day, delegates explored:
Building successful research internships and fellowships
Embedding researchers within social care organisations
Lessons learned from cross-sector partnerships
The future of social care research capacity
Opportunities for collaboration across health, social care and academia
Esther Springett live illustrating for LSE
Live illustration throughout the day
LSE were after one large illustrated graphic recording that evolved throughout the day.
As speakers and panel discussions unfolded, I listened carefully and distilled complex conversations into an engaging visual narrative, capturing:
keynote messages
recurring themes
memorable quotes
challenges and opportunities
practical examples
The illustration became a shared focal point throughout the event, allowing delegates to revisit ideas as the day progressed and sparking further conversations during networking breaks.
By the end of the showcase, the finished artwork told the story of the entire event in a single visual.
The final artwork by Esther Springett for LSE
Why live illustration works for research and policy events
Conferences focused on research, policy and improvement often cover complex ideas from multiple perspectives.
Live illustration helps audiences by:
making technical discussions easier to understand
identifying common themes across different speakers
creating an engaging visual summary of the day that’s easy on the eye
encouraging discussion during breaks and networking - there’s nothing like a visual to get people talking
providing organisers with a lasting resource after the event - forget about lengthy minutes, a visual can get there faster!
For organisations working across health and social care, graphic recording can help make research findings more accessible and memorable long after the conference has ended.
Client feedback
"I was really engaged with your contributions on the day and really impressed by the end result, so would definitely be open to encouraging your commissioning at future CPEC events."
Dr Sarah Jasim and her team were a dream to work with from start to finish and I look forward to supporting their programmes again in the future.
Looking for a live illustrator for your conference?
I work with universities, NHS organisations, charities, public sector bodies and research teams across the UK to create live illustrations that capture conversations as they happen.
If you're planning an upcoming conference or workshop and would like to discuss live illustration, graphic recording or visual facilitation, I'd love to hear from you.
