Describing herself as a “fly on the wall with a pen”, Kriss Wittmann is undoubtedly the star attraction of the “First International Conference on Igniting the Genius Within”, being held by the Centre for Leadership, Innovation and Change at the Indian School of Business (ISB). One of the few graphic recorders in the world, Wittmann interprets each session’s proceedings in drawings on a huge four foot wide sheet of paper. “I think of it as taking notes in pictures,” she said. Talking about the process of graphic recording, Wittmann said she tries to give a
bird's eye view of the event, since she cannot draw everything that happens. “I think about what I would go home and tell my husband,” she said.
A lot of organisations use graphic recordings to capture their vision, focus group discussions and strategise. For example, Wittmann once worked with a manager who said a project was a train wreck. She then drew a train and used it to illustrate the discussion about the company’s transformation process. She added that she loved her job and meeting people is the best part of it. “I think of it as marrying the content with people’s emotions,” she said.
Wittmann said this is her seventh year as a graphic recorder, having gotten interested in the profession after taking a class on the subject. A Colorado (US) native, she has travelled all over the world for conferences and events. Coming here from Cairo, Egypt after a project for the United Nations, Wittmann said this was her first visit to India. She said she found the atmosphere here safe and the people, sweet and endearing. “I feel very connected to the people here,” she said. Wittman also said one of her future goals is to come back to India and teach graphic recording because she has not met any Indian graphic recorders.
