- Dusty Folwarczny
- Updated: September 11, 2026
Your best ideas deserve more than bullet points. At Ink Factory, we capture them in real time by drawing, a practice we call visual note-taking: hand-drawn images and words that turn a live meeting, keynote, or webinar into something people actually understand, remember, and act on.
Visual note-taking works because of how your brain is wired, not because it looks nice. Decades of research show that pairing pictures with words helps an audience process information faster, hold onto it longer, and stay engaged while you’re still talking. Below, we break down the science of why visual note-taking sticks — and what that means for your next meeting, event, or presentation.
What is visual note-taking?
Visual notes (also called graphic recordings or sketchnotes) are drawings that use a combination of text and imagery to convey key points from presentations, meetings, class lectures, or almost anything.
Visual notes are created in real-time while actively listening to content. They are typically drawn using pen and marker and can also be drawn digitally. Their composition is non-linear.
Visual notes are not drawn left to right and top-down like traditional notes. They are developed by making connections between content, and they combine drawing with handwritten words to communicate information and represent concepts. This combination of text and simple drawings create helpful “bookmarks” in the brain.
“Words are difficult for the brain to retain. Visuals are concrete and more easily remembered.”
Visual Note-Taking Captures Attention
When presentations get too stiff and slides get too wordy, audiences check out. Drawing gives them an easier, faster way to follow along, and the act of watching someone draw ideas by hand in real time is genuinely captivating.
The science echoes our clients’ experiences:
"Throughout the event, the artist listened carefully, captured the energy in the room, and transformed conversations, ideas, and insights into beautiful visual stories. Watching the graphics unfold in real time was fascinating!"
Why visual note-taking works: The science
Visual information “has increased 400% in literature, 9900% on the internet, and 142% in newspapers.” (Zacks, 2002). Combining visuals with text is simply more engaging! Researchers have found that color visuals increase a person’s willingness to read by 80 percent (Green, 1989). That’s partly because many people report learning more easily when information is presented visually (Manktelow, 1998).
Visual Note-taking Helps People Remember Your Message
When combined with the audio of a presentation or speech, visuals have a powerful impact on memory. Decades of memory research show that pairing images with words produces stronger, more durable recall than words alone — an effect that has been reliably replicated across studies (Fernandes, Wammes, & Meade, 2018).
Words are abstract and difficult for the brain to retain. Visuals are concrete and more easily remembered. This concept in psychology is called the Picture Superiority Effect.
"This is a unique, creative way to make your meeting and the content shared memorable."
We’re not just talking about an increase in short-term recall. Visuals stick in our long-term memory, unlike text. A study found that participants who viewed only text remembered 10 percent of what they read after three days. Those who viewed text paired with visuals remembered 65 percent of the information three days later (Medina, 2008).
A 2024 meta-analysis pooling results across many studies confirmed what individual experiments have long suggested: drawing information reliably improves memory compared to writing it out or simply reading it (Maddox et al., 2024).
“Using visuals during meetings creates more ideas, creates better ideas, and increases recall.”
Visual Note-taking Improves Comprehension
Our eyes are always hunting for structure, and we’re far better at spotting it in a picture than in a block of text (Trafton, 2014). When an artist captures a meeting visually, viewers grasp the content faster than they would from words alone.
Seeing content presented visually helps people to connect ideas. Visual note-takers draw physical connections (like arrows, lines, and paths) between related content to guide the viewer’s eye around the page. “These sorts of visuals are effective in brainstorming,” says Martin Eppler. “We’ve found in our experiments that using visuals during meetings creates more ideas, creates better ideas, and increases recall” (Averett, 2014).
The pattern shows up everywhere. Researchers found that people following directions with text and illustrations did much better than those following text-only directions (Levie & Lentz, 1982). We often rely on visuals to process information, so picking up a marker and communicating with a visual language is intuitive to many people.
"The images brought clarity and a sense of alignment among members of the 70 person group. I highly recommend Ink Factory to engage the visual brain and activate creativity in ways that you may not imagine."
How visual note-taking compares to other methods
| Traditional Meeting Notes | PowerPoint Slides | Graphic Recording | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format | Linear text, bullet points | Sequential slides | Single, connected visual |
| Created | During or after the meeting | Before the meeting | Live, during the meeting |
| Shows relationships between ideas | Rarely | Rarely | Always—that’s the point |
| Retention | Easy to forget or lose | Forgotten once the deck closes | Visual “bookmarks” people remember |
| Shareability | Low (text-heavy, hard to skim) | Moderate | High (one image tells the whole story) |
| Best for | Simple action items | Structured presentations | Complex, evolving, or collaborative conversations |
Watch it happen: an idea goes from spoken word to finished drawing in under a minute.
“When you start taking visual notes you start to process and reframe information in your own language.”
Why you should start taking visual notes
Visual note-taking is similar to traditional note-taking: anyone can do it regardless of his or her drawing ability. And there’s no pressure when you’re learning to take your own visual notes: no one else will see them and they serve as great reference material.
Visual note-taking goes beyond pretty pictures. It’s a tool anyone can use to improve their ability to retain information. Unlike traditional visual art forms, there is no pressure to make beautiful images.
When you start utilizing visual notes, you start to process and reframe information in your own language. This leads to better information retention. In a study completed by Princeton and UCLA, professors discovered that students who took handwritten notes did better with memory recall than students who took notes with their laptops (Herbert, 2014).
Research suggests that even the simple act of doodling can help assuage boredom, keeping the brain from entering a daydreaming or “idling mode,” which helps individuals stay focused during an otherwise stimulating activity (Schott, 2011).
Previously maligned as a sign that students aren’t paying attention in class, a study found that a group who doodled during a monitoring task recalled 29 percent more information than the non-doodlers (Andrade, 2009).
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Letters themselves are a visual means of communication. Early language started with pictures. Combining words with illustrations is a great way to communicate with others (Childers et al., 2013). When you consider the origins of visual language and communication, taking visual notes makes sense!
Want professional-quality visual notes? Hire Ink Factory.
Hire Ink Factory’s artists for your next event to ensure your participants are engaged and will remember (and act on) your presentations. Make sure your time isn’t wasted.
When the message matters, Think in Ink.™
Frequently Asked Questions
What is visual note-taking?
Visual note-taking is the practice of capturing information in real time using a mix of hand-drawn images and text. Instead of writing line by line, you map ideas non-linearly, using drawings, connections, and hierarchy, which makes the content easier to follow and remember.
Is visual note-taking the same as graphic recording?
Yes, visual note-taking and graphic recording are the same thing. At Ink Factory, we prefer the newer term visual note-taking, as it's more intuitively understood.
Do you have to be good at drawing to take visual notes?
No. Visual note-taking relies on simple shapes, icons, and text, not fine art. The goal is to think and remember more clearly, not to make something gallery-worthy. Anyone can start with basic boxes, arrows, and stick figures.
Does visual note-taking actually improve memory?
Yes. The research backs it up. Pairing pictures with words is easier to recall than words alone. This is a well-documented effect psychologists call the Picture Superiority Effect. In one study, people remembered 65% of information paired with a relevant image after three days, versus 10% for text alone (Medina, 2008).
How does visual note-taking help at meetings and corporate events?
Live-event visual notes keep people engaged, help them understand complex ideas faster, and leaves everyone with a shared visual record they can reference afterward. That means better alignment in the room and a lasting asset that keeps working long after the event ends.
How do I start taking my own visual notes?
Start small. Listen and visually summarize your favorite podcast. Capture a few key ideas per page with a simple drawing and a keywords, use arrows to connect related points, and don’t worry about neatness. If you want a faster path, Ink Factory runs workshops that teach the fundamentals step by step.
Sources
Andrade, J. (2010). What does doodling do? Applied Cognitive Psychology Appl. Cognit. Psychol., 24(1), 100-106. doi:10.1002/acp.1561
Averett, N. (2014, February). Science of the Creative Mind. Inc. Mag, 86-87.
Childers, P. B., Hobson, E., & Mullin, J. A. (1998). ARTiculating: Teaching writing in a visual world. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.
Fernandes, M. A., Wammes, J. D., & Meade, M. E. (2018). The surprisingly powerful influence of drawing on memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(5), 302–308. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418755385
Green, R. (1989). The Persuasive Properties of Color. Marketing Communications. Retrieved August 31, 2016, from http://www.office.xerox.com/latest/COLFS-02UA.PDF
Ink on Paper: Some Notes on Note Taking. (2014, January 28). Retrieved August 30, 2016, from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/were-only-human/ink-on-paper-some-notes-on-note-taking.html
Konnikova, M. (2014, June 2). What’s Lost as Handwriting Fades. The New York Times.
Levie, W.H. & Lentz, R. ECTJ (1982) 30: 195. doi:10.1007/BF02765184
Maddox, G. A., Bodner, G. E., Christian, M. W., & Williamson, P. (2024). Drawing on memory: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. https://doi.org/10.1002/jip.1633
Manktelow J. Yapton, (1998) England: Mind Tools, Ltd.
Medina, J. (2014). Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home and school. Seattle, WA: Pear Press.
Mousavi, Seyed Yaghoub, Renae Low, and John Sweller. “Reducing Cognitive Load by Mixing Auditory and Visual Presentation Modes.” Journal of Educational Psychology 87.2 (1995): 319-34. Web.
Schott, G. (2011). Doodling and the default network of the brain. The Lancet, 378(9797), 1133-1134. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(11)61496-7
Trafton, A. (2014). In the blink of an eye. MIT News.
Zacks, J., Tversky, B., & Schiano, D. (2002). Graphs in Print. Diagrammatic Representation and Reasoning, 187-206. Retrieved August 31, 2016, from Springer Link.
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