What Can I Use a Visual Abstract for?
We recently received some snail mail at the studio (always a joy)! It was a series of postcards from Museum Development Midlands (MDM). Each postcard featured one of our illustrations, and we were delighted!
What was the project? Well, we recently supported museum practitioners and staff to bring MDM’s Sense of Place Programme to a close. The programme explored how museums can play a crucial role in shaping a place’s identity and supporting wellbeing. It also examined how creative practices can enhance wellbeing by encouraging community involvement and connection.
Through creative facilitation and visual note-taking, we captured MDM’s impact and achievements across the region, while also helping to shape its future vision through the co-production of a memory map. The co-design session offered a fresh and engaging way to gather and share feedback, insights, and experiences. The visual note-taking resulted in a visual abstract of the project.
Above: Buttercrumble visual note or visual abstract.
What is a visual abstract?
A visual abstract is a concise visual summary of a project, event, research, or key findings. It distils complex information into an engaging format using a combination of illustrations, icons, diagrams, and short snippets of text. It means it can be understood at a glance.
Where or how can I use them?
They are super versatile and can be presented digitally or in print! As you can see above, they can be transformed into postcards. They can also be used for:
Conference handouts and delegate packs
Exhibition interpretation panels and displays
Annual reports and impact reports
Research reports and executive summaries
Funding applications and evaluation documents
Infographics for websites and landing pages
Social media posts and carousels
LinkedIn articles and thought leadership content
Email newsletters and campaign updates
Presentation slides and keynote talks
Internal communications and staff briefings
Strategic plans and vision documents
Press kits and media packs
Printed posters for offices, community spaces, and public venues
Interactive digital PDFs
QR code-linked resources that allow audiences to explore a project in more depth
…And so much more!
For participatory projects, visual abstracts are particularly valuable because they can transform large amounts of discussion, feedback, and insight into an engaging, accessible, and easy-to-share format. Many decide to send the artwork to participants, funders, partners, and wider audiences.
Do you have any more ideas? We’d love to hear from you!
Thanks so much to Museum Development Midlands for making this featured project possible, and we look forward to future collaborations.