It’s all about CONNECTION.

Between patterns, between ideas, between people.

I’m a graphic recorder. That means I use visuals in graphic recording, strategic illustrations, time-lapse explainer videos, and workshops to help you and your team increase clarity, communication, connection, and belonging.

Let’s work together to amplify your impact and create positive change!

 

Happy Birthday Heart Speak!

—ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION —

A creative collaboration with renowned author Parker J. Palmer. Learn more and get your copy here. →

As a graphic recorder, I am a partner and dedicated listener in the room.

That is the secret sauce and my superpower!

I listen deeply, synthesize the conversation, and make connections using images and text to create a visual summary. The drawings become an artifact of your group’s time together and can be used as powerful accountability and communication tools, as well as to foster further conversation after the meeting or event is over.

 

Why use visuals and graphic recording in a meeting?

Visuals are memorable. They also:

  • Help people connect with your message

  • Increase retention after the presentation

  • Help humans feel seen and heard

  • Enable your audience to see the big picture

  • Make thoughts visible (which feels exciting)

  • Amplify your impact

  • Are fun to revisit and share after your event

 

Services

 

Graphic Recording

Digital Graphic Recording

Strategic Illustrations

 

Time-Lapse Explainer Videos

Conference Solutions

Workshops

Heart Speak: A Visual Interpretation Of Let Your Life Speak

by Sherrill Knezel

in collaboration with Parker J. Palmer

"There's a reason the 'in case of emergency' instructions on airplanes are illustrations, not simply words—in crisis, the brain grasps images more readily than text. Parker Palmer's wisdom and practical philosophy have guided countless readers through challenges toward a more meaningful life. Sherrill Knezel gives additional depth and visual access to the power of Palmer's inspiring teachings. The paired wisdom of Parker Palmer and the clear, clean, whimsical instructions that Knezel provides for readers, even in the case of an emergency, offer a way to learn twice—by reading and seeing."

— Mary Anne Em Radmacher, author of Courage Doesn't Always Roar

The Meaningful Marks Difference.jpg

The Meaningful Marks difference:

  • DEEP LISTENER

    I’m listening to the presentation and to the audience—to the energy of the room and for the gaps of what isn’t being said. I listen with an inclusive, strengths-based lens to nurture connection and empower impact.

  • Graphic Recorder

    EXPERIENCED GRAPHIC RECORDER

    I have experience across sectors and have worked with Nonprofit, Education, Government, Healthcare, and Corporate clients across the country.

  • education background

    STRONG EDUCATION BACKGROUND

    All educators are facilitators on a daily basis! I have 30 years of teaching/facilitation experience to help plan your event or lead your team in a visual literacy workshop tailored to your needs.

View The Services

What my clients say…

  • “Near West Side Partners has had the good fortune of working with Sherrill and Meaningful Marks to support a number of community meetings, summits, and events. Sherrill truly listens and cares for her clients and the community; her graphic recordings bring participants' voices from diverse backgrounds alive and are a powerful tool for communicating big ideas.”

    -Keith Stanley, Executive Director, Near West Side Partners & Lindsey St. Arnold, Associate Director, NWSP

  • “Whether she is graphic recording or not I must admit that Sherrill is an amazing human being. Her ability & Skill to capture the essence of words and spaces in her work is simply a gift. Sherill's work is simply captivating, and I've never seen anything like it. It is always an absolute pleasure working w/ Sherrill! I look forward to doing more work in the future.”

    -Dee Kendrix, CEO/ Cheif Strategist - Dc Global Group & D.K.I.

  • “I cannot recommend Sherrill enough. It was the first time I had worked with a grahpic recorder and we brought her in on a project that we still hadn't fully envisioned ourselves. Her generous and collaborative spirit helped us envision what was possible and how it could work. With 3 different rooms happening simultaneously on 3 different projects, her flexibility, good nature, and understanding of facilitation and graphic recording made the whole thing a huge success. Her graphic recordings brought the conversations to life for those who were not in the room, and gave us a beautiful visual record of what we learned to share with our broader community.

    I look forward to working with Sherrill again. The process was a joy and creates and the product was outstanding.”

    - Abby Graf, Vice President, Programs and Community Engagement, The Nonprofit Alliance, Washington DC

  • “Sherrill exemplifies emotional intelligence, timely responsiveness and integrity in her leadership style. I have and will continue to partner with her because she is so great to work with and her graphic recordings are beyond incredible! She understands that combining her gift of graphic recording with her positive mindset is a key component to her approach with Clients. She is flexible and understanding. She cares about her Clients and their success.”

    -Denise Thomas, Award Winning Communication Coach/Consultant/Emcee/Keynote Speaker/Voiceover/President at The Effective Communication Coach, LLC

  • “Working with Sherrill helped to enhance our event and engage audiences in a new and meaningful way. She brought important conversations to life and the graphic notes have served as a living document to keep conversations going long after the event ended. If you are thinking about how to make difficult topics and conversations more natural and have participants feel heard – leverage Sherrill’s talent!”

    -Kelsey Otero, Director of Innovation, 707Hub, Marquette University

  • “Working with Sherrill has been my only experience with a sketch artist, and I can’t imagine that another experience could be any better. My full day workshop experience is full of energy and activity. Sherrill not only captured the big ideas, but also many of the subtle nuances. Her art is visually stunning and she created an engaging tool my learners can use to review powerful concepts. Sherrill is an artist with the heart of a teacher. She convinced me that I too could do sketch art. I bought markers, tried my hand at it, and ended up smashing the markers with a hammer. My next move was to call Sherrill to do more wonderful work for me.”

    -Ken Williams, Educational Consultant, UnfoldtheSoul

  • “Are you looking to dazzle your participants at your next conference? Hiring Sherrill to be our graphic recorder amazed all of our participants. She was able to bring everything we discussed to life with her beautiful artwork. We had a large crowd of over 600 at one event and 300 people at another. Having Sherrill added so much value to our conference! The surprise at the end was telling everyone they would get a copy of all her work. People were just thrilled! I will hire Sherrill again and again!”

    -Julie Causton, CEO Inclusive Schooling

  • “Sherrill Knezel participated in our annual nursing Summit with over 160 nurses attending from across Advocate Aurora Health. The entire room was amazed at how she was able to synthesize the presentation content to make it memorable and relatable in the form of a graphic. She took the day from good to great. It was very easy to work with Sherrill, particularly in prepping for the meeting. She provided suggestions and insights on how best to utilize her skill set to optimize the impact….and it worked. We will definitely work with Sherrill again.”

    -Jane Dus, System Vice President, Nursing Education/Professional Development, Advocate Aurora Health

  • “Sherrill’s consummate skill in real-time capture is evident to all participants. What they can’t see—and what I valued even more—was her advance preparation: interviewing me about the retreat intention; understanding the flow so she could be attuned to nuance and magical moments; creating a rough image plan in her mind so she could be optimally creative and agile. And…a soulful partner for this important work. Thank you Sherrill.”

    -Gary Hubbell, Compassionate Coach of Positive Disruption

 
 

Want to learn how to sketchnote?

Download your FREE SKETCHNOTES ROCK! quick-reference guide to learn the basics of sketchnoting!

Learn more about cool ways we can collaborate to make your next meeting or event AWESOME!