Early this year, before we knew we would live in a different world, our IFVP President, Sunny BenBelkacem, shared this idea (inspired from our former president Jenny Trautman) about hosting the Online Learning Series or OLS as we like to call it.
This initiative has three main goals:
1. Provide our membership with high-quality and free programming.
2. Spread the word about IFVP and the Visual Practice.
3. Offer a thorough range of topics and speakers, not only in English.
As of today, we have had six successful episodes, and before the end of 2020, we will offer thirteen more (six in English and seven in Spanish). What is quite amazing – session after session – is to see the diversity of places around the world people are coming from!
We can say, after five sessions, that the green grass is growing!
- In addition to geographical diversity, in each session we had a great number of people who are not IFVP Members and that indicates the interest in IFVP and in our industry.
- Net Promoter Score (NPS) is really high. The score indicates customer happiness with our brand experience. Our sessions went from 8.87 to 9.07, and that made us very happy (because these are really good numbers)! Feedback has been amazing. Let’s quickly review some for you:
Terry LaBan from USA (March 30, 364 registrants) offered a session on Drawing Diverse People.
People said about Terry:
“He was friendly, clear and engaging, and made his process very unintimidating. His tips were helpful and I can see how I could incorporate what I learned into my work with a bit of practice.”
“It felt really accessible and not intimidating, his tone and the questions from the audience really helped a beginner like me feel welcome.”
Ia Brix Ohmann from Denmark (April 21, 427 registrants) shared her methodology about Designing Visual Templates.
People said about Ia:
“Comfortable atmosphere and welcoming attitude of instructor and tech host; well done and effective visuals; access provided to template workbook.”
“Ia was lovely, and I so appreciated that she shared her process so openly, and even gave us all a PDF!”
Avril Orloff from Canada and Heather Martinez from USA (May 6, 309 registrants) presented The ABC of Chart Design.
People said about Avril and Heather:
“A lot of positive energy, cheerfulness from Avril and Heather. Really very nice and absolutely skillful in visual facilitation!”
“Thank you for the session. It was an amazing chance to experience both artists in person and hear how they talk about their work.”
Steve Keast from Australia (May 18, 140 registrants) told about his experience about Full time Practitioner roles in Large Organizations. This session was co-hosted with Graphic Recorders Australia and moderated by Jessamy Gee.
People said about Steve:
“Great moderation, relatable answers, good reminders of why we practice in the visual field.”
“I loved the interaction and the possibility to ask questions. The energy. Seeing new VP’s from other time-zones. It felt a bit surrealistic being there at 2 am. The globalization of VP.”
John Bloch from USA (May 27, 201 registrants) opened the doors of Art School for Facilitators.
People said about John:
“John is an excellent presenter. He was generous and the pace was great! I loved that he worked digitally.”
“I loved his teaching, his personality, his organization of materials, his slow methodical way of explaining, his expertise was clear. He's just a swell guy who is easy to learn from and open to answering.”
Disa Kauk, Erica Bota and Liisa Sorsa, from ThinkLink Graphics, Canada (June 12, 216 registrants) helped us understand how to master the art of colouring!
We are processing their feedback, and will share it soon!
Jim Nuttle, USA: Creating landscapes that tell stories.
Feedback will be shared shortly.
Tamara Kostetsky, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Visual Thinking in Education.
Feedback will be shared shortly.
Luis Alberto García, Mexico City, Mexico: Which are my digital tools?
Feedback will be shared shortly.
And people said about the OLS Program:
“Keep it up” This series has been wonderful. I'm missing the conference, but the regular contact with the IVFP has made my membership super valuable and meaningful.”
“I hope this stays part of the membership... this is incredible! Thank you!!”
“Thank you for offering this for no cost, I know it took a lot of work and effort and I appreciate it greatly!”
We are happy to announce the rest of the program for 2020 so you can save the dates!:
Future OLS Sessions in English:
1. Anthony Weeks from USA: Understanding the basics of Listening. (August 18th(.)
2. Nevada Lane from USA: Creating interactive graphics. (September 4 at 11AM PT)
3. Greg Gersch from USA: Anthropomorphism. (September 16, time to be defined)
4. Sam Bradd from Canada: Shifting the room with facilitation. (November 3, time to be defined)
5. Lucinda Levine from USA: Drawing metaphors. (December 7, time to be defined)
Future OLS Sessions in Spanish (curated by Kristine Neckelmann Abbott from Chile and co-hosted with Se Dibuja en Español!)
1. Sofi Donner from Montevideo, Uruguay: Lettering for Visual Facilitators. (July 24, at 20PM GMT-3) Pre register here: http://bit.ly/IFVPOLSEp10
2. Christian Harmsen y Alexandra Oporto from Lima, Perú: Visual Thinking for Virtual Meetings. (August 11 at 11AM GMT-5)
3. Donatella Pastorino, from São Paulo, Brazil: Color choices. (September 30 at 5PM GMT-3)
4. Laura Baez, from Asunción, Paraguay: Visualizing Human Rights. (October 7 at 2PM GMT-4)
5. Reilly Dow, a Canadian living in Mexico City, Mexico: Spontaneous drawing for Graphic Recorders (October 15 at 10AM GMT-5)
Before we end, there are three topics we would like to emphasize!
1. If you wonder how we get the word out to the world about our OLS Sessions, we can tell you that this could not be possible without the amazing job that the IFVP SMC (Social Media Committee) Team does!
- Facebook and Social Media Committee Editor: Lin Wilson from the USA
- Instagram: Leonardo Tapia Jofré from Spain and Julie Gieseke from the USA
- Linkedin: Marko Hamel from Germany
- MeWe: Paula Fagerberg from the USA
- Social Media Chair: Amy Sparks from the USA
- Twitter: Ashton Rodenhiser from Canada
- UI/UX Designer Volunteer: Rachel Stevens from the USA
- WeChat China: Phil Guo from China (yes! in Chinese!)
2. We would ike to tell you that he drawing that illustrates this article was made by Elena Urizar from Madrid, España, Graphic Recorder and IFVP BOD Member.
3. If you want to watch again any of the past episodes or you have not seem them, please visit the Members-only OLS page!
So, stay tuned because very soon we will open the registration to be part of the OLS20201 Cohort!
38 people, 13 countries, 3 languages and many work-hours are making the 2020 Edition of OLS possible! May your markers be juicy, your stylus ready, and your hand ever steady!
See you all at Jim Nuttle session on June 29!
José Luis Anzizar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- JOSE LUIS ANZIZAR's blog
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