We were lucky to catch up with Brittany Curry recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brittany, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk about innovation. What’s the most innovative thing you’ve done in your career?
Three highly innovative ways graphics have been used:
In the fall of 2016 a woman in Louisville, Kentucky was having a hard time getting her disability care coordinators to hear her voice and honor her wishes to live in her own apartment in a location close to her brother. Her day service provider invited me to come conduct a visioning session centered around questions like “What would a good home look like? What would a good week look like?” Color copies of the graphics generated were share with the disability professionals who were able to see the vision. Six months later, the woman was living in her own home in the community with the support of her providers and friends. She still lives there today and has a roommate and a job.
Graphics have been instrumental in community organizations receiving grant funding. Two public health organizations in Savannah have been awarded $260,000 total since 2016 by using the element of visual storytelling and graphic facilitation to submit alongside their grant applications, Another $200,000 is projected when the current grant cycle is complete.
In February 2020, I was invited to the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky to work in a booth for a product manufacturer similar to John Deere, Kubota, and other ag industry giants. My job was to facilitate conversation with farmers and their families who came through the booth, and live draw to record their stories of their favorite memories with the company and its loyal sales reps, their favorite equipment attachments, and their wishes for existing products that have yet to hit the market. My graphics were then given to the product designers to close the customer feedback loop and inform future production.
Brittany, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I attend events and meetings of all kinds as a silent listening partner, documenting the highlights and key takeaways in the form of large, visual imagery. Before the pandemic, this all took place live and in person with ink on paper. Now I use my iPadPro to create visual maps for organizations both locally and internationally, making meetings accessible, memorable, personal, and instantly shareable.
When I tell people what I do the most common response is, “You mean like a court reporter?” My answer is always the same- “Kind of, but it’s a lot more information-heavy and a lot less Art-heavy.” Imagine sitting through an hour-long board meeting or panel discussion, and the end there’s a graphic distilling the complex information into digestible little cartoons of stick people talking to one another.
Working in the field of advocacy for people with developmental disabilities is what opened the door for me to discover and enter the world of visual communication. Visuals have played a very important role in the movement of getting people with disabilities out of institutions and restrictive places, and plugged into real jobs, with real homes, and real valued roles in their communities.
Since transitioning from my role as a staff person in an organization to going out on my own as a full-time Graphic Recorder, I have not drifted from but only become more deeply committed to and involved in the world of advocacy, inclusion, and accessibility. Universities piloting post-secondary ed programs for young people with intellectual disabilities; Disability service providers trying to tear down the old structures of segregated models and replace them with truly person-centered approaches; Corporations determined to be trailblazers in the field of accessibility by being #1 in the disabled workforce; Social workers trying to support people with complex traumatic histories; these and many more are pockets of people who have worked with me to use Visual communication to tell their story and move the needle in their field.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Show people rather than telling them. And make your clients your marketers and recruiters.
When I first moved back to Savannah to go full time with my biz, my calendar was basically empty except for a few small gigs and a handful of orgs that had been working with me since 2014. In addition to educating people about what I did by going on appointments, calls, and attending networking events, I started paying attention to the community calendar, news stories, and special happenings around town. Many times, I would create a graphic commemorating the event or story and then ‘gift’ it to the organization, business or person. Or I’d call and say, “I saw there’s a Chamber Breakfast/Port’s Authority Annual Lunch- may I come and volunteer the skill of Graphic Recording?” People were so honored and thrilled to be surprised with a unique summary graphic that they could then use to carry the vision forward. They would usually showcase the piece in their office space or business location, shout it out on social media, and run around endlessly telling others the good news about Graphic Facilitation.
Focus on relationship building over mass marketing strategies.
I was also systematic about following up with people through highly personalized, handwritten thank you cards sent through physical USPS mail (which was a lot of tracking down addresses) and I would try to do so within 48 hours of the interaction.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
How to Become a Rainmaker by Jeffrey Fox has always been my main toolbox for getting and keeping clients. A Youtube video called “The Science of Persuasion” has helped me to become a more compelling communicator. My mindset has also been deeply influenced by the teachings of Cy Wakeman, Ed Mylett and Inky Johnson.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.inkybrittany.com
- Instagram: @inkybrittany
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inkybrittany
- Linkedin: Brittany Curry
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqZZQI9JMAZQSiZvXDjtMw
- Other: ChathamSavannahCitizenAdvocacy.org