Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Charissa Burns. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Charissa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

After college, I tried multiple jobs such as Teacher’s Assistant, Art and Home Economics teacher, Assisted Living Activity Director, Realtor, and front desk tech support. None of them worked for me. I was good at most of them, but they did not bring me joy. What did bring my joy was doodling…while answering phones. Art, paper crafts, pens all were the things that seemed right.

But all of those jobs taught me skills. I learned how to communicate, I learned how to go beyond my comfort zone, and I learned how to think differently. I ended up with a freelance gig to create a logo. That was my first step into graphic arts. I pursued small graphic design jobs for a while. I learned Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and how to visualize and create it.

I have lovely kids, now 14 and 10. They put a pause in things while they were small. Even being a parent taught me things I use in my job now. How to think on my feet, how to juggle busy schedules, and how to take time for family and rest. Once they were both school age, I wanted to pursue graphic design more…or so I thought. I always had just enough work to barely keep going. Thankfully my husband’s job supported our family.

One day I decided to bring a small sketchbook and my favorite pen to church. I took notes and doodled during the sermon. This continued every Sunday. I showed my notes to my pastor and a friend. They loved them. This was my first glimpse of graphic recording and I didn’t even know it! Eventually, my notes were being given to small group leaders and that’s when I thought, “If this was a real job, it would be perfect!”

I had some encouragement from a mentor to start creating every day. So I painted with watercolor, drew on paper and my iPad, learned the art of hand-lettering. All these took me from a graphic designer to an illustrator. Selling my artwork and doing custom pieces was barely enough, but slight progress in my business was being made. I even did a 100 day project where I sketched on a 3”x3” card something related to coffee or tea for 100 days. The watercolor taught me to ditch perfection and be more creative. The drawing during the 100 day project taught me how to draw simply, quickly, and effectively. The handlettering taught me that letters are shapes and strokes and have so many possibilities. All this time I was taking illustrative notes every Sunday.

Then I went to a business conference. I was listening to amazing speakers and, of course, taking notes! I decided to share my notes on the event app. Well, that’s when someone said, “Oh You’re a Graphic Recorder!” I immediately googled this and was so excited! My dream job was real and I had been honing that skill for years. From that conference I started getting jobs. That is when my business really took off and now I am doing what I love and contributing to our household income. It is so fun to look back and see how my 9-5 jobs helped me learn to communicate with clients and basic business skills, how parenting helped me learn the ebb and flow of busy and rest, and how traditional art taught me to drop perfection and let creativity flow!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a Graphic Recorder and Illustrator. You may not have heard of Graphic Recording before. Graphic recording combines the skills of an artist and a note-taker. I listen to a talk or presentation and distill it into visual form. Basically, it is visually enhancing information and it is all done in real-time. I graphic record sermons, speaking events, webinars, and conferences. This helps the attendees absorb the information visually, heightens retention levels, and gives a unique takeaway.

Some of the conferences I have worked at have been NIO Summit (Non profit Innovation and Optimization Summit), WAGOH (Woman After God’s Own Heart, Boldness Conference (Unconventional Business Network), National Philanthropy Day (AFP Alaska). Sometimes I travel for the conferences. The farthest I’ve been so far was National Philanthropy Day all the way to Anchorage Alaska!

I do so much more than live events, though. I also use the style of graphic recording to create non profit appeal letters, social media posts, website graphics, PowerPoint presentations, information posters, PDFs, book synopses, really the possibilities are endless! Some of my favorite projects have been the non profit appeal letters. It is so wonderful to bring beauty to the stories through hand lettering and illustration. Plus, knowing I can be a part of raising funds is pretty great!

In business it is always important to know the problem your business solves and to know your “why”.

The problem I see is that we all read a lot of text everyday and we don’t remember it all. It just starts to all blend together. I solve this problem by making information fun and visually engaging! I mean, who really wants to read a 5 year strategic plan Excel Spreadsheet? Much better read a beautiful, bright giant poster of a 5 year strategic plan!

Why do I do what I do? I do this to help people learn and engage with information in a more enjoyable way.

A lot of graphic recorders put a lot of pictures in their designs, which is wonderful, but my style relies more on lettering and letting the words really shine. That’s what’s unique about my style.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being creative is seeing people benefit from what I do. There is something very special seeing people’s eyes light up, lives be blessed, and people be inspired by my work. It has taken a lot of time and practice to sharpen my God given talents. It is wonderful to see the impact.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Austin Kleon’s books “Steal Like an Artist”, “Show Your Work”, and “Keep Going” are fantastic books for all artists. I will always go back to these books for encouragement.

Graphic Artist’s Guild Handbook is a resource that has helped with business, pricing, contracts, and more.

I have been a member of The Flock, an artist group lead by Peggy Dean. While I am no longer a member, the time I spent in this group was amazing and the knowledge I gained was immense.

I use HoneyBook for my contracts, invoicing, and to keep my projects straight. I also use a paper planner.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.charissaburnsstudio.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/charissaburnsstudio
• Facebook: facebook.com/charissaburnsstudio
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charissa-burns-34909883
• Other: Honestly, I am not super active on social media. As a creative, I get distracted easily and staying off social media keeps me focused and grounded. The best thing to do is email me… [email protected]