Graphics: Beyond Expo Markers

Beyond Expo Markers

(note: The following lesson comes from Frances Gillard. It's a wonderful lesson in how a sketch-hog can add tremendous value to the DesignShop (R) experience.)

Frances Gillard

Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) held a DesignShop(TM) event at the Cambridge knOwhere(TM) store on October 20-22, 1997 to explore ways of bridging the gap of Information Technology (IT) within the CHI organization. They drew upon a rich legacy of health care, ministry, and community service. Melding the historical and spiritual aspects of CHI with their health care vision and mission was a major impetus of the graphic. CHI referred several times to when medicine was an art, and then a science. They wanted to bring spirituality back to medicine and the caring of individuals and communities.

We had used the cathedral and stained glass metaphors throughout the DesignShop, so turning the backside of the Radiant Wall into windows late on Day 1 seemed like the right thing to do. The location of the stained glass wall was conducive for the participants to enjoy its progress as they wandered through the space. We told the story of the event through stained glass windows, much like medieval churches told the story of the Bible to illiterate towns people of that time. No words were necessary, just powerful images. The top part of each window highlighted the key themes of medicine as an art, as a science, and then as spirituality in medicine. The home and community was used for the fourth. The history of health care in the form of the itinerant doctor making house calls, and of Florence Nightingale and the nursing profession caring for patients constituted the first window. The history of CHI was portrayed in the second window with a rendering of the various nun orders from many geographical areas coming together to form a single organization with one common purpose. The middle graphic reflects the 1996 date CHI was established.

Beyond 1996, the purpose and planning for the DesignShop was reflected in the third window through the image of a bridge. The DesignShop process as a tool to educate members to one of the sponsor's proposed models was also shown in this window by drawings of the Radiant and WorkWalls(TM). The fourth window reflects a common theme that emerged from the work of the week based on spirituality. CHI could spread their health care and ministry mission to the world through an integrated network of information technology. The last part of this window represented the ANDMap(TM) being produced by the participants on the opposite side of the wall. We finished our ANDMap drawing just as they were finishing theirs. Having our progress displayed on the Radiant Room TV monitors added energy to them finishing their own ANDMap.

We used almost every media we had in the space, plus some we had brought from our own personal supplies. Media used included watercolors, Caran D'ache watercolor crayons, Berol Prismacolor markers, colored pencils, Sharpie permanent markers (you should have heard the other krew members scream at that!), pastels, micron pens, watercolor pencils, pencil, chalk, and of course the infamous Expo marker. The participants seemed to really enjoy watching us work and tracking the real-time progress we were making with the event. Our work was displayed on the TV monitors so others could reference the progress instead of leaving their teams to check on it.

Krew members creating the stained glass wall included Alicia Bramlett, Matt Diffee, Frances Gillard, and Scott Zoll. It was fun to explore the wall's texture and the variety of media it could take while creating something of real-time benefit to the client. We all hope to do it again soon and hope others will try it too. And believe it or not, the walls actually cleaned remarkably well and with very little extra effort!! Ê