A Pattern Language of Visual Note Taking

A Pattern Language of Visual Note Taking
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
6:00–7:00 PM ET | Online

Visual notetaking has a “pattern language,” just like great cities, buildings, and public spaces.

In this interactive, MURAL-based workshop, we explore the foundational elements of graphic recording through the lens of A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, and Murray Silverstein. The book introduces a timeless way of thinking about design by identifying repeatable patterns that solve recurring problems, from the scale of a window seat to the layout of an entire town. Designers and architects use these patterns as a shared language for creating spaces that feel coherent, humane, and alive.

We will apply this same way of seeing to graphic recording.
Together, we will examine the core elements that make visual work readable, engaging, and useful, and look at how these patterns show up in practice across the work of some of the best graphic recorders, visual facilitators, and sketchnoters in the world.

What we will explore

Layout and structure
We will explore how flow and directionality guide the viewer’s eye and how layouts such as lists, popcorn, clusters, mind maps, and word clouds support different kinds of content. We will also look at how scale and hierarchy help communicate what matters most.

Color
We will examine monochromatic and multi-color approaches, basic color theory, and the use of midtones. We will focus on how intentional color choices reinforce meaning, create emphasis, and improve readability.

Illustration
We will look at levels of illustration, from abstract marks to realistic drawings. We’ll look at how graphic recorders may choose to use cartoons, icons, pictographs, silhouettes, and other illustration methods to communicate different content.

Lettering
We will explore how lettering creates a clear hierarchy of information through titles, headers, subheaders, body text, callouts, and emphasis. We will examine how different graphic recorders use different approaches to lettering and their effects.

Containers, connectors, and dividers
We will examine how containers, connectors, and dividers fill space, group ideas, show relationships, and create visual structure that helps viewers make sense of complex information.

Throughout the session, we will look closely at real examples, ask why they work, and name the patterns behind them. Whether you are new to graphic recording or refining your craft, this workshop will give you a shared vocabulary and practical ways to see, choose, and apply visual patterns more intentionally in your own work.

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NOVA Scribes has entered into a partnership with the IFVP: the International Forum of Visual Practitioners! This workshop is an IFVP Learning Lab. All IFVP members have access to Learning Labs at https://ifvpforum.circle.so/c/learning-hub/

This workshop will be recorded and posted on YouTube for anyone who cannot attend. You can find the YouTube link in the Comments section of this NOVA Scribes Meetup event once the workshop video has been uploaded to YouTube.
You can find previously recorded videos at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJfInZHmS8prj2_DUaJ35CYY8n7SzoPMJ

We’re not charging for this workshop, but we will be asking for donations! Donations cover the costs of hosting events on Meetup, to honorariums for new graphic recorders, and scholarships.

Please be sure you are registered on Meetup! If your Zoom name doesn’t match your name on Meetup, you will not be admitted. (We’ve had Zoom bombers.)