Scribing St. Louis Union Station
St. Louis Union Station combines historic elegance with modern and stunning detail. At this particular industry conference, it was covered in graphic recording and digital visual notes, displayed in a style reminiscent of famous movie posters.
ABOVE: The colorful graphic recording drawings created by Alphachimp artists are displayed in a gallery which resembles a movie marquis with blue LED lights.
Setting the Scene: Union Station’s rich Visual History
Built by architect Theodore Link and completed in 1894, St. Louis Union Station is a landmark example of Romanesque Revival architecture.
Rounded arches, massive stone construction, and a fortress-like, medieval appearance characterize this style.
While the station's main style is Romanesque Revival, its construction and interior details were influenced by the same period that saw a renewed focus on artistry and skilled handiwork. Constructed out of Bedford Stone, the entire complex covers nearly 20 acres. Union Station is a National Historic Landmark.
Opened in 1894, Union Station was a massive train terminal in its heyday, handling passenger services for two dozen railroads and holding the title of the largest and busiest in the nation until its abandonment in 1978.
The historic station was reopened in 1985 after undergoing a process of adaptive reuse.
Reference: www.stlouisunionstation.com/story
photo: w_lemay
To transform the interior of this massive open space, the talented event production team created a rounded movie marquee to showcase the work of our graphic recording artists.
Graphic Recording on location at the station
Alphachimp artists were onsite to capture presentations live, both keynotes delivered in the main auditorium or parallel breakout group sessions with subject matter experts.
Our team visualized content from parallel breakout sessions and keynotes, including an emotional and inspirational presentation by Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney, a F-16 fighter pilot and founder of Folds of Honor. www.foldsofhonor.org
Visual note-taking Sparks Engagement & Memory
Why did the conference organizers create such engaging learning environments and incorporate graphic recording?
Each graphic recording board was displayed like a vintage movie poster, underscoring the venue's history, art, and heart. As attendees entered the Union Station’s soaring main hallway, their eyes lit up!
After each content session or keynote, participants and guest speakers loved having a visual summary to keep and share with their friends, family members, and online audiences.
The conference organizers and production team recognized that rich learning environments are supported by visual storytelling and experiential learning:
Enhances retention by combining images and words
Serves as shareable takeaways for attendees
Invites deeper reflection on ideas and concepts
Teachers and facilitators know that if a participant is bored, on their phone, or asleep… they are unlikely to be learning!
As humans, we are hungry for sensory input and stimulation; yet as learning designers, we need to avoid cognitive overload. With the ultimate goal of enabling a “flow state” for participants.
(reference: Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi )Engage all of the senses to elevate learning
Learning experts and research emphasize that engaging multiple senses stimulates different areas of the brain, leading to stronger and more resilient neural connections.
To elevate engagement through all the senses, the event designers created rich experiences in each breakout, including a beach scene, a camping scene, and an English library on a rainy day, with the addition of a humanoid robot :-)
This was an excellent use case of Multisensory Learning, an approach that incorporates various modalities and engages multiple senses. Typically, multisensory teaching strategies and activities use some combination of visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile methods.
Visual: Graphics, videos, charts, pictures, closed captioning, VR, and AR
Auditory: Songs, music, audio books, chants, rhymes, text-to-speech
Kinesthetic: Clapping, jumping, pointing, role-play, forming shapes or angles
Tactile: Sand trays, sandpaper letters, manipulatives, playdough
All of these modalities were designed into the uniquely themed breakout rooms to heighten interest and intrigue as participants moved between presentations.
(References: TeachTown and Wikipedia)Alphachimp Artwork and expert ideas on display
Our artists’ colorful visual notes were on display throughout the three-day conference, both physically… and digitally.
ABOVE: Alphachimp Artists Nate Dailey, Drew Dernavich, and Leah Silverman
Graphic recording is not about making pretty pictures. Instead, visual note-taking is a tool for connecting people with ideas.
At this conference — and at every event we support — our experienced team members capture the content beautifully and accurately, which is no easy task!
Each artist has their own unique style; however, by sticking to a standard color palette that reflects the client’s brand identity and creating consistent titles before the event, they can achieve a cohesive look.
This creates a singular and consistent visual experience for attendees, while enabling our artists to work swiftly and freely.
Teamwork makes the dream work
To pull this together, it is crucial to design an efficient workflow and communicate handoffs. Communication and collaboration are clutch!
A high-end production like this does not happen without expert leadership and coordination across many vendors, teams, and technical professionals.
Our Alphachimp Artists collaborated with the production team’s experienced AV team to quickly photograph and digitize each physical poster, allowing them to be displayed on large-screen displays.
At the same time, we coordinated with the marketing team and communication team so that images could be broadcast in real-time social media posts to their global audience.
Knowing the workflow, point of contact (POC), and camaraderie of the whole production team is what makes for a seamless experience for attendees. Plus, a fun and safe experience for all involved!
