Visual learning
2/4/2026
Participating in a company meeting can be boring. The prospect of sitting through yet another PowerPoint presentation elicits yawns among restless employees.
Yet, when Nathan Wright is at the meeting, folks perk up. They are looking at Wright, drawing live illustrations of the concepts they have just talked about. Even though it is corporate speak, the presentation is engaging and entertaining.
Wright is an illustrator who performs graphic recording and live notetaking. Throughout a meeting, Wright puts ideas and bullet points into engaging and colorful graphics, also known as sketch notes.
“The point is to make an event more exciting. People are visual learners,” he says.
At the end of a meeting, a digital frame or outline of the meeting is given to clients.
“People leave a conference with big ideas but often forget what was said in a meeting,” he explains. “This wraps up concepts in a digitized frame.”
The feedback is positive.
“Clients love it. It beats a PowerPoint summary, and attendees love it because it makes the event more exciting.”
In addition, he creates another popular graphic called Journey Mapping. These are trendy, cartoon-like overviews that visually explain a project, goal or vision board. For example, the president of Grand View University wanted a way to communicate to the public what their vision was with an easy and entertaining graphic.
Wright has a fine arts degree from Iowa State University and worked in corporate marketing for two decades. He illustrated and painted in his spare time. Nine years ago, he began full-time as a freelance graphic illustrator.
One day, a prospective client asked if he had done graphic recording for a conference meeting.
“I’d seen it done before, but I never did it myself,” he admits.
The event went smoothly, and word got out among event planners about his skill and expertise, which helps engage employees.
Another aspect of his artwork is illustrating kids’ books. Author Betsey Young’s son,
Sage Young, went through cancer treatments. Betsey wrote two children’s books about families facing a cancer diagnosis. Wright’s job was to draw kid-friendly images interacting with cancer doctors.
Additionally, he illustrates comics, created a Wyatt Earp mural and sells various prints of his work. He applied for a Des Moines Ballet Artist in Residence program. He observed and sketched ballet dancers, celebrating the movement and poses in a 10-page comic book.
“One dancer experienced a dream sequence where she wakes up and questions if it was really a dream,” he says.
Wright currently works from his studio at Mainframe Studios. It is his goal to fill in between corporate gigs with painting, his first love.
“It’s fun to get back into the physical medium,” he reflects.
Yet, he likes to create multiple levels of art. He has followed a career path that has been “winding and not in a straight line.”
“I love creating for clients and bringing them something unexpected,” he says.
For more info on his artwork, visit Mainframe Studios No. 321 or visit his website at www.nathantwright.com. ♦
