Creative ways to playback research
How to use graphic recordings instead of reports to share research findings with participants
I always feel a deep sense of gratitude towards research participants, and this was particularly true during discovery and field research I recently did with early childhood services. Early childhood educators spent a lot of time with us, engaging in long discussions, showing us around, and making sure we felt welcome — we knew we had to say thanks. However, it was their resilience and determination that really stood out. They are truly committed to making sure no child misses an opportunity for a better future. Recognising their hard work by sharing what we learned from our research in a meaningful and heartfelt way felt important.
In government, we’re developing reforms planned for the long-term future. So often we can’t tell our research participants right away how their feedback or ideas are being used. This might make them unsure about how much they’ve helped. Closing the loop with participants, so that they know what resulted from the research, is an important part of conducting research that is trauma-informed.
I hope this article inspires you to close the loop with your research participants by thanking them and sharing some of the findings with them.
What we did to close the loop
- We made thank you cards with personal handwritten messages for every service.
- We designed a visual summary on an A3-sized poster that captured key findings from our research.
- Instead of emails or digital copies, we mailed the card and the A3 poster to all services.
Why we chose paper over digital
We made this decision based on feedback from early childhood educators, who mentioned that digital communications can be easily missed due to their busy environment and workload. During our visits, we observed that walls in classrooms, offices, and corridors were used for printed materials. We wanted to demonstrate that we not only listened to their feedback but also changed our way of doing things, to give them a tool that was familiar but that also did not add to their burden.
The idea behind our A3 poster
Our A3 poster was created in a graphic recording style.
Graphic recordings are often used for large workshops or conferences. A graphic recording goes beyond creating cute icons or recording key words in bold fonts. It involves capturing the core of conversations and translating them into impactful images and graphics that convey deeper meanings. When participants see their thoughts, feelings, and ideas translated into these types of visuals, it creates a powerful sense of being truly heard and understood.
How to create a graphic recording (you don’t need to be an artist)
- Select your key findings
Start by selecting key findings that should be highlighted. We used dot voting to decide on these as a group. The emphasis here is on ensuring participants feel heard, rather than on aiming for a comprehensive representation and coverage of all topics (which should happen in your deeper analysis phase). Ask yourself: What topics were frequently mentioned? What were participants most passionate about? What might disappoint them if they found it missing from your playback? - Frame it positively, be concise
Use strengths-based language. For example, use “XYZ is needed” instead of focusing on the deficit or when addressing a complexity leave on a positive note e.g. “Services have A & B challenges but they have great C”. Use 3–10 words. Sometimes brainstorming key words first helps. Using an analogy, like “123 feels like”, can be a concise way to convey a message. - Add emotion, find symbolic images
We found it helpful to think about the emotions connected to a finding (e.g. the sense of embarking on a long journey, the feeling of exclusion, the notion of luck) made it easier to come up with symbolic images. While we did create the images on our poster, it’s not always necessary. The key is to find meaningful images, these can be as simple as a four-leaf clover or a combination of two images, like a clock and something else that might represent a time-consuming task. You don’t need to possess drawing skills, tools like Canva can help you.
Are graphic recordings accessible?
Reflecting on our use of graphic recordings, we recognise their power in presenting complex ideas, but also acknowledge their accessibility challenges. Their reliance on symbols and metaphors can create interpretation barriers for those with cognitive, learning, or visual impairments. Intricate visuals, clear to some, may confuse others who rely on more straightforward communication or who use assistive technologies like screen readers that are not equipped to translate complexity. Additionally, cultural and language differences can potentially lead to misinterpretations. We need to remember that accessible communication isn’t just about reaching an audience; it’s about ensuring that every individual has an equal opportunity to comprehend and engage with the content.
How we improved the accessibility of the poster
- We’ve made the text on the poster flow better, from left to right and top to bottom. Arrows guide the reader’s eyes through the content.
- We spelled out all acronyms and added more detailed descriptions for clarity.
- While we haven’t created a digital version of our poster yet, if we decide to do so, we plan to produce it as an accessible PDF with tags, alt text for images, proper colour contrast and a layout optimised for assistive technologies like screen readers.
Positive impacts
Using a graphic recording to close the loop with research participants had a positive and significant impact.
“As a former ES1 teacher, I know the school staff will absolutely appreciate receiving the playback to demonstrate that they have been heard. Such wonderful and truly important work!”
“What a great way to return what we have heard…I think schools will really respond positively to this.”
Another positive outcome was that we inspired other teams doing consultations to reconsider how they playback to early childhood services.
Benefits for our design team
Using a graphic recording as part of our research output has really helped our design team to:
- Continuously engage with participants — Our aim is to maintain an ongoing dialogue and relationship with the early childhood services participating in our program. By showing the poster, we can easily remind them, “We were the team that visited and discussed with you”, reinforcing our connection.
- Showcase our work — Presenting a poster makes it easy to share our successes and demonstrates our innovative approach to other teams.
Thank you, Sophie Skeels and Caitlin Fraser, for bringing energy and enthusiasm and fresh ideas to our brainstorms. We built this idea of a playback together.
Thank you, Clare Fitzgerald, for working with me, using your visual thinking and deep empathy to translate our research findings into simple words and images.
Learn about other creative approaches we used in design research in early childhood education:
