an uncertain world needs

BRAVE CREATORS

ready to reimagine and craft

ELEGANT STRATEGIES

because wicked problems require

BRILLIANT SOLUTIONS

let's unleash your

CREATIVE IMAGINATION

Are you ready to re-imagine
what’s possible?

Graphic facilitation – our ability to visualize your future — is what we’re known for and it weaves through everything we do. People come to us with all kinds of IDEAS and we help them get their ideas out of their heads and into the world where they can see them and make a difference.

We do this by collaboratively designing and facilitating human-centered, immersive experiences that ignite creativity and guide your people to clarity, alignment and cohesion as you build a better future, together. 

What we do can be applied in so many different ways because it’s all about visual thinking so that you can inspire innovation, manage conflict, intentionally plan for change, align on strategy and message, envision resiliency and get things done strategically with tangible results.

If you’re wondering what Wikipeida has to say about graphic facilitation, check out their definition. 

Bold. Imaginative. 
Intuitive. Different.

Here at Making Ideas Visible we are IDEA ALCHEMISTS and we do things differently to deliver extraordinary results. We believe in the creative possibility that exists when you bring people together to create something new, solve an age-old problem or re-imagine your world.

We are inspired by people like you– innovative thinkers, visionary leaders, creators and collaborators— willing to try new ways of thinking and doing to make the world a better place.

As graphic facilitators, we’re visual thinkers with backgrounds in business, strategy and organizational development. Our terrain is EMERGENCE and imagination, the fertile space where ideas come to life. We have a keen understanding of how collective intelligence can be harnessed through evocative conversation and brought to life in large scale visualizations.

Whether you’ve got a meeting, conference, project, event, or story to tell, we can help you think differently and launch your brilliant ideas into the world.

If we are to do the work of imagining, we must venture bravely into the unknown. Being in the art and act of creative wayfinding, can be both uncomfortable and incredibly freeing. Emergence is a tender geography of emptiness and creative possibility.

— Julie Stuart, Founder
Making Ideas Visible

You can not understand a system unless you change it.
You cannot change a system unless you transform consciousness.
You cannot transform consciousness unless you can make a system see and sense itself.

— Otto Scharmer of Theory U elegantly explaining awareness based system change

Clarity. Cohesion. Alignment.

At Making Ideas Visible, we’re tackling complex challenges by getting the whole diverse system in the room. We are visual thinkers and strategists–experts at drawing connections and revealing bold new ideas. We engage in creative partnerships with our clients–innovative thinkers, thoughtful visionary leaders, changemakers and creators –and design experiential engagements with you based on your goals.

We are committed to being a diverse, inclusive, equitable business. We support efforts to create a more just and equitable world.

Let’s unleash your creative imagination,
together. 

We’re here for you.

Some of Our Fabulous  Clients

What We Do:

EMERGENT FACILITATION

We design and facilitate experiential human-centered experiences to create elegant solutions for your wicked problem. By harnessing the emergent collective intelligence of your people using a vast toolkit of creative methods, we immerse and guide you through a provocative experience to reimagine powerful innovative solutions and create prototypes that address the challenges you face. It’s wickedly effective.

GRAPHIC FACILITATION

We listen and sense what’s being said in conversation, creating a map in real time so that you can see the emerging ideas and patterns of group genius. We make your ideas visible by harvesting the wisdom of the collective which enables deeper understanding, participation, clarity of vision, ideation, and engagement. We reveal the system to itself. Sometimes we are simply listeners/synthesizers and often we guide these conversations. 

EMERGENCE SESSION

When you have a monumental idea– a challenging project, a new direction in your life or the next big step for your business –and you’re stuck. In a one-on-one session, we guide you to find clarity, direction and momentum forward all drawn on a visual map. What you’ve been chewing on emerges and we chart a course to make it happen. We can also expand on this session in a day-long immersive experience to get your emergent idea moving right along.

Kudos!

“The visioning session was a huge success as well as life changing!! I have heard nothing but great, positive, and insightful feedback regarding your session. We have also sent a post survey out to the entire organization and will be reviewing the results of the survey soon. On a personal note, I loved your session. It impacted me in a way I was not expecting. I tapped into a part of myself that I had not fully acknowledged. I want to personally say “thank you” for the experience. I will not forget it.”
 
— Sharon James | United Way for Southeastern Michigan
“Julie guided us DEEP into the “why” we do what we do, into alignment with what’s most important, and into coherent dynamics within our team. As a result, we are clearer, stronger, and passionately committed individually and collectively–really leaning in to our possibility.”
 
— Kirsten Gallo | Planetary Care L3C

“I’m clear from our brief time together you are a master of creating value. Recently, an in-person half day period opened up spontaneously for four of the Planetary CARE leaders with Julie present. After a few questions she asked of us, she created an ‘experience’ for us that blended intuition and insight. By the time we finished a few hours later, a deeper sense of clarity about who we are as Planetary CARE, what is important and how this might be expressed emerged. I’m looking forward to the next opportunity we will have to work with Julie. She is a masterful facilitator with an insightful ability to sense into what is needed in the moment at hand.”

— Forrist Tanner Lytehaause | Founder, Planetary CARE L3C

“You are so multifaceted. Your ability to listen, feel and respond with graphic art is striking, and to hold space and keep us on track is a huge gift. You have amazing energy that contributed to the overall energy level in the room which opened the space for vulnerabilities and honesty. I appreciated your intuition to know when to move on and when to go deeper. You were an amazing facilitator and overall contribution to the work!!!”

 

— Seandra Pope | Chief Executive Officer | Rooted Consulting Group

“Thanks for facilitating our group’s exploration of a potential alliance last week. I think we accomplished much more thanks to your facilitation – not only from the standpoint of your objectivity but also the extraordinary way you managed to frame up the conversation and capture our words into a visual map. You probably moved us ahead 3 to 4 months in the span of only 24 hours. Great stuff! Many thanks for all your help.”
 

— Jeff Butler | Strategy Execution Advisor

“I engaged Julie to facilitate a day-long retreat with a group of very experienced consultants and facilitators because I knew she had the wisdom and experience to do a great job. From the initial discussion through the post-workshop followup, the process was flawless.”
 

— Linda Hoopes | President | Resilience Alliance

“You were an automatic “in” for our annual staff retreat. Our CEO Rip Rapson loves your work and told me to cut the budget somewhere else if necessary to make sure you would be at our retreat. You exceeded expectations.”
 

— Crystal Y. Sewell | Director Human Resources | Kresge Foundation

Are you ready to make
courageous change?

Reach out, we’re ready for you.