The Sketch Effect

The Sketch Effect is a graphic facilitation and animation company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Its sketch artists create live visual notes at conferences, virtual events and workshops, and its in-house illustrators produce custom whiteboard, 2D and motion-graphics videos for brands, training and marketing.

Graphic recording is delivered on-site or online, with artists capturing talks and discussions as full-color drawings in real time. Summary boards condense the key takeaways of a session into one visual, with Standard and Deluxe packages. On the animation side, projects follow a five-step process: a kick-off call on goals, audience and branding; scripting and voice-over; storyboard; illustration; and final edit with music, sound effects and rendering.

• Graphic recording: live visual note-taking for talks, panels and summits
• Summary boards: visual recaps of key ideas in Standard and Deluxe packages
• Whiteboard animation: an artist draws on screen, filmed in the studio
• 2D animation: character-driven, colorful illustrations created in-house
• Motion graphics: vector-based visuals made largely in Adobe Illustrator
• Narrated time-lapse: a faster option in the graphic recording sketch style

Case studies include whiteboard animation for internal communications at The Coca-Cola Company, graphic recording for the University Innovation Alliance, the Utility Broadband Alliance 3rd Annual Summit and the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative, and a seven-video series for KVC Health Systems. Testimonials come from organisations such as PwC, the National Institutes of Health, Chick-fil-A, Printpack and Contec. Client logos also include Oracle, Microsoft, Delta, GE, Home Depot and Barclays. Featured animation industries are healthcare, insurance, SaaS and business.

According to its website, an animated video averages about 10 to 12 weeks, all assets are custom with no stock imagery, and pricing is set per project by style, timing and length. Standard scopes include one revision round each for script, storyboard and final edit. The company reports a five-star rating on Google reviews and a 2021 Best Places to Work listing. The studio is based at Dutch Valley Place in Atlanta.