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October 22, 2025The Power of the Visual
How Graphic Recording Helped Synthesize the IPOV Midterm Meeting
During the IPOV Project Midterm Meeting (2025), a strategic collaboration was established between Marta Bariáin Echániz, product engineer and visual facilitator specialised in graphic recording, and the Diseño Social team, led by María Hidalgo Rudilla, responsible for Dissemination and Communication. This process aimed to strengthen IPOV’s visual communication and interdisciplinary knowledge transfer by making project results more accessible, understandable, and reusable.
Through close coordination between Marta and the IPOV team, real-time visualisations were created to synthesise the meeting’s debates, workshops, and conclusions, translating complex scientific and ethical content into a shared visual language. This joint work not only documented the discussions but also transformed them into open learning and communication tools, released under a CC BY 4.0 licence and aligned with the principles of open science and intersectoral collaboration that define the IPOV – Respectful Care project.
In a project like IPOV—where healthcare professionals, researchers, legal experts, activists, and communication specialists converge—visual translation becomes a strategic tool. Words flow quickly in collaborative spaces, and ideas—often complex and technical—can easily get lost in the speed of exchange. Graphic recording acts as a bridge between disciplines: it transforms fragmented discussions into a shared narrative, strengthens group memory, and allows the knowledge generated to be shared and applied beyond the event itself.
During the Midterm, Marta captured in real time the main axes of discussion: respectful perinatal care as a daily and structural practice; obstetric violence as a systemic phenomenon; and restorative justice as a pathway to rebuild trust and connection within healthcare systems. These visualizations not only summarize the meeting’s conclusions but also provide an accessible and powerful language for scientific dissemination and professional training.
Graphic recording is not about “drawing beautifully,” but about thinking visually to build collective understanding. By clearly representing the relationships between ideas, actors, and processes, it becomes a key resource for European research projects like IPOV, where interdisciplinarity and open communication are essential. Moreover, the visuals produced can be reused in training materials, presentations, and social media, enhancing knowledge transfer in an inclusive, readable, and multilingual way.
The perspective of a visual facilitator like Marta Bariáin brings added value: she turns complex thinking into enduring images. Her work during the IPOV Midterm did more than document a process—it helped build a shared vision of what it means to care with respect, to repair through justice, and to transform perinatal care systems with empathy and evidence.
Meet the visual mind behind the Midterm murals
To delve deeper into the creative and methodological process behind these visuals, we spoke directly with Marta Bariáin Echániz. In this interview, she reflects on her journey as a visual facilitator, the role of graphic recording in scientific and healthcare environments, and the insights she gained from working with IPOV.
Her words reveal how visual thinking can foster understanding across disciplines and make complex, sensitive topics—like respectful maternity care and obstetric violence—both tangible and transformative.
Read the full interview below.
Biography
My name is Marta Bariáin Echániz. I am a product engineer and visual facilitator with experience in service design and graphic recording in interdisciplinary environments. I specialise in transforming complex processes into clear visuals. I have collaborated with consortia, hospitals, universities, and startups, synthesising contributions graphically while integrating diversity, accessibility, and a gender perspective.
How I Started
My first experiences were in group sessions focused on personal development. Later, as a product engineer and designer, I created prototypes that synthesised previous research work. During a meeting, the need arose for engineers and managers to understand each other in real time — that’s when I first tried creating a visual mural, in California. I realised that some misunderstandings were resolved through a shared sketch. I learned that it’s not about drawing beautifully, but about producing a faithful, fast, and useful visualisation that builds shared understanding.
The Contribution of Graphic Recording in Scientific Projects
Graphic recording makes the invisible visible: it synthesises fragmented discussions, strengthens collective memory, and enhances participation. Moreover, these murals can be used as educational materials, references, and communication tools.
GENERAL
What does graphic recording mean to you, and why is it useful in research and healthcare?
Graphic recording is a visual thinking tool that translates complex conversations into understandable maps. It helps reveal how ideas are connected across disciplines, brings clarity, encourages participation, and ensures that results are remembered, shared, and applied.
How did you start, and what was your first learning experience in a healthcare/scientific setting?
I began in the healthcare field through product design and by participating in R&D projects involving medical devices. One of my first lessons was realising that experts don’t always share ideas effectively. Drawing became a way to build and accelerate collective understanding.
How do you decide which ideas go on the canvas, and how do you validate their accuracy?
What goes in must be relevant and representative of the key ideas. During the event, I validate the content’s accuracy by checking with speakers and the organising team, incorporating their suggestions for improvement.
What did you see in the IPOV Midterm that deserved amplification?
That respectful perinatal care is a daily practice that requires structure and training.
That obstetric violence is a systemic problem, not an individual one.
That restorative justice is a powerful tool for systemic change.
How do you ensure gender perspective, cultural diversity, and accessibility in your work?
I make sure my drawings represent diversity in gender, age, culture, and body types. For accessibility, I use legible typography and high contrast.
PURPOSE AND CONTEXT
For those who weren’t at the Midterm: what is graphic recording, and what problem does it solve in scientific meetings like IPOV?
Graphic recording visualised the different perspectives and connections that were being built into a single map, accelerating knowledge transfer.
What did you know about the topic (respectful birth and obstetric violence) before arriving, and what changed after the session?
I knew something from friends and a doula’s perspective, but during the Midterm I understood the diversity of realities and the systemic impact of obstetric violence.
PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY
How do you prepare to visualise complex, interdisciplinary debates in real time?
Before the event, I review materials, vocabulary, and session objectives. I also revisit my visual library and design base structures that might be useful during the live session.
What criteria do you use to decide what stays on the canvas and what is left out?
I include what adds value: main ideas, agreements, and conclusions. I leave out technical details or secondary aspects that don’t change the group’s overall understanding.
CONTENT SYNTHESIS AND FINDINGS
Name two ideas from the Midterm that “clicked” for you and why.
The concept of the money pyramid — that the more wealth one has, the more respect and decision-making power one tends to receive, and therefore greater reproductive autonomy — and how equal respect should be offered to all women, regardless of their status.
The concept of restorative justice and its three core elements — time, safe space, and professional training — because it’s such a clear and concise framework.
What practical proposals emerged that could be scaled within the project?
Graphic guides on obstetric best practices and restorative justice.
Common reference points shared among countries.
If you had to explain IPOV with a single panel from the mural, what would it be and why?
It would be the first moment of the Midterm, when the discussion began around the model of continuous care as a tool for respectful and inclusive maternity care — because it was about changing the way we are born, and the way we die, in order to change the world. That makes complete sense to me.
ADDED VALUE FOR IPOV
How does graphic recording help demonstrate intersectorality and interdisciplinarity in an MSCA review?
It visually shows collaboration between different sectors and disciplines, as well as the relationships between work packages, stakeholders, and outcomes.
What central message about “respectful perinatal care” was best anchored thanks to the graphic recording?
In my opinion, the flower representing obstetric best practices.
IMPACT, USE AND METRICS
What indicators would you suggest to demonstrate value?
Number of reuses, downloads, reach, mentions, and adoption of practices — along with qualitative feedback on understanding and usefulness.
What additional format would you produce to reach non-academic audiences?
Social media carousels, subtitled videos, and multilingual adaptations.
ACCESSIBILITY, EQUITY AND ETHICS
How do you incorporate gender perspective, cultural diversity, and non-stigmatising representation into your visual language?
By using inclusive imagery, avoiding stereotypes, and showing diversity in bodies and cultures.
What do you do to ensure the content is accessible?
I use high contrast, sans-serif fonts, capital letters, and multilingual versions.
LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS
What would you do differently if we repeated the Midterm tomorrow?
I would gather more information on the topics in advance and prepare pre-validated design resources to use during the live session.
What would you recommend to other Horizon consortia wanting to integrate graphic recording strategically rather than decoratively?
Integrate visual facilitation from the planning stage, with clear objectives and metrics — not as a decorative element.
TECHNICAL DELIVERABLES AND REUSE
What deliverables are you providing, and in what formats?
Five visuals in English and the same five in Spanish, in PDF, PNG, and SVG formats.
Under what licence can they be disseminated or adapted, and how should authorship be credited?
CC BY 4.0 with attribution:
Graphic facilitation: Marta Bariáin Echániz (2025) / IPOV Midterm
Can you include metadata and a brief style guide to ensure consistency in future adaptations?
Yes — including authorship, date, keywords, colour palette, and typography from https://respectfulcare.eu/visual-identity-assets/.
