Let's Work Together Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus vitae arcu ultrices, venenatis mi at, convallis metus. Suspendisse tincidunt posuere lorem, rutrum euismod ipsum tempus id. Sed luctus id ipsum convallis dapibus. Donec venenatis dolor eu eros viverra feugiat. Personal Message from Ashanti "As long as humans have been alive, art has helped to communicate stories, share knowledge, and gather communities around ideas and shared values. Lending my creativity and artistry, I hope to bring a human touch in a world where technology is often centered first, process comes before people, or "breaking things fast to innovate" overlooks the need to move with meaning and purpose. Thanks for choosing me." ​ First name* Phone* Email* Select the offerings you are interested in:* Visual Stories Visual Scribing Problem-Solving Write a message* How did you here about us? Send COMMUNICATE. COLLABORATE. C0-CREATE. we want to empower every human with the creative flow to make positive changes. Book Now AT THE SOCIAL ART COMPLEX Uplift people and ideas through visuals that enhance engagement, HUMANIZE communication, and drive problem-solving. BOOK NOW OUR MISSION With a community of design strategists, visual pioneers, and forward-thinking individuals, we collaborate with groups and organizations to make sense of complex information, foster creative collaboration, and illuminate shared visions. By understanding those directly impacted by real-world problems, people can begin to lay the groundwork for effective change management and look for ways to approach complexity in a world where change is always constant. “The process of working with Ashanti was so incredibly easy and thoughtful. I really appreciated how she made herself available for the dry run to understand the web shop and familiarize herself with the flow. She made it so easy for me to trust that she would capture the essence of the event and what was created.” ALISON T. Augur, California “An amazing creative. Ashanti has the ability to link to your vision and bring it to life in living colors. Love her work. She needs to be more known.” LIZZY M., RST, SAST, SA Bearded Eagle, Texas "Ashanti's expertise and willingness to share her visual skills have significantly contributed to the success of our event. We intend to utilize these visuals across multiple platforms: incorporating them into our newsletters, sharing them on our social media channels, and including them in our reports." ALEXANDRA C. Maryland Humanities Client Stories WHAT WE OFFER VISUAL STORIES With visual stories, organizations can evoke emotion and convey message(s) with their audiences in a deeply human way. More Info VISUAL SCRIBING Through visual presence and listening, group discussions are captured using words and arts, promoting reflection, collaboration, and collective memory. More Info PROBLEM SOLVING Using human centered design, creative practices and other methods, groups can look at and understand challenges in a structured way. More Info PORTFOLIO

OUR VISION Design a better world for all people. Meet Ashanti Gardner ...founder of The Social Art Complex, formerly Visual Scribe at Work since 2019. Ashanti is a traveling visual practitioner and artist based in the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area, and she holds certifications in KMI knowledge management, LUMA design thinking, and IDEO creative leadership. About The Social Art Complex The Social Art Complex integrates visuals, human-centered design, and social art to support problem-solving and storytelling. Our mission is to help people make sense of complex information, foster creative collaboration, and illuminate shared visions. By understanding those directly impacted by real-world problems, people can begin to lay the groundwork for effective change management. ​ We also are committed to working with groups and organizations that strive to make positive change for all people and a more sustainable world. The power of social art is unparalleled in its ability to harness creativity and art to cultivate change in people, groups, and entire societies. Along with visual planning and templates, human-centered methods and other practices, we design engagements that foster empathy, increase awareness, create opportunities for improvement, and enable open and honest discussions. Our team understands the importance for organizations, whether big or small, to cultivate new ideas and find solutions for the challenges today and on the horizon. ABOUT THE SOCIAL ART COMPLEX

How We Work The Social Art Complex sets itself apart by: Capturing live discussions and ideas on paper or digitally as an artifact for reflection and sharing. Creating visual stories for to build empathy and broaden awareness. Guiding groups through creative problem-solving to reveal new possibilities and insights. Our Guiding Principles: Six Pillars CREATIVITY Innovation is ignited through encouragement of divergent thinking and stimulation of engagement among participants. EMPATHY Understanding of others creates opportunities for shared experiences within the groups. SOCIAL ART Connections are made through art, which helps to create shared visions and reflects on the cultural narratives that shape identity. COLLABORATION ​ ​Inclusive dialogue is promoted, collective ideation is cultivated, and teamwork is encouraged to achieve common goals. UNDERSTANDING ​Group synthesis is supported by gathering and transforming data into compelling stories and exploring collective sensemaking. COLLECTIVE MEMORY ​ ​Key themes are reinforced by creating lasting artifacts that enhance recall and strengthen collective memory. HOW WE WORK

Schedule a Discovery Call Book Now Visual Stories What are visual stories? Simply put, visual stories are illustrative arts and other visuals created to evoke an emotion and convey a specific message(s) to one or many audiences. To get started, we meet with you to understand your vision, and then later share design concepts and inspiration based on your vision. Following, we provide one to three rough sketches, and refine the visual story based on your feedback. Once the final visual is completed, we digitally deliver it to you. ​ The visual story is a great choice, for example, if you need to build off a previous visual scribing or present quantitative and qualitative data in a human-centered way. CREATIVE BRIEF Problem-Solving What is problem-solving? We view problem-solving as the art of centering people first and putting people over process as well asking uncomfortable questions and taking the effort and time to understand what is happening around us. As your collaborator, we design problem-solving sessions leveraging your stakeholder's objectives and understanding the participant's needs. We lead groups through hands on exercises, human centered practices, creative thinking frameworks, and other activities to generate ideas for action. The subsequent outcomes, findings, and opportunities to design help groups to discover their next steps. Visual Scribing What is visual scribing? This practice involves visually capturing a discussion or meeting using art and words. Digital. Visual scribing can be done digitally using a iPad or Wacom tablet and a secondary virtual camera (CamLink) on virtual conference and meeting platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Digital is a great option for online groups looking to make their gatherings more engaging or in-person groups looking for an environmentally friendly option. Analog. A traditional method of scribing is done by analog. This involves the use of paper and markers, and it is a great way for your participants to interact with the scribing. Analog continues to be a popular choice for those looking to deepen engagement among participants. Prior to your event, we discuss your event structure, audience, key themes, and goals with your facilitation team or designated point of contact. Then post-event, we provide you with scanned photos of the scribings (i.e. recordings, charts) or digital files.

Let's Work Together First name* Phone* Email* Select the offerings you are interested in:* Visual Stories Visual Scribing Problem-Solving Write a message* How did you here about us? Send Home About The Creative Brief How We Work Contact