Supporting your public engagement and research impact
Buttercrumble supports Higher Education Institutions (HEI), Universities and researchers in their public engagement, research impact and knowledge exchange activities. We work with the full spectrum of academic faculties and departments as well as academic support teams including recruiting, student support and engagement and development.
We can support through:
Visual notetaking
Capture the power of live illustration to record and emphasise outputs for conferences, lectures, co-creative workshops and other events.
Illustration and animation
Draw attention and join the dots through a unique blend of accessible and inclusive illustration.
Infographics and reports
Engage policymakers and other public stakeholders with your research by visualising key findings and enhancing readability.
Brand creation
Consistent branding is essential for research projects; it promotes trust when recruiting participants and stakeholders.
Graphic design and websites
Instantly share your impact through inclusive booklets, toolkits, resources, and accessible website design.
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Our lovely partners
University of Leeds
University of Birmingham
University of Edinburgh
University of Southampton
University of Huddersfield
Leeds Beckett University
York St John University
University of Bradford
Manchester Metropolitan University
Leeds Trinity University
Liverpool Hope University
University of Leeds University of Birmingham University of Edinburgh University of Southampton University of Huddersfield Leeds Beckett University York St John University University of Bradford Manchester Metropolitan University Leeds Trinity University Liverpool Hope University
Visual notetaking
You might have seen it also called live illustration or livescribing, but visual notetaking is all about using imagery and illustration to capture key points and highlights of a workshop, discussion or lecture.
Using visual notetaking
The beauty of visual notetaking is the myriad ways researchers and universities can use it, because it’s all about capturing and sharing data and key findings. We can work with you to pull out what you want to emphasise and tailor the style and look and feel of the illustration to suit your topic.
You might think about using visual notetaking to:
Share key points from a departmental or team strategy and planning day
Capture inputs from participant workshops
Record conference panels, lectures, forums, and discussions
Recent examples and inspiration
Extend-It patient PI workshops
We worked with researchers at the Universities of Birmingham, Exeter and Liverpool John Moores to capture inputs from parents and children around what exercise means to them as well as preferences and barriers to feed into impactful interventions.
Student success forums
We attended the 2022 and 2023 Student Success Forums hosted by the University of Leeds. We documented keynote presentations and conversations of researchers, students, and university support staff, centred on themes of inclusivity, pedagogy, and student voice.
Strategic team days
A Student Engagement Team in the Arts, Humanities and Cultures Faculty at the University of Leeds reached out to us to help capture their planning and discussion at one of their strategic planning days. We helped them capture and explore their priorities for the year ahead, as well as some of the obstacles and barriers that get in the way of effective collaboration and delivery of great student support and engagement.
The meaning of burlesque
AHRC-funded researchers at the University of Leeds asked us to illustrate participant workshops on the meaning of burlesque across different social and geographic communities across Yorkshire.
“Buttercrumble’s visual notetaking skills were exceptional. They beautifully captured the essence of our discussions, translating complex ideas into engaging and easy-to-understand visuals. Their work not only enhanced our workshop experience but also provided a valuable resource for participants to refer back to. The team’s professionalism and creativity exceeded our expectations. They truly understand how to communicate ideas effectively through art, making them an invaluable partner for any project.”
Illustration and animation for research
Illustration and animation can be used to enhance the visibility and engagement of your work with a wider audience. It’s about taking a great idea or a novel finding, making it visually compelling and drawing in audiences to find out more about you and your research.
Think of it as polishing your gold nugget to make it shinier so more people stop and take notice.
Using illustration and animation for research
Whether you share illustrations and animations in different presentations, social media or project and personal websites, we’re here to help captivate audiences and make your work stand out in a crowd.
We can help by:
Creating bespoke illustrations to convey central ideas, themes and concepts of your research that you can then share
Developing short animations, from a 10-second GIF to share on social media to a 3-minute animation that you can share on YouTube or a project website.
Recent examples and inspiration
Illustration to support conference presentations
One of the team from Edinburgh Innovations at the University of Edinburgh recently gave a keynote presentation and asked us to create a custom summary illustration to depict key themes from her research. It’s a memorable experience compared to the standard PowerPoint slide deck!
Bringing Hull’s District Heating Network to life with animation
Hull City Council is currently developing a District Heat Network (DHN) with the potential to provide public and private sector occupiers with a resilient and affordable heat supply. Buttercrumble were commissioned to create an accessible explainer animation for the network to promote its range of environmental and social benefits.
Objects to think with
We used illustration to re-interpret Claire Garside’s "object-to-think-with" project at the University of Leeds, which uses a phenomenological approach to understand teachers’ lived experience with technology in the classroom. By visualising the research objects in different scenarios, we were able to bring the research to life and inspire new ways to consider how we understand and think about technology.
Cultures of Creative Health
Buttercrumble collaborated with the School of Art & Humanities at the University of Huddersfield on their Cultures of Creative Health Festival. We illustrated findings and themes from research conducted across West Yorkshire, investigating how creativity can address health inequalities. The illustrations and research findings were exhibited as part of their 2024/2025 festival.
“I just wanted to say how impressed I have been, not just with the quality of your work but also with the way you have managed this project, especially given the very tight turn around. The product is lovely, your communication has been excellent and your time keeping was perfect… all round outstanding!”
Infographics and report design
Infographics are powerful tools to visualise and summarise key findings and big ideas. They’re a prime opportunity to share headlines from your research.
Similarly, designing a report for stakeholders (eg policymakers, funders, collaborators) is a craft. It takes dedicated support and attention to make the important information clear and accessible, and where able, add that extra ‘pop’ to emphasise key takeaways.
Using infographics and report design
Infographics can be a vague catch-all term that includes everything from charts and graphs to a simple Venn diagram, but the core idea is to visually represent your data and research. We can work with you to figure out the best visual treatment for your research.
We can also design reports of various lengths to optimise their layout, readability and make sure that key ideas and information really stand out to your audiences.
Recent examples and inspiration
Purple Patch Arts, Leeds
We designed a report and infographics for an award-winning charity partnering with the University of Leeds to support learning-disabled adults.
Donor impact reports, University of Leeds
We’ve partnered with our friends at the University of Leeds for a series of donor impact reports to showcase the difference that donations make to support different student scholarships and initiatives. A highlight for us is showcasing the donor impact of Spark, the University’s flagship entrepreneurship programme (of which we ourselves are alumnae!) and demonstrating the difference partner contributions make to alumni-founded small businesses.
“I really enjoyed the Impact Report — very well put together, plenty of positives and with a clear vision as to what is still needed. The formatting is lovely — I think the Buttercumble reports have such a lovely and coherent feel!”
Brand creation
Brand creation and design are important to build familiarity, consistency, trust and rapport with your research. It’s especially important to have professionally-designed branding when recruiting and interacting with research participants - especially if you’re working with sensitive subjects such as physical or mental health.
Using brand creation
While branding may have different connotations, we can specifically help with logo design, colour schemes, typography, custom iconography, and moodboards and templates for a consistent look-and-feel.
We’ll work with you to create and implement a brand that represents you and the research you’re doing with your audience, whether that’s research participants or potential collaborators, entrepreneurs and investors.
Whatever the reason, we can help you with branding for:
Research projects (eg to use on websites, information leaflets, recruiting materials for participants)
Start-up or spin-out companies
Personal branding to build your own reputation
Recent examples and inspiration
UNESCO x University of Leeds
When researchers at the University of Leeds partnered with UNESCO to deliver a conference, they asked us to create the branding including logos and design assets to promote the event.
The Earthshot Prize x University of Leeds Spark
We created a brand for a series of events and forums that connected researchers, students and businesses in Leeds with each other to create, develop and explore novel, innovative and impactful sustainability solutions.
African Renaissance Group
We created the branding for the African Renaissance Group, a group of socially-minded companies, charities and organisations as part of a doctoral research project on faith-based social entrepreneurship in South Africa.
Leeds33
We worked with a range of community stakeholders (including the University of Leeds) to co-design a visual identity for a local cultural education partnership. We hosted a co-creation workshop with local young people to better understand their needs and motivations and used their input to create the brand name and visual identity.
“I just wanted to thank you for all of your hard work for us with this project - it has been an absolute pleasure to work with you and we couldn’t have asked for a better brand identity!”
Graphic and website design
In addition to our other services for Higher Education, we also do all sorts of ad-hoc and standalone graphic and website design. Whatever creative or design services you need to enhance the engagement and visibility of your research, we can help and support you.
Using graphic and website design
We don’t just create project and personal brands, we also bring them to life and implement them across various media, including digital and print.
Among many other services, we can:
Design visuals and layouts for project or personal websites
Create, design and produce posters, informational leaflets and flyers to share information with research participants
Develop custom iconography or any other standalone brand elements
Recent examples and inspiration
Leeds33
We created both the branding and an accessible website to feature Leeds33, a partnership of cultural and educational organisations in Leeds. The website is accessible and serves as a resource hub for policy, advocacy, news and updates on their work to improve creative and cultural opportunities for young people across the city.
The Digital Health Assurance Company
We worked with The Digital Health Assurance Company to extend their brand and build a website showcasing the range of services and expertise they offer in the digital health space for healthcare providers, entrepreneurs, regulators and investors.
“I cannot recommend Buttercrumble enough. I have worked with many agencies over my career and they are by far the best. Chloe and Abigail are my point of contact and they are both incredibly talented, intuitive and just seem to know how to get it right first time. They are responsive and have an eye for detail. They have been a great sounding board for me and I know they really care.”