Case studies

Demonstrating the value of visuals when used as a strategic tool to deepen stakeholder understanding, alignment and engagement

Projects

Complex system visualisation

𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁: Founder of Circularity, Louise Nash
𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳: Visualise the future state circular economy precinct
𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗽𝗰𝘁: Stakeholder engagement and socialising the project opportunity areas

I was brought in to help create the key visual asset for New Zealand’s first Circular Economy Precinct in Tauranga.

In creating this visual, we deeply trusted the design process to iteratively test different ways to visually balance scale with details - how we show the context of the precinct whilst also the detail of the key human moments and connections amongst the businesses that make it a closed loop flow.

Organisational strategy

𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁: CEO of Tradeswomen Australia, Clea Smith
𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳: Visually summarise the new organisational strategy
𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗽𝗰𝘁: Stakeholder alignment

I loved working with Clea to create a strategic visual one-pager to align stakeholders on Tradeswomen Australia's new organisational strategy.

Strategic framework

𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁: Head of Sustainability, Coates, Robyn Simpson
𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳: Create a simple sustainability framework
𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗽𝗰𝘁: Internal communications

I helped the Coates sustainability team visualise their Sustainability Framework in a simple, brand aligned and engaging way - to be used as a strategic communications tool for internal and external audiences.

  • Green Building Council of Australia

  • Allianz

  • Hume City Council

  • KPMG Australia

Influential projects

I’ve been working closely with Josh Geelan, KPMG Australia’s Global ESG Lead for private and mid-market since December 2024.

We’ve worked on 20+ projects that:

  • Turn internal IP models and diagrams into visuals that clients can connect with

  • Convey simple approaches to complex challenges through narrative and visual clarity - helping clients take action

Josh is a visual thinker, so rough sketches and brainstorm calls help craft the brief, which is key to capture his raw thoughts, ideas and content for what’s needed on the strategic visual. 

I’m so motivated by the role visuals play in the greater impact they can have to accelerate action, particularly in ESG.

So for me, I love combining my passion for sustainability and strategy with my skill in visualising meaningful narratives that people can connect with and take action on.

I worked with an Organisational Change Lead and Program Manager at CSIRO to help them visually summarise the purpose, objectives and benefits of a key internal program.

They were seeking a large amount of funding for the continuation of the program, and needed executive C-suite stakeholder buy-in.

We created a strategic visual one-pager that summarised the program on a page.

I loved being able to help play a role in accelerating stakeholder buy-in for this internal program - being part of influential and meaningful change is what lights me up.

Two things I truly believe in: Illustration can create greater impact and design is a key enabler of the circular economy.

I was super lucky to work with 5 Australian Design leaders to help them visually communicate 4 design recommendations to the Australian Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group.

I created 2 A4 portrait visuals summarising the info - suitable to slide straight into a pdf document.

This impact of this work:

I loved working with design leaders from Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence, Good Design Australia, Australian Design Council and WRAP to help visually communicate and elevate how design can help achieve a circular economy in Australia.

What clients say

  • Elise has a real talent, one of very few people who can sit in and listen to a discussion over something inherently complex, dynamic and challenging and yet somehow, she can distill that into a simple, yet powerful visual to convey the narrative and clear next steps for action. She has a special talent for sustainability x strategy x meaningful narrative that people can understand and connect with.

    Josh Geelan
    KPMG Partner
    Global Lead - ESG, Mid-Market & Private Enterprise

  • Working with Elise, on articulating our 'quiet expertise' in circular economy business model has been a dream. Elise is one of the most skilled interpreters I have worked with: she quickly understood and assisted with our brief, took into her stride a quick pivot, and her products are a wonderful resource for helping to explain key concepts without 1000 words!

    Robyn Simpson
    Head of Sustainability, Coates

  • Elise didn’t just bring our strategy to life — she helped us shape it and communicate it clearly, and it’s already making a real difference in how we align stakeholders and talk about our direction. She was easy to work with, super responsive, and the final illustration is something we’ll keep using with pride and confidence.

    Clea Smith

    CEO Tradeswomen Australia

  • Elise is an exceptional communicator and her passion for live illustration adds a fresh new layer of visualisation that we have enthusiastically embraced at the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence. We look forward to many more projects using Elise's wonderful skills and positive attitude.

    John Gertsakis
    Director, Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence

  • The Image Elise created for us was super special and blew us and our audience away. Elise has an amazing ability to creatively capture complex topics, themes and points and turn them into a fun, easy to follow image.

    Roisin O’Neill
    Events Manager, Planet Ark

  • Elise has captured a couple of our recent events at Our Watch, and she’s a dream to work with. She’s turned complex conversations into beautiful visual summaries that match our brand and serve as a useful resource for participants.

    Mike McEvoy
    Program Facilitator, Our Watch

  • I highly recommend Elise for live illustration services. She masterfully captured the essence of our session on Intersectionality at our Hume SEED Collaboration Event, leaving our attendees thoroughly impressed and inspired. Elise’s exceptional ability to visually summarize and highlight key moments in real-time brought a unique and dynamic energy to our event. Her extraordinary talent and unwavering professionalism are truly commendable.

    Sushma Nagaraj
    Partnerships and Coordination Officer, Hume City Council

  • Elise was an absolute dream to work with. Having seen her visuals for corporate clients and events I engaged her to help visualise and articulate my PhD topic - she helped me cut through the jargon to craft a gorgeous, accessible visual that will feel as appropriate to share at an academic conference as it will with family and friends. The process was simple (and enjoyable) and the result really is stunning.

    Nicholas Dexter
    Human Rights & Modern Slavery PHD Candidate

  • At Diadem, our team working across CE business models, industry waste reduction, new materials, supply chain engagement and training have benefitted from Elise’s visualisation workshop to conceptualise and communicate the core ideas. Elise’s efforts at our annual conference were critical to pull our ideas together in an interconnected way to help our teams see the systems thinking needed to enable a circular economy.

    Paul Sparks
    Director of Sustainability, Diadem

  • What stood out most was her ability to translate complex leadership ideas into simple, fun and memorable illustrations. Her work not only brought the content to life but also helped participants connect with and retain the concepts in a way that words alone could not achieve.

    Angela Koning
    Executive Coach