What exactly is bikablo?
In 2005, the first visual dictionary with illustrations by Martin Haussmann appeared on the Neuland.com website under the title “bikablo” – an abbreviation of BIlderKArtenBLOck (in English: “picture card pad”). There then followed a whole series of products bearing this name, a training concept and, finally, bikablo became a registered brand.

Is bikablo a drawing technique?
In our training, we impart visualization techniques that have common and systematic basic principles and which we summarize under the term “bikablo drawing technique” or “bikablo visualization technique.” But bikablo is so much more than that! The bikablo brand represents a practice of visual thinking, learning, and collaboration characterized by a systematic, participant-oriented, modern understanding of learning, as well as interpersonal communication, methodological innovation, and a strong sense of community.

Who are bikablo GmbH & Co. KG, bikablo akademie, and bikablo bildwerk?
bikablo GmbH & Co. KG is an organization based in Cologne. Partners are Martin Haussmann, Karina Antons, Roswitha Vesper, and Holger Scholz. bikablo akademie (visualization training) and bikablo bildwerk (visual consulting and services) are business divisions of bikablo GmbH & Co. KG.

What is bikablo’s copyright policy?
The subject of copyright and user rights is very important to us. The respectful handling of intellectual property is very important in our line of work, especially so for the bikablo akademie.

In over fifteen years, bikablo has matured into a coherent visualization system that we give to people in order for them to make a difference in their work. We constantly invest in new image ideas, drawing techniques, and approaches, training our own trainers to provide the best possible methodology and content quality.

We also want to be generous in passing on our knowledge in the future. This is only possible if other consultancy services, publications, and training contents differ significantly from ours. Protecting our intellectual property avoids confusion and allows us to be generous.

We appreciate, recommend, and admire our fellow visualizers, such as The Grove, Brandy Agerbeck, or Xplane. We wish for the same kind of respect for our work. We expect anyone who offers their own consulting services, publications, and training on the subject of visualization to develop their own approaches, just as we have, and in so doing to enrich the community.

Is bikablo akademie an independent company?
bikablo akademie is a business division of bikablo GmbH & Co. KG since 2017.

The training course I want to attend is sold out. What should I do?
Send us an email and we’ll be happy to put you on the waiting list. Often we can provide a spot at short notice. Alternatively, you can get together a group of at least 7 participants and book an in-house training, which (often) ends up being cheaper per person.

What does booking via “Xing-Events” mean?
Xing-Events is our ticketing and billing partner. Your booking fee is billed by Xing-Events, service provider is bikablo GmbH & Co. KG. If there are technical questions, please contact Xing-Events directly. If you have any questions concerning billing, please contact us. You do not need a Xing account to register for a training.

How can I stay updated about new training dates?
Simply subscribe to our newsletter (footer) and follow us on Facebook.

Does the training include contents that I’m familiar with from bikablo products?
bikablo products and the bikablo basics training are both based on the bikablo visualization technique. In addition to this, in the training sessions you will learn how to develop your own key images, layouts, and posters. As part of the advanced training you can even learn, if you wish, to develop your own visualization style.

Everyone learns the same bikablo technique. So doesn’t everyone’s results look the same?
In fact, the very opposite is true: every training participant or user is inspired by bikablo to create their own individual visual vocabulary, just as every writer uses his or her own verbal vocabulary to tell their own stories. With experienced visualizers one often no longer sees that their first steps were taken at bikablo akademie – and that’s just as it should be!

May I pass on what I learned in bikablo training courses?
Of course anyone may offer visualization training. However, our own training concepts and methodology are subject to copyright. It is important to us that the training offered in the field of visualization is not all the same. If in doubt, we ask you to send us an email outlining your training plans, preferably with sample pictures.

Can I become a bikablo trainer?
bikablo training is offered exclusively by trainers and training partners of the bikablo akademie. We run a certified global training program. Please contact Frank Wesseler (fw@bikablo.com) to find out more about the program and entry requirements.

What do I need to take care of when hosting an in-house training?
An in-house training is led by one or two trainers from our team, but organized by you (date, place, participants, rooms, materials, etc.). This makes in-house training more cost-effective than training courses that are open to the public.

Do you offer in-house training abroad – and in other languages?
We operate worldwide. Training conducted by bikablo akademie core team trainers is offered in English and, depending on the availability of the trainer, also in Dutch, French, or Spanish. Training abroad is offered in many regions worldwide by certified global bikablo trainers.

What is the policy on copyright?
Our training concept and the methodology used in the training are subject to copyright. Find out more >

Do you also offer one-day training?
We strongly recommend the two-day training. Especially for beginners, we can sustainably provide visualization skills in two days – making sure that you can apply what you have learned in your everyday life – if you don’t miss the extensive practical phase with enough time for reflection. Nevertheless, also one-day training courses are provided in many regions in-house by the bikablo global trainer team. 

Is it possible to get training for my whole team?
Of course – you are welcome to book a training for your entire team or department. However, when inviting participants to this visualization training, please make sure that everyone actually has opportunities in their daily work to make use of what they will learn.

Can I combine a training with the contents of the Visual Facilitator Curriculum?
Yes, this can be a good idea and is possible to a certain extent. You should definitely opt for a two-day training. This way on the first day we can work out the basic techniques and on the second day we can tailor the further phases and the practical workshop to your learning goals. If you have already done beginner’s training with us, we will gladly put together a suitable advanced program for you.

Are other completely different training formats possible, for example as part of a change process?
We have a lot of experience in enabling groups to visualize their solution-finding process. For example, we can provide participants in a large group conference with basic visual techniques, allowing them to visually present their corporate vision in small groups. For this we team up with the visualizers from bikablo bildwerk and the facilitators from Kommunikationslotsen.

Can I also integrate an impulse training into a company party?
Careful – do your guests really want to learn something at this party, or are they there to celebrate? Even though our impulse training is fun for everyone, our aim is not to provide incentives or deliver entertainment shows.

What is a bikablo certified global trainer?
bikablo certified global trainers are trained by the bikablo akademie in a variety of training concepts and have the exclusive right to offer this training in their respective regions. As a rule, they are independent trainers – often also offering other soft skills training – who work as consultants, coaches, and facilitators in their respective regions.

Is training by bikablo akademie and a bikablo global trainer the same thing?
The training that our global trainers are certified to provide corresponds to the training provided by the bikablo akademie in Cologne – in regards to learning content, didactics, and methodology. Of course, our global trainers adapt the bikablo training concept to regional cultural characteristics and learning habits.

Does the bikablo akademie also offer training in English?
Yes, especially some of the advanced training courses are offered in English by bikablo akademie in Cologne.

Can I become a bikablo certified global trainer?
Please contact Frank Wesseler (fw@bikablo.com) to find out more about the program and entry requirements.

Is bikablo bildwerk an independent company?
bikablo bildwerk is a business division of bikablo GmbH & Co. KG.

On the subject of usage rights: how may I use the illustrations that a bikablo bildwerk Visual Storyteller, Graphic Recorder, or Visual Meeting Facilitator creates for my business?
In the case of Graphic Recording and Visual Meeting Facilitation projects, you will receive the original murals, posters, or smaller visualizations. In accordance with copyright law, we retain the copyright and grant you usage rights. The contract automatically gives you the right to reproduce the resulting visualizations to document the event and to publish these internally. Should you be interested in more broad usage rights, please discuss this with us when clarifying the assignment during the booking process.

In the case of Visual Storytelling projects (dialogue pictures, strategy pictures, etc.) that are not created at an event, user rights are always clarified in advance and are mentioned in the offer.

What is the difference between Visual Storytelling and Graphic Recording?
Visual Storytelling involves visualization that arises as part of a joint development process “at the desk,” and not “live” in the context of an event. That in turn would be Graphic Recording.

What is the difference between Graphic Recording and Visual Meeting Facilitation?
These terms are used differently in the visualization scene, and there are actually very fluid overlaps. Our understanding is this: the Graphic Recorder is in the background, documenting a dialogue process. The Visual Meeting Facilitator actively facilitates (or “moderates”) the conversation process and visualizes it. However, what is most important to us is sitting down with you to choose and plan the right visualization intervention (no matter what we end up calling it) for your project.

Where can I order bikablo products?
Exclusively at neuland.com. We don’t sell them ourselves – bikablo develops the bikablo products, Neuland sells them.

Is there a lot of overlap between the bikablo products?
Only at certain points: in bikablo 2.0 some of the most popular pictograms from bikablo 1 are used, and bikablo icons includes some of the figures from bikablo emotions.

When will there be a bikablo app for tablets and smart phones?
We get asked that a lot. We have a lot of ideas for this, but so far nothing practicable. Until there is, we hope you will continue to enjoy using our analog products.

On the subject of copyright: how may I use the images that I find in the products?
Our visual dictionaries and other products provide a wealth of pictograms, situations, and key images that you can copy by hand, alter, and rearrange on a flipchart or pin board – or you can use these to create your own image ideas. The copyright does not allow the original images to be photographed, scanned, or photocopied from the printed works. If you would like to use directly copied or clearly bikablo-inspired visualizations in your own (digital or printed) publications, please contact us. We usually find a simple solution via a source note. Please request our information leaflet

May I use the illustrations I find in bikablo products in my own training courses?
Our bikablo products – and the illustrations you find in them – are there to make your meetings, presentations, and training courses better. However, if you are offering visualization training yourself and share the illustrations from bikablo products by drawing them, you may be competing with the training courses of bikablo akademie. To avoid difficulties, we ask you to send us a description of your training project by email, preferably with sample images.