Annual Favorites 2022--And Even More Favorites

 As always, we've done some really beautiful charts this year.  And some of them just don't fit into a particular category--like the previous posts.  Here are a few more we wanted to share with you. 

This beautiful chart included the artwork of one of the descendants as the background for the tree.  What an incredible present and a great way to preserve and share the talents in your family!

This chart color coded several different sections of the family.  Our talented designers were able to fit all of this complicated family--which usually would have been a very wide chart--into a reasonable, frameable size.  But the information is still easy to follow because of the help that the color gives in understandability. 

This beautiful chart shows all of the children and ancestors of the main couple.  It includes crests for the two of the main family lines.  It utilizes the extra space where the ancestors are unknown to give the chart a title and some explanation.  The group photo on the bottom left completes the family story.

This family was able to obtain all of the photos for the current generation except one so we fit a silhouette in to complete the picture. 

This family didn't have any pictures to add to the chart but the silhouettes give it a classic feel anyway.  The grey tones are very popular right now and look modern but classic in any decor. 

We've already used this popular background again and again.  It is a great way to give it some color and a rich outdoorsy tree feel but it isn't too busy for a few pictures to be added for more interest.  Let us know if you want to try out this background too.  You're welcome to send in your information for a free consultation at http://familychartmasters.com/consult and we can create a beautiful masterpiece for your family as well. 

Annual Favorites 2022-Cultural and Geographical Homelands

We love helping our users show of their heritage in unique and engaging ways.  And one of the things that most ties people to their heritage is their cultural and geographical heritage.  It is one of the ties that binds us back to our ancestors--that sense of belonging we have

 

Each family has a unique history and spreads throughout the world in a unique way.  The people who came together to create the family you have now may have come from many different places or just a few.  And the descendants of your ancestors may have spread out to many different places or they may have stayed in mostly the same place.

Expressing that geographical heritage through the places your family lived tells a unique story about their history.  If you find a family from Europe in the 20th century, you will have a very different history to tell then another family from say Africa or Asia or Latin America. 

Each heritage has unique circumstances and triumphs and tragedies to tell.  And each family has a rich heritage to be proud of.  Each of us have ancestors who survived against adversity and lived to tell about it.  If you haven't found your hero ancestors yet, you just need to keep looking. 

 

 And one of the things I love about family history the most is that it teaches us that we each have a little bit of the heroic and a little bit of the tragic inside ourselves.  The best kind of genealogy is the stories that are honest, and show the complicated nuances of our history.  There in that--that is something worth knowing and worth taking pride in. 

 

Annual Favorites 2022--Telling the Whole Story

Undoubtedly, our most spectacular charts are the ones that tell more of the story of a family.  These are a great way to share your family history with the people in your family who will never sit down and open a book or look at a computer with you.  And once again, we did some amazing charts last year that tell more of the story of a family.  Take a look at these:

This amazing chart shows the descendants of a Hungarian family.  The text in the top left describes the area they are from as well as the photo in the background.  The map in the top right has the village labeled and the town crest is included as well.  It fuses the branch of the family who immigrated to the US and their cousins who still live in Hungary into one amazing heritage. 

You don't even have to be related to this family to be engaged in the history of these people. With illustrations related to where and when they lived, maps, stories and color coding to show different branches of the family, this chart explains the synagogues, and religious artifacts of their history.  This type of chart would leave anyone asking to hear more about the stories of this family. 

If you want to tell the story of your family, let one of our designers help you.  It's super easy.  Just send the family information you have for a free consultation at http://familychartmasters.com/consult.  Our talented designers have lots of ideas about how to illustrate your past and tell all the details in a simple chart.  Let us help you get your amazing family story out where people can see it in a beautiful engaging way
 

Annual Favorites 2022--Beautiful and Unique Color Coding

One of our favorite things to do to make a chart more understandable and put more information, understanding and life into your family history is to add some color.  There are so many ways we can color code a chart.  And we can use bright colors or muted--whatever strikes your fancy.  Take a look at some of the amazing charts we color coded this year. 

This bright chart was color coded by place of birth.  With the vibrant colors, it engages the viewer to learn more about the history of this family.

 

This beautiful chart is color coded by country, but the countries are subtly explained on the bottom right under the title.  With its soft colors and tree imprint, this family tree is an eye-catching addition to the family's decor. 

The descendants of this amazing couple would have normally charted out to 24 feet wide, but by wrapping their descendants into three layers, we were able to get the chart down to 9 feet wide and 3.5 feet tall.  We color coded each child and their family so that the chart would be more understandable.  A great tribute to a large family and their ancestral beginnings.

This cute grandmother created three beautiful charts for her three beautiful grandchildren.  So engaging.  Now they have something to remind them of all the stories she tells them about their ancestors. 

This chart was exceptional, not only because of its bright colors but also because of its left to right descendancy format.  Color coding by generation makes its unique diamond format even more interesting. 

We loved this chart for its cool tropical colors and the integration of the map and places that the family lived.  With the palm trees in the back, you can almost feel the ocean breezes. 

 

These two charts were a fun new take on a fan chart.  The circles and contemporary font are perfect for a more modern decor.  Do you see how changing up the colors changes the whole look and feel of the chart?  Which one do you like better?

Finally, this chart is a simple left to right color coded by country and labeled by the flags of each country.  A simple, clean representation of the ethnicity of a person. 

You can get your own specially designed chart by sending in your information to us for a free consultation at http://familychartmasters.com/consult.  As you can see, we can create anything you can dream up.  And in any color too!  Let us help you create beautiful, engaging chart for your family and your home.

 

Annual Favorites 2022-Direct Line Charts

 We've been launching our 2022 Annual Favorites on social media, in our gallery and over our newsletter.  I'm going to take some time here and show you why we chose these for our favorites.  To start with, let's look at some of the awesome direct line charts that we were able to help our clients create this year:

 This first chart is stunning with the watercolor tree in the background and the soft muted colors.  It shows a direct line for 10 generations but the beauty of this chart is the short biographical description of each person.  What a treasure this chart is for the family that created it.

 

 We get alot of requests to show royalty lines, but this chart was a special one because it starts on the bottom with all of the living descendants and then goes directly up to that royal line.  With all of the royal photos, it really engages the viewer with how the royal lines came together to form this family.

With 17 generations, this chart is unique in that it goes directly up the patriarchal line of both the mother and father's side of the family.  They both go back to families with crests, so they were integrated into the chart.  A bright colorful design.

You can start your own family masterpiece with us by sending your information in for a free consultation at http://familychartmasters.com/consult.  We'll assign you one of our talented designers who can work with you to create an heirloom masterpiece for your family.  You might even be chosen for next year's annual favorite collection.  We're looking forward to creating the perfect chart for you. 

Are You Watching RootsTech With Us?

 Photo: The Family ChartMasters Team at RootsTech 2020

by Janet

We love Rootstech! For twelve years RootsTech has always been such a huge part of our calendar. I think it was the second year that I got in trouble for taking my kids. Then in 2014, one of the highlights of my career was when my son Matthew spoke to two full halls at only 14 years old. I've spoken with my Dad, with my Sisters, with Erin and numerous times by myself, besides running the Family ChartMasters booth and booths for other societies and companies that I've been affiliated with.

So it was with great surprise last year, that when the conference went virtual, I actually had time to listen to some of the other lectures. They were awesome. I was so excited to hear everyone else's presentations and get inspired along with all of you. I

Unfortunately, as we learned last year, and with other conferences too, the virtual format does not work very well for vendors. We've tried to make adjustments and do different things but with a sad heart, we decided it just didn't work for us to put the money, time and effort into doing RootsTech in a virtual format this year. I'm happy to report though, that I've already found a few new things to check out in the vendors hall this year, and I would encourage all of you to support our friends there.

We're really looking forward to the time when we can all be back in person and enjoy each other's company again. We'll be there with bells on. We're looking forward to the NGS conference in Sacramento, CA in May. Hopefully we'll see you there.