The sketchnote handbook 2

—»THIE f U-USTWIH) gWcfetr-* ViS^al NOTE TAKFW©

4?M.HCER9HDE ifAf illvstnrh'rf P£Wofik

THE SKETCHNOTE HANDBOOK: The illustrated guide to visual note taking Mike Rohde

Peachpit Press Peachpit Press is a division of Pearson Education.

Copyright © 2013 by Michael D. Rohde

Acquisitions Editor: Nikki Echler McDonald Development Editor Anne Marie Walker Proofreader: Liz Welch Production Editor: Katerina Malone Indexer: James Minkin Cover Design and Illustrations: Mike Rohde Interior Design and Illustrations: Mike Rohde

NOTICE OF RIGHTS All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, u/ithout the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact [email protected].

NOTICE OF LIABILITY The information in this book is distributed on an vvAs Is" basis u/ithout w^rra.r\t^ While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity u/ith respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer sof tu/are and \\<\rdw<Kre products described in it.

TRADEMARKS Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit u/as au/are of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies u/ith no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation u/ith this book.

ISBN 13: T7S-0-32I-S57S1-7 ISBN 10: 0-32I-S57S1-5

1 S 7 6 5 4 3

Printed and bound in the United States of America

mailto:[email protected]

To Gail, Nathan, Linnea, and Landon,

thank you for your support on this

long and challenging journey.

You are the reason I work so hard

to create things and share my ideas.

I love you.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

TAKING ON A PROJECT OF THIS MAGNITUDE is a g r ea t reminder o f j u s t how

va luab le my fami l y , f r i e nd s , col leagues, a n d commun i t y a re . W i t h o u t t h e m , I'm

c e r t a i n TheSketchnote HandbookwoKxld no t have happened.

GAIL, y o u a r e t h e f i r s t a n d mos t i m p o r t a n t pe r son on t h e l ist. Even t h o u g h y o u

u/ere expect ing a baby, y o u encou raged a n d s u p p o r t e d me on many la te n ights

a n d weekends. Thanks f o r sha r ing t h e v i s ion u/ith me. I love you !

NATHAN, LINNEA AND, LANDON, t hank s f o r s u p p o r t i n g me du r i n g t h e c r e a t i o n

o f t h e book. A s y o u r d a d , I hope my u/ork makes y o u p r o u d .

VON GLITSCHKA, y o u get c r e d i t f o r spa rk ing t h i s book ove r Tha i f o o d in P o r t l a n d .

Thanks f o r bel ieving in me a n d p i tch ing my book i dea j u s t m inutes a f t e r dinner.

NIKKI MCDONALD, you ' ve been behind me on t h i s book f r o m t h e beginning t o t h e

end. Thanks f o r cons ider ing my book idea, sell ing i t t o y o u r t e a m , a n d keeping

me on t r a c k a n d encou raged t h r o u g h t h e long, h a r d c r e a t i o n process . M o s t

i m p o r t a n t , t hank s f o r helping me c r e a t e someth ing t r u l y un ique a n d d i f f e r e n t .

ANNE MARIE WALKER, y ou ' ve been a f abu l ou s ed i to r , chal lenging me t o make t h e

book be t te r . Thanks f o r keeping me on my t o e s a n d making my p ro se look so good.

PEACHPIT, y o u r t e a m has been a j o y t o u/ork u/ith. Eve ryone u/as p r o f e s s i o n a l a n d

so easy t o u/ork u/ith. Thank y o u Nancy, G lenn, K a t e r i n a , M imi , Lupe, Cha r l ene ,

Amy , E r i c , L i z , a n d J a m e s f o r making my f i r s t book exper ience a g r ea t one.

DAVID FUGATE, t hank s f o r y o u r e x p e r t gu idance t h r o u g h t h e book c o n t r a c t

process . I c o u l d n ' t have a s ked f o r a b e t t e r agent.

vi

DELVE WITHRINGTON, t hank s f o r c r ea t i n g f o n t s o f my hand l e t t e r i n g .

Y o u r t y p e f a c e s have s aved me many long hour s o f d r a w i n g eve ry l e t t e r by hand.

FEATURED SKETCHNOTERS: B inaebi A k a h , C r a i g h t o n Serman, Boon Chew,

V e r o n i c a E rb , J e s s i c a Esch, A lex i s F inch, Michel le George, E v a - L o t t a Lamm,

G e r r e n Lamson, M a t t h e w Maga in , T imothy Reynolds , F r anc i s Rou/land,

C h r i s Sh ip ton , Pau l Soup i set , a n d Ky le S t eed , t hank s f o r y o u r con t r i bu t i on s .

BRIAN ARTKA, GABE WOLLENBURG, STEPHEN MORK, MARK FAIRBANKS, AND CYNTHIA THOMAS, t hank s f o r y o u r encouragement t h r o u g h o u t t h e p ro jec t .

JON MUELLER, t hank s f o r allou/ing my s ke tchno te s o f y o u r t a l k t o become such

a key p a r t o f t h e book. I've been hono red t o ca l l y o u a f r i e n d a n d a p p r e c i a t e y o u r

gu idance in t h e c r e a t i o n o f my f i r s t book.

FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES, t hank s f o r y o u r revieu/s a n d f e e d b a c k a b o u t t h e

book in p r o d u c t i o n . Th i s is a b e t t e r book because o f y o u r help.

TO THE SKETCHNOTING COMMUNITY, t hank s f o r y o u r s u p p o r t t h r o u g h t h e yea r s .

Km exc i ted t o see w h e r e o u r commun i t y u/ill go a n d hou/ i t u/ill g r o w once t h i s book

reaches new r e a d e r s a n d v iewers .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MIKE ROHDE has a pa s s i on f o r s imple a n d usab le

des i gn so lu t i on s . T h a t pas s i on , a long u/ith his l i f e l ong

hab i t o f r e c o r d i n g c oncep t s a n d o b s e r v a t i o n s

t h r o u g h s ke t ch i ng a n d dood l i ng , i n s p i r ed him t o

deve lop s k e t c h n o t e s — a p r a c t i c a l a r t t h a t t r a n s l a t e s

s imple a n d complex ideas i n to eas i ly r eca l l ed b i t s

o f i n f o r m a t i o n .

P r o f e s s i o na l l y , M i k e f o c u s e s on u s e r i n t e r f a c e ,

u s e r exper ience , v i s u a l des ign, a n d icon des ign f o r mobi le a n d u/eb app l i c a t i on s

a t Gomoll Research + Design in Milu/aukee, Wi scons in .

A s a s ke t chno te r , M i ke p rov ides l ive, r e a l - t i m e s k e t c h n o t e s o f events ,

meet ings , a n d exper iences in venues a c ro s s t h e Un i t ed S t a te s .

In his i l l u s t r a t i o n p r a c t i c e , M i ke uses his un ique drau/ing s t y l e t o a m p l i f y a n d

c l a r i f y ideas. His u/ork has been f e a t u r e d in REWORK, t h e be s t - se l l i ng book by

J a s o n F r i e d a n d D a v i d He ineme ie r Hansson; The $100 Startup, a be s t - se l l i ng

book by C h r i s Gu i l l ebeau ; a n d The Little Book of Talent by Dan ie l Coy le .

C o m m u n i t y a n d s ha r i n g a r e i m p o r t a n t c o r n e r s t o n e s o f M ike ' s ph i lo sophy, as

ev idenced by t h e c r e a t i o n o f The Sketchnote Army, a u/ebsite d e d i c a t e d t o

f i n d i n g a n d showcas i ng s k e t chno te s a n d s k e t c h n o t e r s f r o m a r o u n d t h e u/orld.

M i ke has a l so s h a r e d his th ink ing , des ign p roces s , a n d samples o f his des ign a n d

i l l u s t r a t i o n u/ork a t his pe r s ona l u/ebsite, rohdes ign.com, s ince 2 0 0 3 .

M i ke l ives u/ith his u/if e, G a i l , a n d ch i l d r en , N a t h a n , L innea, a n d Landon , j u s t

o u t s i d e o f Milu/aukee. He's a n a v i d G r e e n Bay Packe r s f a n .

L ea rn mo re a b o u t M i ke a t rohdesign.com.

http://rohdesign.com


INTRODUCTION

IT WAS THE WINTER OF 2006 AND I COULDNTTAKE IT ANYMORE. I u/as done. Fed up. I vou/ed not t o t a k e a n o t h e r no te u/ith a mechan ica l penc i l o r

u/ith a g iant notebook unt i l I'd f o u n d a b e t t e r u/ay t o t a k e notes.

Think ing back, I'm no t s u re hou/ note t a k i n g had become such a bu rden . In high

schoo l a n d college, I e n j o y e d express ing ideas v i s ua l l y—ea s i l y b lending u/ords

u/ith drau/ings, d i ag rams , a n d t y p o g r a p h y in my notebooks .

Someu/here in t h e p roces s o f g rowing up a n d ge t t i ng a j o b , I lo s t my u/ay. The

re laxed , v i s ua l n o t e - t a k i n g a p p r o a c h f r o m my college day s had m o r p h e d in to

a f a n a t i c a l l y de t a i l ed , t e x t - o n l y d e a t h march . Ironical ly, I became a g r e a t no te

t a k e r u/ho c o u l d n ' t s t a n d t a k i n g notes.

The s o l u t i on t o my n o t e - t a k i n g prob lem u/as a blank pocket Molesk ine, s t a c k e d

neat ly on my bookshelf. I'd bought i t on a u/him a f e u ; months b e f o r e a n d I r e a l i z e d

t h a t i t s smal l s i ze , paired u/ith an unera sab le pen, cou ld be a p e r f e c t u/ay t o

chal lenge my over ly de t a i l ed , n o t e - t a k i n g m ind - s e t .

In J a n u a r y 2007,1 b rough t my Molesk ine a n d a gel pen t o Ch icago f o r a

c o n f e r e n c e t o t r y s ke tchnot ing . C o u l d I t a k e f eu/er bu t b e t t e r notes? If I f o c u s e d

on qua l i t y , cou ld I live u/ith seeing my mi s takes in pen? Wou ld add ing drau/ings t o

my notes br ing back my j o y o f no te tak ing ? C o u l d t a k i n g notes become f u n again?

The a n s w e r t o t he se ques t i ons u/as a re sound ing yes! A s I c a p t u r e d my f i r s t

s ke tchnote s , I u/as able t o slou/ dou/n a n d l i s ten f o r big ideas. I loved t h e

n o - t u r n i n g - b a c k a t t i t u d e o f us ing a pen. Be s t o f a l l , I had a g r ea t t i m e t a k i n g

notes aga in.

Ever s ince t h a t m i n d - a l t e r i n g exper ience, I've been u/orking h a r d t h r o u g h my

blog, Tfie Sketchnote Army, a n d a t live p re sen ta t i on s a n d u/orkshops t o s h a r e my

pass ion f o r s ke tchnot ing . I t a k e g r ea t p lea su re in ta lk ing a b o u t u/hy s ke t chno t i n g

enables y o u t o t a k e b e t t e r notes, expla in ing hou/ t o c r e a t e s ke tchnote s , a n d

pe r suad ing people t o give s ke tchno t i ng a t r y . Th is pass ion f o r s ke t chno t i n g is

w h a t d rove me t o s pend hund red s o f hou r s writing, i l l u s t ra t i ng , a n d des ign ing t h i s

book. I want y o u t o en joy t a k i n g notes as much as I do , a n d I hope t h a t by t h e end

o f t h i s book y o u u/ill.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR? W h e t h e r y o u believe y o u can o r c a n ' t draw, Km here t o t e l l y o u t h a t anyone u/ho

can make marks on p a p e r can b e n e f i t f r o m t h i s book. S ke t chno te s a r e a b o u t

hear ing a n d c a p t u r i n g mean ing fu l ideas, no t hou/ u/ell y o u d r a w .

Take i t f r o m me, y o u can c r e a t e ske tchnotes . In t h i s book, I u/ill s how y o u how t o

d r a w s imple object s , c r e a t e cu s tom l e t t e r i n g , a n d use o t h e r h a n d - d r a w n e lements

t o help y o u expres s y o u r t h o u g h t s v isual ly. Even i f y o u c a n ' t d r a w a s t r a i g h t l ine,

y o u can l ea rn t o s ke t chno te w i t h a l i t t l e p r a c t i c e .

(A/ft?

w Thitvk

5 T O R M I N G , S A I N T S -

My first sketchnotes • UX Intensive 2007

CiAT

^MJ£q R A T E .

WHAT IS THE SKETCHNOTE HANDBOOK?

The Sketchnote Handbook is a s imple, v i sua l manua l des igned t o t e a c h y o u bas ic

s ke t chno t i ng concept s , app roaches , a n d techn iques quickly, so y o u can s t a r t

c r ea t i n g s ke t chno te s immediate ly .

Each page o f t h i s book has been lovingly h a n d - s k e t c h e d t o show y o u hou/ much

f u n i t is t o l ea rn f r o m notes t h a t i n c o r p o r a t e p i c t u r e s a n d words equal ly. R a t h e r

t h a n write a lot o f words a b o u t s ke tchnot ing , I decided t h a t i f I was going t o t a l k

t h e ta lk , I'd b e t t e r walk t h e walk (or, maybe, s ke t ch t h e sketch? ) . So, I c r e a t e d t h e

e n t i r e book as one, long, f u n — h o p e f u l l y i n s p i r i n g — i l l u s t r a t i o n .

0 CREATE A TITLE

| JohMuei/ers. TIT

( - — d

(State— to find photos of the speaker for reference o n m9 title p*ge-

„ipi*n«~ • -

sneaker's name, verify spe • a

interesting title pag

oftheprese"* a*» 0" '

H SKETCHNOTE ..«._^+u0tAlkbeqins, I listen, synthesa ideas I'm hearing start drying' thinking about as sketchnotes in my sHetchbook.

u/hati'm I ——

\ I JonMuel/er&

1 g *£ jg||| 1 g *£ jg||| Find a new thins.

= d ,mpleted sketchnote.

IS PHOTOGRAPH . . ^ j « W p sketchnoting, When I'm done

I shoot photos of my sUchnotes-Thisis ^ great way to immediately share u/hat you've created via social media, and photos serve as a good backup of your sketchnotes.

I JofiMuel/A

I JapMuellers, 1

« a single image, f o f s i n g l e ^ P ^ «ore detail and are easy m ° mobile devces.

The Sketchnote H*n< dbook-Copter*

THE SKETCHNOTE COMMUNITY Of cour se , I'm no t t h e only pe r son in t h e u/orld u/ho sketchnotes . Km a m a z e d a n d

ene rg i zed by t h e u/ide v a r i e t y o f people al l o ve r t h e u/orld u/ho c r e a t e a n d ac t i ve l y

s ha re t h e i r s ke tchnotes . I love t h e sense o f commun i t y t h a t has s p rung up a r o u n d

t h i s p rocess , a n d IVe made a g r ea t many f r i e n d s t h r o u g h sha r i ng a n d d i scuss ing

s ke t chno te s onl ine a n d a t con fe rences .

I i nv i ted 15 o f t he se f r i e n d s — l e a d i n g s ke t chno te r s f r o m a r o u n d t h e u/o r l d—to

each c r e a t e a tu/o-page s p r e a d f o r t h i s book t h a t sha re s a b i t a b o u t u/ho t h e y a r e ,

hou/ t h e y came t o s ke tchnot ing , a n d a t i p o r tu/o t o help y o u t a k e b e t t e r notes.

W h a t I hope y o u ' l l not i ce f r o m looking a t t h e i r u/ork a t t h e end o f each c h a p t e r

is t h a t eve r yone sees t h e u/orld d i f f e r e n t l y ; eve ryone processes i n f o r m a t i o n

d i f f e r e n t l y ; e ve r yone has t h e i r ou/n, un ique s ty le , a n d t h a t ' s p a r t o f u/hat makes

s ke tchno t i ng so much f u n ! There ' s no r i gh t u/ay o r u/rong u/ay t o do i t .

I u/ill t e a c h y o u t h e bas ic pr inc ip les o f s ke tchnot ing , bu t t h e r e a l j o y u/ill come

u/hen y o u s t a r t c r ea t i n g s ke tchno te s a n d d i s cove r hou/ t a k i n g notes can un leash

y o u r c r e a t i v i t y a n d make pay ing a t t e n t i o n , even a t t h e mos t bor ing meetings,

someth ing y o u look forward t o do ing.

REACH OUT A s y o u l ea rn f r o m t h i s book, I encourage y o u t o s ha re y o u r ou/n s ke t chno te s

a t The Sketchnote Handbook F l i ck r g r oup (u/u/u/.f lickr.com/groups/

thesketchnotehandbook). I plan on hanging o u t t h e r e a lot, a n d I'd love t o see

how y ou ' v e t a k e n t h i s p roces s a n d made i t y o u r ou/n.

You can v iew more o f my u/ork a n d c o n t a c t me t h r o u g h my per sona l u/ebsite a t

rohdesign.com o r onTu/ i t te r attu/itter.com/rohdesign. I look f o r w a r d t o hear ing

what y o u th ink o f t h e book a n d learn ing a b o u t y o u r s ke t chno t i ng exper iences.

ITS TIME TO 6ET STARTED. GRAB A NOTEBOOK AND A PEN. LET'S 60 TAKE SOME NOTES!

http://lickr.com/groups/


j _ 1 i

- L E T ' S 6 0 1 - L E T ' S 6 0 1 • — n

J i i 1

C H A P T E R 1 * , o

tyfiat are

SKETCH MOTES ARE RflCIH VGSUAL NOTES CRSATilD FflWM) A MIX Op

HAND WW TiN 6, DRAWS MOS? mUD - DRAWN Wps^RAPH Y,

SHAPES, AMD V(JS(l)A(L ELEMENTS L0KE ARROWS,BOXES eUNES.

2

SKETCHNOTES WERE BORN * f

frustration! • m i i i ii i » •

I WAS FRUSTRATED by the highly detailed, text-only notes I u/as taking at conferences and in meetings. ^ The stress escalated as I worked hard to capture I /^RQJ every last detail in very large, lined ^ t ^ S ^ I " H A T E notebooks. Worse, I never looked ft ( THIS? at my notes after their completion.

A PENCIL / u/as so worried about making mistakes, I took my notes in pencil, so I could erase any errors.

A LARGE, LINED NOTEBOOK Because I tried to

capture every

detail, I needed large

pages to store all

of that information

/ decided *°

GIVE UP —c\ndL—

TRY S°tnethlng

N E W .

RATHER ^than u/orrying about every last detail^

(related* bit,

LISTENED wore

INTENTLY

5

e <An&

©CUSED ON C A P T U R I N G

rr IDEAS.

INSTEAD of using a

PENCILS LARGE N°TEB°OK

M Y S E L F

A POCKET

SKETcH&<*#.

r 1 t

I CHALLENGED MVSELF to write and draw notes more

THIS NEW WAY OF NOTE TAKIN6

was enjoyable m

O 1 o • - o

I was able to focus on the BIGGER PICTURE, expressing CONCEPTS with drawings, type, and text.

* I (PINEP * N A M E * for THIS P R O C E S S :

SKETCHNOTES AREN'T DRY AND DETAILED BUT ARE Simple and Clear.

Uly personality WAS BAKED INTO MY SKETCHNOTES LIKE CHOCOLATE CHIPS IN A BATCH OF

chocolate chip cookies.

SKETCHNOTES are

They're built from meaningful thoughts and ideas your mind collects and squirrels away during:

TALKS j PANELS Experiences

\

THIS VISUAL and HOLISTIC APPROACH to note taking engages your mind so you can understand

the ideas you're hearing while activating your hand to turn those ideas into concrete, VISUAL NOTES.

n n i i m 1 Ml M n M i l i n ) n n i l n l i n

[The OUTPUT:

SKETCHNOTES MINI l l l i l M I M M ' i l i i l MIIIMI M l l l l ' I M i n i l l l l l M l I M M l H H ' l l l l i i i i M M i i i n i | n u n

BECAUSE YOUR MIND AND BODY ACT TOGETHER, YOU

CAN RECALL MORE OF WHAT YOU HEAR AND DRAW.

J

SKETCHNOTERS INFUSE THEIR OWN

S K E T C H N O T E S WITH UNIQUE PERSONALITY

TT 15* 'H*

/ \7 \7 \

From drawing and handwriting style to the ideas included and haw those

ideas are expressed on the page.

THE RESULT? EACH SKETCHNOTE IS UNIQUE,

EVEN THOUGH THE UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES OF SKETCHNOTING REMAIN THE SAME.

How are sketchnotes CREATED?

the N SOLO MBA

i SKETCHNOTES are created in realtime u/hile listening to a presentation, talk, or panel discussion.

To sketchnote, you listen closely to meaningful ideas, consider u/hat they mean, and then create a visual map of them. The goal is to forgo the details and instead listen for big ideas that resonate, converting those ideas into visual notes that include both words and pictures.

Whether you create sketchnotes with pen and paper or digitally,

the approach is the same.

THE BI6 QUESTION:

Can you create sketchnotes?

YES. YOU. CAN! MANY PEOPLE tell me they can't create sketchnotes because they can't draw. You can draw; you just need to au/aken your grade school skills!

KIDS draw constantly! They doodle ideas u/ith ease and u/ill drau/ u/hat they imagine u/ithout a second thought.

GUESS WHAT? You were a kid once:

I bet you drew like crazy

KIDS DRAW TO EXPRESS IDEAS. They don't worry about how perfect their drawings are, as long as their

ARE CONVEYED.

# 5 Basic Elements

CIRCLE SQUARE TRIANGLE LINE DOT

EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DRAW CAN BE CREATED WITH THESE 5 ELEMENTS.

Can you identify the 5 basic elements in these simple drawings?

ONCE YOU REALIZE how the objects around you are made from these 5 elements, it becomes easier to draw all sorts of things.

IDEAS, NOT A R T !

Sketchnotes are about capturing and sharing ideas, not about art.

SKETCHNOTES ARE A WAV TO

THINK<™ paper U S I N G I M A G E S $ WORDS.

BAD DRAWING GOOD DRAWING

Either u/«y it's still« dog.

Even the roughest drawings can express

ideas effectively.

YOU CANT DRAW, START WITH SIMPLE ITEMS

YOU CAN DRAW.

The chapters that follow/ and lots of practice u/ill help you build your drawing skills.

> ONE USTEP

AT A TIME. WHEN YOU'RE STARTING

ANYTHING NEW, IT MAKES SENSE TO TAKE IT SLOW <& BUILD ON SUCCESS.

Take the first step: Reserve a small

area in your regular notes to try

some sketchnote techniques — even

if it's a drawing of the speaker.

As you experiment and try out the simple techniques in this book, you can add more

tools to your visual-thinking toolbox, and as a result, add more richness to your notes, one step at a time.

R E C A P o 0 1 ' °

Regular notes were frustrating, so I used drawings to help express the big ideas.

Setting limitations helped me become more deliberate with what I captured.

Sketchnotes are rich, visual notes that act as a map of the ideas you see and hear.

Keeping an active mind and body helps you engage and recall more detail later on.

Sketchnotes let you add your own personality, creating richer notes.

You can draw nearly anything using just a square, circle, triangle, line, and dot.

Sketchnotes are about ideas, not art!

One step at a time. Build on success.

NEXT: WHY SKETCHNOTE?

2 2 Sfrfonru.com

I fat-

# a $ 1 .

311 aUof

' TwY iV j f t t o m a r k e r s

fiPS & TricKs

0 ^

1 &

I dra.u> fart

^

I cRAiGntoN umm

nun* m v

3. mwA^

•4

: I. /Wvw*

vxMENTAi CAcHe"

0 • b

0

USt LCMI.C * DftAWN&r

EfiJBB ijla * ?M?.? INfORMAt'ioN JMA* &t tJfEWtlALc MrHPB««

rTn tHesu t H VUUAUIE |

t M f S E - A f r t t H t fAME SfclllS Y » «

Uft u w * &|UlNSt°RM mslojf:

BUILD < O T H K i ' j I DP AS

VlcuAihe A.

CKEt.cHNoTiNG CAN MA Kb fott A BeTtefi UAllUToRMtfM

CHAPTER 2 o • o

W H Y ?

W H Y S P E N D 6 X T P A EFFORT CREWBMesWTEHNO IPES WF

MAIM OL' T E X T N O T E S ARE 6 0 G B E N O d S G H ?

EMGAG>i< W A ¥ £ T

SKETCH NOTING Engages YOUR WHOLI MIND

I VEPBM.MOPE 1 I VISUAL MODI I

X MOUSE \>

A8CD }

t*»DUAI' Coding THEQRY

THE DUAL CODING THEORY, proposed in the 1970s by Allan Paivio,

suggests that the brain processes information using two primary channels: verbal and visual.

* V E R B A L * * V I S U A L * C o n c e p t s a s words C o n c e p t s a s images

W H E N BOTH M O D E S are ACTIVE,

Y O U R BRAIN CREATES A N ASSOCIATIVE

LIBRARY of W O R D S and IMAGES with M E N T A L

CROSS -REFERENCES B E T W E E N THEM.

SKETCHNOTING activates verbal and visual modes to

capture concepts. YOUR WHOLE BRAIN is absorbed

in hearing, synthesizing, and seizing ideas.

HEAR SEE

i

THINK DRAW

SKETCHNOTING CREATES A

VISUAL M A P

When your brain codes verbal and visual concepts together, it's also building a visual map of what you are hearing, seeing, and thinking.

4 ' -0< ' p-

EN6A6IN6 your u/hole brain has other positive effects, like improving your memory and recall.

THE VISUAL MAP YOU CREATE can help you recall the details of a presentation. I often recall thoughts, feelings, and other details u/hen viewing my sketchnotes.

S KWH6

SXSW 2012 sketchnotes

created the talk title art while waiting for the panel to start. I had fun drawing the lettering.

RFPs ^"^k/**1-

rWc«ws»fto (

itpp; i hi i AWt™

RFPAVQSSE-Coj fej

5 *

<• UMie W M.M%wQ

Every r f r

The p i e c/i<\ri came t o w e ear ty in • the presentation. It turned out a bit like Pac Man, which I liked.

f The idea that RFPs could be so expensive to pursue was very important, so I captured it as a bold headline to focus my attention.

I CAN STILL REVIVE MY THOUGHTS

YEARS LATER.

IN AN EXAMPLE STUDY, a group of HO volunteers listened to a monotonous 2-minute phone message. 20 of the participants shaded boxes u/hile listening, the other 20 simply listened.

IN A SURPRISE QUIZ THAT FOLLOWED, THE GROUP OF 20 DOODLERS RECALLED 29% MORE THAN THE NON-DOODLERS. Source: The Guardian, Feb 26,2001

SKETCHNOTING HELPS ^"/"CONCENTRATION.

CREATING SKETCHNOTES from the ideas you are hearing helps focus your mind on the present moment.

W / i e f i y o o r m # W and body are working in tandem, there is

little room left for distractions.

(6 As you practice

and improve your sketchnoting

techniques,

LISTENING and DRAWING

at the same time will feel more n

n

reel more a

WHEN I SKETCHNOTE, I'm completely engaged with what I'm listening to and turning into

Sketchnotes. The focused activity of listening, analyzing ideas,

and mapping those ideas on paper puts me

- hnazone * -4-

/ LISTENING*** / \ ANALYZING \

I IDEAS( • IDEAS 1

f f MAPPING 1^ dialed V IDEAS J dialed

IN V J IN

SKETCHNOTING TAPS

VISUAL 1111111111111 HHIM n nuilM UNI II1 MI HI 111 n n 11| 111 n 111

A DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A SIMPLE DRAWING

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

A TREE isau/oody perennial plant,

typically having a single stew or trunk

growing to a considerable height and bearing lateral branches at some

distance from the ground.

11II111 Mil II l IIII I I 111111<<j111111j111 111111111111

Complex ideas can often be expressed more effectively as drawings.

Drawing an idea can often take just a fraction of the time

needed to describe the same idea in verbal detail.

o O

THE THE SOLAR ROCKY KANSAS PYRAMIDS SYSTEM MOUNTAINS TORNADO

This is especially important when you're processing ideas

in real time, and ideas are coming in fast.

35

36

SKETCHNOTING IS

O J O

WHEN 1 TOOK PLAIN OL' NOTES, 1 WAS ALWAYS

- » W O R R I E D * •

ABOUT MISSING IMPORTANT DETAILS.

o 1 • o

\

I

! !

1

i

I I

1

i

<

SWITCHINGS

SKETCHNOTES

freedme 2 FOCUS ON

LARGER THEMES

4 I D E A S on

I was able to relax, listen for key points, and capti

VISUALLY. :ure those ideas ^

Creating Sketchnotes / s

The feeling I get from being completely connected while

using my full verbal and visual thinking skills keeps me sketchnoting.

SKETCHNOTING allou/s you to relax, engage in the speaker's points,

and have fun turning u/hat's in your head into visual notes you'll u/ant to share and refer to again and again.

R E C A P o a- , B

<— Dual coding theory suggests our brains process concepts in verbal and visual modes.

— ^ Using both modes creates cross-references, forming a visual map of what you capture.

— ^ Your visual map can help you recall details days, months, and even years later.

«-«^ Sketchnoting improves your concentration because when you're engaged there's little room for distraction.

— ^ Practicing your sketchnoting technique again and again helps it feel more natural.

— ^ Sketchnoting can help you get into a zone.

Simple drawings can be quicker to create and more effective than detailed verbal descriptions.

— ^ Sketchnoting relaxes you; you let go of details in favor of large ideas.

* NEXT: LISTEN UP!

BOON Yew CHftV

^ ovobtefw solver

J let your i ^ sketches ? ^ do te W . . .

id)

add fidfeln

1 ^ ^L-

y

MUJI ff

to we W Were

The che«pf i

l*HfS^ tec

f

Mvj is

pESCIEIiFTlOfrl B

O^t^ weelwble. doe

iwote 2-^2 -spew*! 1*4 \MArN| 4

fa jup&£. B e e I IteJ & tara. ftco?c4 ova ce<L4Mv\c\

^vfiks. Now, i Vv c«a f f t c E S S

C O

TEXT

Covwec+ i d w s

A R R O W S

WITH

* J CORRECT Hall Hvyg erf Qf*<\ l u c k , J v 4 V ^ g .

CHAPTER. 3

ll^TENUP! CAIPTUmm t CREATING 5KB1CHH0TBS BESSMS VOTH ACl i VE USTEMN6 SKUM*

AIFTIRAUJFYO«AIRENY IDEAS ACCUMrK&r, v©u e w t TORN THOSE

(IDEAS UNTO gPPfceTJVE SKETCH NOTES.

the KEYS to

L I STEN ING

FOCUS your attention on the speaker.

ELIMINATE the distractions around you.

IMMERSE yourself in the presentation.

f

yoixre^

actively, YOUR MIND can

CACHE IDEAS

PATTERNS. ACTIVE USTENIN6 can help you synthesize

and capture big ideas as sketchnotes*

4 6

MY USTENIN6 APPROACH DIRECT My Attention By focusing on the speaker's words and the ideas

being communicated, as well as reading the speaker's

body language, I set aside other thoughts as I work.

ELIMINATE and Filter Distractions I'm proactive about eliminating the distractions

I can and filtering out the distractions I can't

eliminate. For example, I turn off alerts on

my phone but must filter out noisy neighbors.

IMMERSE My Mind m THE Presentation Giving my undivided attention and managing

distractions allows me to concentrate completely

on the message being shared. When Ym successful,

I'm absorbed in the ideas I'm hearing and I'm able

to synthesize them and process the

information on paper.

CACHE Ideas Through practice I've learned

to hold an idea in my brain's ^rm rn-n rn-n r r m cache area — a temporary

space where I store thoughts

while listening for the next idea.

I sometimes use my cache and

combine it with ideas I have

on paper to help identify

connections between ideas.

RECOGNIZE Patterns When I'm listening actively, I can often pick up

patterns in a speaker's presentation. Listening

for patterns helps me illustrate those patterns

in my sketchnotes, like these:

0 ( U * G D *ne3 POINT v t y SERMON

3 clear, logical steps — much like a sermon.

MEANDERING STORYTELLING \ & 3 seemingly unrelated ^ stories that connect at the end of a presentation. CD .

PRACTICE*00' USTENIN6 SKILLS!

LISTENING SKILLS STRENGTHEN WITH USE.

Find opportunities to apply these listening techniques at meetings and conferences, and while watching video presentations online.

As you train your ears and mind, your ability to listen and to capture

ideas will keep improving.

50

R E C A P o • o

Capturing sketchnotes begins with hearing accurate information.

When you listen actively, your mind can spot patterns and cache ideas.

Give your undivided attention.

Eliminate and filter distractions.

Immerse your mind in the presentation.

«—^ Cache ideas.

— ^ Recognize patterns.

— ^ Practice to improve your listening skills at every opportunity.

* NEXT: THE SKETCHNOTING PROCESS

* MJD Mcnr MT vetfivte THK K Htc £#>

tH?*J OUR

BUVJ IT AT nJe

gut..

J

V /Hi < r t £ N i

U 1 * ^ TftfcV

i<> »m-ruing BgfiP... • h ^ j o

O F

toft - #

—

3 0 5} 5

fnrs 1 f i N t > IT

WITH

j [ £ )^ rV l€ )C j -p CBAPWESS... j

» - — n _ A p vjmTEr /

CA»

*£^ai S T A B L E R IHWHC,*-

Cam <5>A*< 1 * e Y

CAtHeT

w e <*o*T Ha.v

*"~ > O 05

i . GAQiEN'TFIW

CHAPTER 4

AFTER YEARS OF EXPER IENCE

I 'VE MVElfiPBD M Y O W N

S K E T C H N O T I I N © P R O C E S S

T H A T W O R K S W E L L FOR

H E A N D C A N H E L P Y&U

C R E A T E A P R O C E S S ^ O W N .

56

HERE ARE THE STEPS I FOLLOW WHEN SKETCHNOTING EVENTS:

RESEARCH B e f o r e I arrive ons i te, I re search t h e event, t he speakers, and t h e top ic .

RESEARCH GIVES ME INSIGHT and conf idence; especially u/hen I'm sketchnot ing people o r ideas t h a t I'm new; t o .

Sometimes I'll bring my research along as printed pages as a backup in addition to my electronic research tools.

iPads are great tools for research before and at an event.

GATHER MATERIALS

GATHERING KEY MATERIALS b e f o r e a r r i v ing a t an event is c r i t i ca l . I like t o br ing two o r t h ree Moleskine sketchbooks; mult iple pens; and my iPhone t o access photos and research mater ia l s ; and t o ac t as a f la sh l i ght in a pinch. A book light is u s e f u l i f t h e venue is dark.

A few years ago, I u/as at an event in Chicago when my sketchbook literally came apart at the seams. Now I always carry at least one spare sketchbook, Justin case.

ALWAYS BRING BACKUPS You never know u/hen a pen might r un ou t o f ink o r a sketchbook might get damaged. Br ing spares along t o be s a fe .

56

ARRIVE EARLY I a r r i ve a t a p re senta t i on ear ly and scout ou t t he best seat ing. Spots underneath lights and close t o t he f r o n t al low me t o hear and see t he speaker.

SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROW can reduce annoyances o r d i s rupt ions i f o the r s a re coming in late o r leaving ear ly.

Choose a middle seat

4 CREATE A TITLE

A completed title page, ready to go. on my title page.

ONCE I'VE SETTLED IN, I check t h e t op i c and t h e speaker ' s name, v e r i f y spellings, and sometimes f i n d a photo on my phone t o c r ea te a visually in teres t ing t i t l e page f o r t h e speaker o r t h e top ic .

/ complete my title before the speaker begins, so I can focus

on the talk rather than rushing to create a title at the start

of the presentation.

0 SKETCHNOTE When t h e ta lk begins, I l i s ten, s yn thes i ze t h e ideas I'm hea r i ng , and s t a r t d raw ing u/hat I'm th ink ing abou t as sketchnotes in my sketchbook.

A completed sketchnote.

PHOTOGRAPH When Km done sketchnot ing, I shoot photos o f my sketchnotes. This is a g rea t u/ay t o immediately share u/hat you ' ve c r ea ted v ia soc ia l media, and photos serve as a good backup o f y o u r sketchnotes.

/ like to shoot each page as a single image. Photos of single pages provide more detail and are easy to view on mobile devices

r Q SCAN, TUNE & POST

When I get home, I scan my sketchnotes a t high reso lut ion, a d j u s t t h e con t r a s t , and f i x any t y p o s o r e r r o r s in Photoshop. F ina l scans a r e expo r ted t o P N G f o r m a t t e d f i les f o r shar ing online.

CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS share sketchnotes t o p romote t h e i r upcoming events t o po ten t i a l a t tendees because they cap tu re t he event simply and visually.

Organ izer s o f t e n like t o g i veaway copies o f t he sketchnotes as PDF documents o r p r i n ted booklets t o t h e i r a t tendees . These a f t e r - e v e n t documents u/ork u/ell as handy o f f l i n e re fe rences .

This printed booklet u/as created as a gift for the attendees of Summit Basecamp by the organizers. Booklets can also u/ork great as a promotional item for the organizers.

SUMMIT BASECAMP

SKETCHNOTES «*4 INSPIRATION

SQUAW VALUEV, CA JAN 27-30,2012

ANATOMY OF A SKETCHNOTE I've c r e a t e d a map o f sketchnote elements f r o m an exist ing sketchnote so y o u can see and b e t t e r unde r s t and each element.

•TITLES Tit les a r e ideal f o r def in ing sketchnotes. They can include an event name, speaker names, da te , locat ion, and top ic . Mu l t ip le ta lks a t t h e same event can f ollou/ a cons i s tent design f o r un i ty , o r each speaker ' s t i t l e can be f u n and unique.

TAKE TIME TO CREATE A TITLE BEFORE YOU BE6IN YOUR SKETCHNOTES.

<r Jon Mueller 900

cso R e A D

^ • M E D I U M

ATHW6 ^ f J k ^ m %

THiNo

I STVt=Fttt

^ W — . lj<h> pW ?

•TYPOGRAPHY Typography is u s e f u l t o emphas ize ideas, c r ea t e a h ie rarchy and s t r u c t u r e , and even establ i sh a mood.

• DIAGRAMS & DRAWINGS Diagrams and drawings make f o r more in teres t ing elements. A feu/ pen s t rokes can i l l u s t ra te complex ideas quickly.

Handwr i t i ng is he lp fu l f o r adding a de ta i l ed de sc r i p t i on i f a d i ag ram o r i n f o rma t i on is needed.

IVON M U u f V ^ N ™ o f M ^ b « i ^ jiA Mjjl C V * * H 4 \ of *K 0-f*Pi£t*l Mobile ^pp -few f t * . uuiv^vsT-K|,

• DIVIDERS Div iders like rules, d o t t e d lines, and so on can help s e p a r a t e ideas f r o m each o t h e r visually, c rea t ing o r d e r and s t r u c t u r e .

A r r o w s po in t o u t deta i l s and can help focus a t t e n t i o n on spec i f i c drau/ings, t ypog raphy , o r t e x t , and they can provide a connect ion between mult iple ideas.

• BULLETS Bul lets a r e u s e f u l f o r i den t i f y i ng a ser ies o f ideas o r highlighting a single idea among drau/ings o r tex t . D i f f e r e n t t ype s o f bul let icons can f u r t h e r de f i ne ideas.

Look

Icons a r e handy t o use t h r oughou t a sketchnote document t o i den t i f y ideas visual ly as repeat ing elements.

•CONTAINERS Conta ine r s connect var ious elements t o ge the r in a single grouping t o rep re sen t an overal l idea o r top ic .

•SIGNATURES S ignatures a r e an opt iona l u/ay t o i den t i f y sketchnotes. If y o u ' r e c reat ing sketchnotes f o r y o u r ou/n use, no s i gnature is requ i red.

Jo/7 Mueller 900 ceo ReAD

TPANSLAToR-LA^- 7//Z/Z012.

ATHBN6 ymtm

1

A SKETCHNOTE from START to FINISH To help y o u see t h e progress ion o f a sketchnote f r o m s t a r t t o f i n i sh , IVe labeled each sect ion u/ith a number and prov ided a b r i e f de sc r i p ton t o show u/hy and in u/hich o r d e r each a r e a u/as drau/n.

Q The t i t l e c r ea t i on u/as done be f o r e t he event, using a photo o f t he speaker, J o n Muel ler, on my iPhone.

Q F o r t h e f i r s t idea, I c a p t u r e d " A THING THAT YOU DO/

@ J o n ta lked about a snare d rum, so my f i r s t d raw ing u/as o f a d rum.

Q Here IVe f i t t e d " DRUMS WERE MY T H I N G " into th i s snug space on t h e r ight s ide o f t h e snare d r um drau/ing.

• @ A n o<rrow po ints t o ano the r idea lou/er on t h e page.

. Q I c<dded a " D O MY OWN T H I N G " concept in t h e lou/er-r ight a rea .

@ Here I emphas i zed t he idea o f sna re d rums being verboten.

With this first page of sketchnotes, I've used a radial pattern to organize the talk information. I'll talk about sketchnote patterns in Chapter 5.

i J O I N ' S i E T U p i i•

T H S t a r e ? . ^ o - — — « @< —

T WIS C H A t f 1 6 0 '

A SKETCHNOTE from START to FINISH © Here I added a drau/ing o f J o n ' s d r u m setup as I p i c t u red i t

in my mind ' s eye. I <^dded t h e t i t l e a f t e r drau/ing t h e image.

© This desc r ip t i on o f J o n ' s approach t o sending sounds t h rough snare d rums u/as key t o t he p resenta t ion , so I gave i t f o cu s u/ith large, A L L C A P S t ypog raphy .

© I used a s e p a r a t o r t o c r ea te a break betu/een t h e t o p and bot tom.

© J o n ment ioned driving t o Boston, c reat ing a r eco rd , and t ou r i n g t h e coun t r y , so I <kdded i t j u s t belou/ t h e sepa ra to r .

© Here ' s ano the r s e p a r a t o r using dashed lines.

Q To u/rap up my sketchnotes, I used bold t y p e t o emphas ize t h e speaker ' s f i n a l thought .

On the second page of my sketchnotes, I used a linear pattern for the information with heavier emphasis on drawings and typography.

IS 900 aso ReAD JonMueller

M E D I U M

lATo P. LAfc • 7 / j z / z o l 2 .

ATHBN6 <r^"»»vn$

0P6«

/WAY

W4$4H . * WHAT

•4 JOIN'S S E T U P i f

THRPU6H Snares.

D O Y O U R R E S E A R C H

and—

A R R I V E A BIT E A R L Y !

Being prepared helps you relax

when the time comes to listen,

cache ideas, and draw them.

R E C A P o D *°

" - ^ Use my process as a starting point, and then make it your own.

— ^ Research speakers and topics to gain insight and confidence.

«—^ Backups are key to being prepared when you're sketchnoting.

— ^ Arrive early, scout your location, and use the extra time to create a title before the event.

— ^ Photograph your sketchnotes right after the event to share them, and to have a backup.

»•^ Shared sketchnotes are great resources for attendees and work well as PR tools.

— ^ The anatomy of a sketchnote includes the title, typography, diagrams & drawings, handwriting, dividers, arrows, bullets, icons, containers, and signatures.

* NEXT: TYPES OF SKETCHNOTES

79

o r s^Msaov^ * fbio"ps

fcee]> IT s w f v e /

MeA^lM<SFUU To ^ O U

\T rxDesA^r TO

H A u u ^ c* e

I Sen- v o ^ \^ f i c ^ o * * ^ .

4 TOOLS

C A - p " T U 1 2 » M < 3

>ugt\. ( (ov/e pens,

you use c/oefh'-f

Get P e k l

I toe

became &ey f*>,

SoU4 b[oc<

of*', T JS8«» IMPROVISED -

SKETCH AM 061ECT f ^ J )

To MKE

It YODKS...

(tkic piece Cc m»R( OF 5rt illvfhfc-fa'on..)

C O

pt AY w«™

It P R O

k Dll D E M O N *

SKETCHIM © T 1 S AIRE A Bfl-ENI© gff P E R S O N A L STYLg A N D

T H E IDEAS YOU H E A R , A N A L Y Z E , A N D C A P T U R E , L E T ' S hOOKAT BLBWMNfS

S T Y L E WfTHTHfNK INdS , S T R O C T O UUa AH®

S K E T C H N O T I N G FOTTERlMSa

8f

STYLE PLUS THINKING Sketchnotes a r e b e a u t i f u l because o f t h e i r va r i e t y and persona l i ty . Each sketchnote is c r ea t ed in a d i s t inct , indiv idual s ty le , re f l ec t i ng t he person u/ho c rea te s i t .

BUT MORE t h a n j u s t s ty le , sketchnotes revea l t h e th ink ing processes o f t h e i r c r ea to r . Sketchnotes convey u/hat t h e person is hearing, hou/that person ana l yzes and processes i n f o rmat i on , and u/hat is most re levant in t h a t person ' s view.

® Collect CCapWre)^^ir^ l ?

* Desired Qukowe: v tggg! »K*\ow.wViy \'«a doiwg what atftl . # OUT OF H€At>. *» Have longer windows of focvs, «Jp D€C I D€ OUtCON€ &

line book. ^ ACTION* -nir nnANirrn/r *. % ORGANIZE R£MiND€RS THE PRODUCTIVE f R€\/ieW INV6NTCRY Of:

E X P E R I E N C E ^ Q '

tested

Vn'mcjs.

responding appropriately +c wUaf ite presented VsilVh awd'wen reiaxiwg

again

PSVChiC RAH j&sg-iv

DORE

Sunni Brown • Getting Things Done

BY LOOKING AT

SKETCHNOTES -

THEIR STYLE AND

STRUCTURE - / CAW

B£7T£ft UNDERSTAND

HOW THEIR AUTHOR THINKS.

B5

You may not ice t h a t many o f t h e sketchnotes in th i s book a r e beaut i fu l l y i l l u s t ra ted . P ro fe s s i ona l i l l u s t ra to r s and designers, u/ith year s o f v i sua l experience, have c r e a t e d them.

TEACHER

f M ^ - WCATJON

yl w * y r ro lbahn to ? L A y

' AN n » S 7 * , A i e , r , « e f ,

Yau t>QNT HAVE TQ„

J l» 'iHUtliH? Hum MllTitlllittM

* _T~_m ' OAWY ZLFMAv, HANS ZWHZ*, A\NX>...

mu ^CCAUSNBTAU CAN't ZBAP M S F C .

/no/ZE THAN THE N O U H S .

IBLE"

THE WTmWl CHANGES AccoRplf/e to

PEOPLE w& tOBBjBS

Know ^^^TBR IS.

lOvt cum-'"/ THE FORMULA

BbWORLD 2012

Gerren Lamson • BbWorld 2012

•II ' 5 >) + >> m\ 10-12, NEW ORLEANS, L A

IF YOU'RE NOT AN ARTIST, d o n ' t let these sketchnotes d i scourage you. Instead, look t o t hem f o r i n sp i ra t ion and ideas, and keep in mind t h a t y ou ' r e j u s t s t a r t i n g as a sketchnoter .

Wha teve r y o u r skil l level, be happy u/ith u/here y o u are. C r e a t e sketchnotes and have f u n , and u/ork t o improve y o u r skills.

The ART & STRUCTURE SCALE A helpful u/ay to keep your current skills in perspective is to vieu/ sketchnotes that progress across a continuum:

SIMPLE ARTWORK

GOOD ARTWORK

FANCY ARTWORK

c r 11, i i I i i SIMPLE FANCY

ISAAAAAMAAJMM IUM4AAAM4U4I

600D GOOD GOOD STRUCTURE STRUCTURE STRUCTURE

ALWAYS GOOD STRUCTURE REGARDLESS of ART QUALITY.

AT ONE END OF THE SCALE you ' l l see ideas r ep re sen ted as rough drawings by regu lar people. Even using simple drawings, these sketchnotes use s t r u c t u r e t o c ap tu r e

ideas e f f ec t i ve l y on t h e page.

AT THE OTHER END you ' l l see b e a u t i f u l i l l u s t rat ions c r e a t e d by exper ienced

profess ionals . A l though t he a r t may be more refined, t h e key t o a sketchnote is a logical o r gan i za t i on t h a t

makes sense and cap tu re s t he ideas.

THINK OF

G O O D STRUCTURE asW[ BAT and

P O T A T O E S , AND FANCY ARTas the

GRAVY ON TOP.

SKETCHNOTING P A T T E R N S In t h e lost f i ve yea r s IVe reviewed many sketchnotes and have f o u n d t h a t most f a l l i n to a feu/ pa t te rn s :

LINEAR

PATH

RADIAL

MODULAR

VERTICAL

SKYSCRAPER

POPCORN

90

LINEAR Following t h e p a t t e r n o f a p r i n t ed book, t h e l inear sketchnote f o r m a t shows i n f o rma t i on diagonal ly f r o m the t o p l e f t t o t h e bo t tom r ight o f a page o r sp read o f tu/o pages.

GEOFFRCt

c>f H K e V> h txcJ.

VV voOS vvse!

f A^FUL' U»r4jrja ^ be OM&i€*\ai clicks trvwf

ait* ~

£^;e^c* Was clecix trxe ck

Wave Wx<* ^ ^ A ^ e ^ ^ T . v i

Matt Ba/ara • Oz IA 200f

91

THE LINEAR PATTERN is w h a t I t yp ica l l y use f o r my sketchnotes f o r t w o reasons: I like t h e s t o r y - l i ke , l inear f l o w o f i n f o rma t i on on t h e page, and i t u/orks wel l in t h e t w o - p a g e spreads I use in ha rdcover sketchbooks.

mrnmm 10 11 IZ fflfflEHBE

<3efc S t o W ^ ™ WebTgpograpto

t y p o g r a p h y » f

V V j ^ W v A jjew life. 1

5 W E B DES IGN 5 ^ 1 m m TYPI A |£#ER

OTHER

• How wilt u$ets be *) affectecf btjijupe? J

F&ntS *s S H O E S :

TArial

(course AibS )

M/ke RoMe • SXSW/ntenact/ve 20/0

92

SKETCHNI0TIN6 in a l inear p a t t e r n f r ee s y ou t o use as many pages as needed t o c ap tu r e ideas. It 's also easy t o r ead , because i t f ollou/s s t a n d a r d book s t r u c t u r e t h a t ' s been used f o r hundreds o f years .

JUST DONT RUN OUT OF PA6ES!

ration

m R N M P E O P L E H * V E tJQNE 5 I D E P R O J E C T S %y SDHlE

HAVE mAtie

j

t o o :

rnutH -

Gerren Lamson • SXSW Interactive 2011

HOWEVER, t h e r ig id f l o w o f l inear sketchnotes can l imit l ayout opt ions, u/hereas t h e f r e e - f o r m r ad i a l s ketchnote p a t t e r n , d i scussed next, provides more f lex ib i l i ty .

FIROftOUTOf SCHOOL WAS AT

11$ CRITICAL 4 4 4 4-

W # M T l Atfc I I I 1+M VI\TH IHTENTlOltT liffiKaSSEK

%M I P | J [ PROBLEMS §f

mm BOOK DESIGN NEEDS T& BE

Carolyn Sewelt • TypeCon 2011

RADIAL The r ad i a l p a t t e r n roughly f ollou/s t he s t r u c t u r e

o f a bicycle u/heel u/ith t he hub a t t he cen te r and

spokes r ad i a t i ng o u t w a r d .

The cente r o f a r ad i a l sketchnote may f e a t u r e t he name and d raw ing o f t he speaker o r speakers u/ho a re present ing ideas, o r t h e cen t ra l top ic .

THE CENTRAL HUB ESTABLISHES THE OVERALL CONCEPT, AND IDEAS CREATE A RADIATING PATTERN MOVING OUTWARD FROM THE CENTRAL HUB.

A RADIAL SKETCHNOTE doesn ' t have t o be a p e r f e c t c i rc le, and t h e hub doesn ' t need t o be in t h e cen te r o f t h e page. This p a t t e r n can appea r as an organic shape and s t i l l f o l l ow a hub-and- spoke s t r u c t u r e .

SYMMETRIC CIRCULAR and

EQUALIZED

ASYMMETRIC ORGANIC and

UNEQUAL

^ RADIAL SKETCHNOTE

THIS RADIAL SKETCHNOTE FEATURES THE SPEAKER'S NAME AND TALK TITLE AT THE TOP-LEFT CORNER.

Eva-Lotta Lamm • Jessica Hische

97

THIS RADIAL SKETCHNOTE EMPHASIZES THE CONFERENCE NAME AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE.

[DON NORMAN

Gooqle wank

U Life is qoincj -ft) geV fery

Table-hare add ma COKAPLEXITY

our pocket-

Google manH {joar real mm +z> Wok youracti'oHi |

People ^ x p e c T

4h^vsame actio W5

<mo\ btkowiour

on d (ffere^f devices

6NAOTI0N

bur what reditu a4ers \% -Hit,...

= i an *chanq in A patters

idT feedback "

Cka&qihfl pattern...

evtry ajpp is different

Twitter jusV

PLATFORM

3

ELt&ANCE MATTER?)

Ite experience tff

t M - SAfrW bounces1

-Jte. process «f Ipumuw music gV9Y J

AfliAion did

books... THEr &0TH THOUGHT*

mmm

AND

7 [ Amanda Wr/ght • dConstruct 2011

98

THE ADVANTAGE o f a r ad i a l f o r m a t is t he f r e e d o m t o add i n f o rma t i on wherever i t f i t s in an o u t e r spoke.

Because al l o f t h e spokes a r e connected t o t he cen t r a l hub, clocku/ise, counterc lockwise, o r rar\dom p a t t e rn s can u/ork u/ell u/ith t h e r ad i a l sketchnote f o r m a t .

R a d i a l s k e t c h n o t e s c a n

s o m e t i m e s m a k e a r e a d e r

w o r k a b i t h a r d e r t o

c o m p r e h e n d t h e p a t t e r n

o f i d e a s , b e c a u s e t h e

i n f o r m a t i o n i s s t r u c t u r e d

i n a complex, n o n l i n e a r w a y .

VERTICAL Simi lar t o a l inear p a t t e r n , ver t i ca l sketchnotes present i n f o rma t i on in a single f low, f r o m t he t o p t o t he bo t tom o f t he page.

TOPIC I tic*******

STARTS

THIS PATTERN can be handy because i t allou/s y o u t o cont inue adding i n f o r m a t i o n vert ica l ly , as needed. The ver t i ca l p a t t e r n also provides a c lear d i r ec t i on and s t r u c t u r e f o r a r e a d e r t o follou/.

HOWEVER, LIKE THE

THE VERTICAL PATTERN CAN LIMIT LAYOUT

BE ONLY AS L0N6 AS THE VERTICAL HEI6HTOFYOUR

APFS CANVAS.

100

- r a & u s p -far ffe&oor: Musr vSowe * f * o € i & *

<W fix A fiW HIGH 8A6fcieGS*

« M * 6 S T I T

•THE BUSINESS MODEL

p'_ , , | 1 m i 1*1 J

Q U I C K sftues

^ ^ ^ ^

t H 6 D E A U

DEVELOP AN A S S E T

WHAT

LOOK FoR.

(T)"ChiVSP & genre **ateA#e

\ *M is 6 j T IT

-THE BUSINESS MODEL

NoT ctfm- INTENSE

H»* t, fc -ft

DcveuoP AH ASSET*

PRODUCT COMei)bo& PASSION

VENICE

Chris Shipton • Ange/ /nvestors

101

# £ '"•SUMS":

& 2 .

Cossfe McDaniel • eHealth 20/2

102

HEALTH 2012. IIKTHQPI/CTIOJ/J

IF yocCAMT

IMNlOVAT

VOLATILITY UNCERTAINTY

COMPLEXITY

AfABlGUlTy

TOO WUCH WAITIN© T:il A SILV&R, <

Too MUCH COST... WATSON CAN

PATH The pa th sketchnote p a t t e r n c reates a pa th o f i n f o rma t i on across t he page vert ica l ly , hor i zonta l l y , o r diagonally. The pa th p a t t e r n can appea r as a z i gzag , c-shape, u/-shape, o r any organic pa th shape y o u can imagine.

Z-Shape Path C-Shape Path

W-Shape Path Organic Path

USING A PATH PATTERN can be p e r f e c t f o r tel l ing abou t an event o r t hough t process using a ser ies o f s teps t h a t work u/ell u/hen fo l lowing an organic shape.

wmm is THE-]

7 c Bauke Schildt • Ton Zijlstra

PATH PATTERNS do requ i re a l i t t le planning, and i f t h e i n f o rma t i on y ou ' r e sketchnot ing is more extensive t h a n you ' ve planned f o r , y ou may run ou t o f room.

105

MODULAR The modular p a t t e r n div ides a single page o r sp read o f pages into d i s t i nc t regions o r modules. Each module holds s epa ra te bits o f i n f o rma t i on o r d i f f e r e n t speakers u/ithin a larger event.

j - V S R S U S - P

ILMkMNG!]

; IH UlliiiHili Until jfSAW /#M£ Wj*^'

<TW:I w^yr TO LEAP.N TO PLAY

AN XNSTAUA^TV an av j w W T

TO pity AM ware ^ u s i c ?

PMT/1L(BL0P£RW^ BUT You POt/Vtf/IVZ TQ„. RBALlyt

— OR LMJU * r<? pwy ntg cgao:.-r*a vie,

ORiGiNALLy 26 5~reZL PS

tnofiLB THAU THE N O U H S .

M/VA/y ZLfMAfi, HANS ZftfrtEK, ANf>...

LOVE < - f t £ S o u ^ f u t w e S 5 + N E f ^ K s fr/$ 3

Itf SCf|0MS, WHOSE JW MMftff OFfjpRomjjMo fEEMEM T/lf INTOWE CHANGES A C C O R D S TO

X THE NGSO * T HAf/O.*

miE" < 0 ^VT> <F=*5 T P S

Kruno arfee ££7Tg Jj,

\fUJLBIKS -*W

BbWOPLD2012 ,11 • J )) + >> JULY 10-12, NEW ORLEANS, LA

Gerren Lamson • BbWorM 20/2

«rh» l i p w INN®VATI®N n o t ^

cit.a op H»a:iMfr woo; A x

REINVENT! Nfr f

• 1

HAM us rrfix Qocp.

/Ac

Results

PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY LEAST AMOUNT oF EFFORT WlrrH- MOST

VAtMgJ IN ££TU£N.

SAVINtV yoH AT ETXPfNSe

OF COMPANY

SAVING NOU

S AMP COMfANi.

• expose FI206LFMS TP

WAT

^ 'ATTACK: F P * ftf ff'

HAT ^ P T H C T S .

HAC [Nf • Y> N O T M £ W .

'IS (TPeHLV EM82AC-IMcr l r AS SOLUTlotvi

ID k BMSIME^S '5

• 16 HOT TUST FD*

Marichief & Dan Boudwin • Hacking Work

A MODULAR PATTERN can u/ork u/ell if your goal is to organize information in a grid-like pattern or if you have many presentations to capture in a limited area.

S i r © ,-, -[„•„„ ,-, - m

g § = ©

IDEA 1 ^ I PEA 2- Q

HOWEVER, U5IN6 MODULAR PATTERNS CAN LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION YOU CAN SKETCHNOTE, PARTICULARLY IF YOU'RE CAPTURING SEVERAL TALKS WITHIN A SINGLE MODULAR STRUCTURE.

Avoid running out of room u/ith a modular sketchnote by establishing the module spaces before you begin. You can base them on the number of speakers or topics being covered at the event.

MAIN T A L K

1 2

3

D L -v f&wlw air « 5

(SPEECH Jfie&JVDcroc v — — U — \ j

(BJPOOIR jJKDIR TJ^TJTB d IE V "

7 Veronica Brb • /gwte DC 20//

109

SKYSCRAPER The skyscraper pattern is similar to the modular approach but divides the page into a series of tall, vertical panels, u/hich contain separate bits of information.

This pattern can work great for panel discussions u/here multiple people are speaking at different times.

TO CREATE A SKYSCRAPER SKETCHNOTE, use a vertical column for each speaker and add the person's name or portrait. When the panel discussion begins, simply add each person's comments into the appropriate column.

© & © TOH/sJ taA*x SUB

\\t

© & © TOHN tvXAW SUB

CiHJI tlUJi

Q*^Q C* P

I. Names & Faces 2. Capture comments 3. Fill out the page

MANAGING A SKYSCRAPER SKETCHNOTE Remember to pace yourself u/ith the limited space of a skyscraper sketchnote. Focus on the key phrases and words that are meaningful. Work on boiling down the idea you're hearing to its purest essence.

SKYSCRAPER SKETCHNOTES, LIKE OTHER TIGHTLY STRUCTURED PATTERNS, HAVE THE DISADVANTAGE OF LIMITED SPACE, REQUIRING MORE SELECTIVE QUOTE CAPTURE.

111

THE FUTURE oF M L STORSTEIillllE

hue A\rrtvi(

TIL tt>o\str r —

{SCMA^C*,

AVI

AT* ctAtAiN

A

TH€ &AANt>

A pewo

—

\fo*f*TftioAj RU TKUKuEQAloAn

-fittstt A I;NCA^-A/Ait nve

l tine snriMd I S A C * A N *

> 3

CHOOSE *iR ouiiu RQUWITU^C

SB

g g O D Q , OB Qa a 0 |

Tile rwrsi*AtY*vr I

Aust/n Kieon • SXSW/nteract/Ve 200?

POPCORN The popcorn pattern has the flexibility of placing information you're capturing in a free, r<xr\don\ pattern. The topic, speaker name, and information tidbits can appear anywhere on the page.

M L

ton

3

Timothy J . Reynolds • Caro/ Schwartz

113

Alexis Finch • Jennifer Sisson

m

WITH THE POPCORN PATTERN, there is more emphasis on capturing information and less emphasis on placing it in a specific location. This approach can focus your mind on seizing ideas u/ithout u/orry ing so much about their placement.

%9& WBAI SMITH

HOWEVER, THE RANDOM ARRANGEMENT OF THE FREE-FORM POPCORN PATTERN CAN MAKE YOUR SKETCHNOTE MORE DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW BECAUSE OF THE HAPHAZARD PLACEMENT OF INFORMATION.

115

PATTERNS ARE STARTING POINTS

The patterns I've described are just some of the main ways you can structure your sketchnotes.

These seven are starting points to help kick-start your sketchnoting skills.

TRY OUT EACH PATTERN TO FIND YOUR FAVORITES AND TO SUIT PARTICULAR

SITUATIONS. EXPERIMENT, MIX, MATCH, AND DEVELOP YOUR OWN PATTERNS.

116

R E C A P o o *

Sketchnotes blend style and thinking, expressing the creator's personality.

— ^ If you're not an artist, use professionally illustrated sketchnotes as a model to inspire your own sketchnotes.

m ^ Always sketchnote with good structure regardless of your artistic skills.

— ^ Even if you're just starting to draw, you can make great sketchnotes with simple drawings and a good framework.

— ^ The seven common sketchnoting patterns are Linear, Radial, Vertical, Path, Modular, Skyscraper, and Popcorn.

Each pattern has benefits and drawbacks. Try each one to learn how different patterns work in different situations.

* NEXT: SKETCHNOTING APPROACHES, HIERARCHY, AND PERSONALIZATION

117

MATTHEW

MAGAIN

\ I DREW A LOT AS A KID, BUT BECAME A SOFTWARE ENGINEER AND

mm oaaolacio

/0000/02Q aoaa ODH

pauamm QQQQlwn

DDDQjDDQ

onoaanl

MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA

& IGNORED a yxP Mr VISUAL

^ IKIES FOR ft FEW YEARS.

C O N S U L T I N G

COMPANY BEFORE IT

TRAVEL R E I G I T O MY PASSION FOR DESIGN

CLOUD

star MASTER SKETCHING COMMON WORDS USED IN PRESENTATIONS.

P R A C T I C E Blf WATCHING

RECORDINGS

FOR

ON

com

AIM

\ C U R A

NOT COMPLETENESS

? FOCUS ~

.org

I ON WHAT RESONATES WITH YOU,

44

YOU'RE CHEATING

A MEMENTO NOT A

REFERENCE

@ \ MICH/tfL FROM Microsoft I ALSO WROTE ILLUSTRATE SAW MY SKETCHNOTES, AM) HE A CHILDREN'S BOOK ABOUT A

ASKED ME TO L IVE-SKETCHME THE MATHEMATICIAN WHO ATTEMPTS REMIX 2011 KEYNOTE ON A W 1 « CANVAS SOLO FLIGHT $mwvmmmum

IN FRONT OF 500 PEOPLE

n IT WAS PRETTY" AWESOME!

icouM

/ •••a

mum

(mi

Q

WES I&N '

A GAME SDK

HOSTESS READ

A PAGE OUT ON NATIONAL

W A T C H T H E C L O C K » M e g g / f l f r / ^ - f y p E ^ ) . . i n / / .

IF THE TALK IS HALFWAY DONE AND YOU HAVENT FILLED HALF THE PAGE,

:>t/UHT:

QWieT.

TO

^Jwatf/wcj

ON THE WE&:

.Com

THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO CAPTURING

SKETCHNOTES

REAL-TIME SKETCHNOTES

TWO-STAGE SKETCHNOTES

BOTH APPROACHES emphasize the use of visual elements and stress the importance of baking personality into your sketchnotes.

REAL-TIME SKETCHNOTING I, and many other sketchnoters, create sketchnotes live and in real time. When Km u/orking in the moment, I'm focused, tuned into the speaker, listening for big ideas, and synthesizing and converting u/hat I'm hearing into visual notes.

SKETCHNOTING LIVE IS LIKE TAKIN6 NOTES TRADITIONALLY, EXCEPT YOU'RE ADDIN6 A WHOLE TOOLBOX OF VISUAL ELEMENTS TO YOUR NOTES, LIKE THESE: • TYPOGRAPHY • DIAGRAMS • BULLETS • DRAWINGS • DIVIDERS • ICONS • HANDWRITING • ARROWS • CONTAINERS

Working in real time means you're listening for big ideas as *» you work.

KEEP

REAL-TIME SKETCHNOTING is not as hard as it way sound. It does wean you must be fully engaged in the presentation to decide u/hat key information

is u/orth capturing and u/hat isn't. TOSS

LIVE SKETCHNOTING IS A PRACTICE THAT IMPROVES WITH REPETITION. THE MORE YOU DO IT, THE BETTER

YOUR LISTENING SKILLS, PATTERN RECOGNITION, AND DRAWING SKILLS WILL GET.

TWO-STAGE SKETCHNOTING Some sketchnoters use the second approach and create their notes in two stages — capturing rough sketchnotes first and then enhancing or re-creating them at ft later time.

0 TWO-STAGE, PENCIL TO INK APPROACH This first variation of the tu/o-stage approach to sketchnoting begins u/ith real-time sketchnotes captured in pencil instead of ink.

At a later time, the sketchnoter inks over the original pencil lines, fine-tuning them and adding detail. This is ft good time to add color u/ith markers, pencil, or paint.

WITH THE PENCIL TO INK APPROACH, you're u/orking through your ideas tu/ice, u/hich means

they are reinforced in your memory.

You're still capturing notes in realtime, but you have the additional task of inking every pencil line again to

complete your sketchnotes.

PENCILING SKETCHNOTES

MAY LET YOU CORRECT ERRORS,

BUT IT CAN ALSO TAKE

TWICE AS MUCH TIME

AS CREATING REAL-TIME,

INKED SKETCHNOTES.

veiled Sketchnote

Alexis

129

U TWO-STAGE, ROUGH TO REFINED APPROACH A second variation of the tu/o-stage sketchnoting approach uses rough notes of text and visual elements, u/hich are redrawn as final sketchnotes at a later time.

This approach puts less emphasis on making perfect sketchnotes on the spot. For some, this may be a good u/ay to ease into sketchnoting.

YOU ARE PROCESSING NOTES TWICE, u/hich may help your comprehension. Hou/ever, like the pencil to ink method, this approach u/ill likely take tu/ice as much time as creating real-time, inked sketchnotes.

I 1 REAL-TIME SKETCHNOTING

TWO-STAGE SKETCHNOTING

O (HOUR. 2 HOURS

IT'S OK TO EXPERIMENT u/ith tu/o-stage sketchnoting if you're concerned about mistakes or you want to explore sketchnoting at a slower pace. But don't get stuck there. Real-time sketchnoting u/ith ink is easier than you may think.

131

•

HOWEVER YOU CREATE SKETCHNOTES,

remember: . . .

i

1

i

ITS AN ACTIVE PRACTICE

1

132

SKETCHNOTING IS SOMETHING

YOU DO. •

(

\

CREATING A HIERARCHY When you create sketchnotes, one of your key tasks is to construct ft logical hierarchy of information. Defining a hierarchy helps you, and others reading your sketchnotes, to understand the importance of the information you've captured.

SPEAKER NAME and topic name set the overall context

HEADLINES describe the broad subtopics.

SUBHEADS add detail to the headline's meaning

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT adds more detail.

BULLET POINTS separate and define detail.

133

HIERARCHY IN ACTION: I use ft variety of elements to indicate u/hich bits of

information are key points in a sketchnote hierarchy.

The top level In the hierarchy is the speaker's

name and title. Descriptive text

establishes the talk.

The drawing of a couch emphasizes point no. I.

U E A T> E 5 ft I P

1 waij b£ ik ciiwje.'< ~bi/f l '+tutte A l l

Numbering of the points offers a clear hierarchy.

I'M vfw - but €w*-h'at*(

*THINik AS+UOV^U Yc^A^B

—>A Se/fksS/'trrzvsd ^4

N N[F W E G E T b&ffev CUSTOMERS W1UU-dm<\w{ we GET BI&<W - TRVETT CATHf

\ 3^

A main point is captured as a quote using larger type.

An asterisk provides emphasis to the detail under item no. I.

An arrow provides contrasting emphasis

to the detail under item no. 2.

134

ELEMENTS OF HIERARCHY To help guide the reader's eye through the flow of your sketchnotes, here are some handy elements you can use to emphasize hierarchy.

Bold Type •Bold t y p e he lps d r a w t h e eye t o i m p o r t a n t ideas .

ALL CAPS -Us ing A L L C A P S is a n o t n e r u/ay t o b r i ng a t t e n t i o n t o i m p o r t a n t ideas .

1. The First Concept 2. The Second Concept

a. First sub item b. Second sub item

- N u m b e r s work u/ell f o r p rov i d i ng a m o r e s t r u c t u r e d h i e r a r c h y .

Icons a r e g r e a t f o r ma r k i n g key ideas on t h e i r ou/n o r in b u l l e t e d l i s t s .

135

PERSONALIZATION Sketchnotes are personal. When you're hearing and processing ideas, your opinion naturally comes into play.

Your personality determines the decisions you make about

which ideas to capture and what those ideas mean to you.

IN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING, the interpreter is charged u/ith staying neutral, passing along exactly u/hat is said by the speaker — nothing more and nothing less.

Sketchnotes don't have to be neutral. In fact, personal opinions expressed and embedded in sketchnotes < are intriguing, because | they reveal what the | sketchnoter was hearing and thinking during the creation process.

PERSONALIZATION TIPS Here are a feu/ ideas for injecting your personality into the sketchnotes you create:

! ) COMMENTARY If you agree, or better yet, if you disagree u/ith an idea, capture your thoughts.

Opinions embedded in your sketchnotes can become a handy reference for remembering those

thoughts later on.

( § ) HUMOR If you find something that you hear funny, share your thoughts in context u/ith the idea. Include humorous people, cartoon characters, or objects along u/ith your humorous comments. Have fun!

WHIMSY Experiment u/ith the style of type and elements you use as you sketchnote. You might use flourished script text and unusually shaped containers or icons; play u/ith graphical elements like su/irls, lines, or stars to emphasize ideas.

IP

T O *>se

O,

Mark Monlux-lFVP 20(2

139

p

lcti»e2008

140

R E C A P o D *

Real-time sketchnoting focuses on capturing the big, relevant ideas you hear.

— ^ Two-stage sketchnoting combines notes that are captured in a rough form first, and are either refined or re-created later on.

o - ^ Sketchnoting is founded on traditional note taking, but adds more detail through type, drawings, and other visual elements.

—> Practice and repetition improve your real-time sketchnoting skills.

— ^ Use hierarchy and personalization to make sketchnotes unique and interesting.

Sketchnotes don't have to be neutral. Opinion, humor, and whimsy are great ways to personalize your sketchnotes.

* NEXT: SKETCHNOTING SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES

4v c t, 4^ OJAXj h U ^ y \ s ^

-fir <K Sor^

f : 7—:—

I \ *.L ' /TO

^,SVT NOT tessr: si^g.

blG DMA

C O M P U T I N G

PART O F A W&s W S f l i ^ r

WITH T> veu>Pe s & S C I E N T I S T S , n o /i U>T O F

DeSICM & 1D00PMM6 1 R « : < * \ " * » « « * *

F_ARUY I N ( 2 0 1 0 ) 1 S A T N W T O • • % TALKS

UoTTA

1

S U N N

so THeN r

INTO MAWNiG SKETCHNOTES

1 STARTED Tt> TttlMK A&?UT DesitM ^ UAyovjT IN MS I CS

b INFORMAT ION

A HUMOUR 1

1 GlUKDUAUU/ BCcAl e rMO^e CoMF lD6NT AND STAKED SKeOHi^ A M*T- - •

$0 I SB£f\ *ro

LOTS of

T E / T

o f course,

It C A N £ € -hpV Irf 4rMt> TO ; iwiNK-of • >^WJ+AT Tt>

r t N S X c P i l f t R

pens F»«k>M \ N \ U J I ( —

i LLusTrVrre

C O N C E P T S

TIPS fb^

SKercW0T6S A * £ A L L ABOUT o^sw/moM ANO • • • IFTHey T A L K TOO

FA5T , VOU JU5T IAAV6

TO F A S T E R 1 .

You Ne&l>

-tHe^ARS

illllllllllllllllliiwiirniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.iiiiiiiirh

PILOT ^ S l £ N P-8NS

oNg, o£ JUST sKercM-TV^ A-wieMCE.'

cHeefAH

( N O T A feMQU)

THINK ASO\RR SRFCUCRUPE

AWT> USE AMY CUE?

You CAW AT>D couooA- 2C SHAPING LATER.• rr'>

TDM&OW T>UAL

( T H W K S , EVA -U-cTTA: \ )

HARKT> - FCACK

NOTEFEOOKS

T H I N G TO L E A N ON

ttt>wves Nve MUTTS

S T J W A New p-AGe ^V)Srt fbg. A S M A L L 5|T

OF sK-eTcHiKiG

CO I ' M PK-OVD W H E N Pespue use ^•SKSTCHNOTES I've M A P E

•BEING, INVITCD-••.

A 6

•TO MAlce Notes

7 FKA^oco fY I

t>RAte/BATCMWs»' SAN&ElUMSTnvTE!

^—|*GET IN TOUCHT^

U3 © E l

SO FAR YOU'VE LEARNED: El What sketchnotes are El Why you should create them El How to create sketchnotes El How to personalize sketchnotes

SKILLS & TECHNIQUES In this chapter, you'll learn:

How to draw using the five basic shapes How to draw people simply and quickly How to draw faces and expressions How to create four different typefaces

•> How to improve your penmanship How to draw various visual elements

-} How to build your mind's visual library Which tools to use for sketchnoting

+ Tips for sharing your sketchnotes

BEFORE YOU LEARN TO DRAW VISUAL ELEMENTS remember that sketchnotes are about capturing and sharing

ideas, not art. Even bad drau/ings can convey good ideas.

»* • • .«

if you're not an artist or feel you can't draw well,

YOU CAN CREATE

SKETCHNOTES! The f ollou/ing exercises are designed to help you st^rt

slowly and build on your successes. You can do it!

THAT'S RI6HT! You can draw pretty much anything you can imagine u/ith just five basic drawing elements.

The FIVE BASIC DRAWING ELEMENTS:

THIS SIMPLER WAY of creating images is often a relief for non-artists who want to add drawings to their sketchnotes but think they can't draw.

FOR THE IDEA-FOCUSED DRAWINGS you u/ant to add to sketchnotes, drau/ing complex ideas by building them u/ith simple squares, triangles, circles, lines, and dots is a handy technique. Can you spot the five elements in each of the f ollou/ing figures?

House C a r i Phone B o o k

E a r t h S a t e l l i t e R a d i o TV

C a t Dog L i g h t s a b e r R o b o t

r

i

RATHER THAN CREATE

museum-quality

ILLUSTRATIONS,

focus INSTEAD on QUICKLY CREATING j SIMPLE DRAWINGS

of the IDEAS IN YOUR HEAD ,

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

using the 5 bask elements. '

O A - -i

j

COMPARE THESE 10 ITEMS 5 FANCY ILLUSTRATIONS 5 SIMPLE DRAWINGS

L a p t o p

Pie C h a r t

>

W o m a n

M i

V

T r e e

B o o k

W o m ^ n

L a p t o p

Pie C h a r t

— — 1

SSST

B o o k

Fancy illustrations by Greg Newman Simple drawings by Mike Rohde

FANCY ILLUSTRATIONS AND SIMPLE DRAWINGS convey the same ideas, but simpler drawings are quicker to create.

When you're u/orking live, speed and effectiveness are critical.

FIVE BASIC ELEMENTS Exercise Now it's time for you to dr<kw\ In the grid below, use the five basic elements—square, circle, triangle, line, and dot—to create drawings of each word in the grid. If you get stuck, skip to the next word.

H O U S E C A R C L O C K B O O K

L A P T O P C O F F E E M U G B O A T I G L O O

C A T D O G T R U C K T R A I N

T R A C T O R L I G H T B U L B E A R T H S A T U R N

M O U N T A I N T R E E H A M M E R W R E N C H

F I S H B I R D B U G R O B O T

F L A S H L I G H T C A M E R A S U B M A R I N E S A N D W I C H

H E A D P H O N E S M I L K J U G B A T T E R Y T V

D V D T V R E M O T E M 1 N I V A N B I K E

B A S E B A L L C A P T - S H I R T S H O E S T R A S H C A N

H A M B U R G E R P E N P E N C I L W A T C H

DRAWING PEOPLE Drau/ing people quickly is <* great skill to learn. There are many u/ays to draw people — I'll show you the two quickest ways.

THE STAR METHOD This method is used by professional graphic recorders for its speed and simplicity. Follow these four easy steps:

0 Draw the head @ Draw a star-shaped body

Complete the

Q Add faces, hair, clothes, etc.

156

THE GRAY METHOD Dave Gray taught me another u/ay of drawing people using a rectangle, an oval, and several lines. I love this way of drawing people because it's quick and allows for embellishment if I have extra time. Follow these six easy steps:

o

©

Draw a Body Start by drau/ing the person's body as a rectangle, u/hich can be straight up and down for a formal pose or at any angle for an active pose. The position of this rectangle sets much of the body's attitude and direction.

Draw a Neck Next, drau/ a neck as a line at the top of the rectangle. Keep the neck short.

Draw a Head Drau/ a head as a circle or an oval at the top of the neck line. Make sure there is enough room inside the head for a face.

156

Q Draw Legs Using lines, add legs to the body because legs suggest the body's gesture more clearly than arms. Bend the legs at the knees as needed. Use simple lines for the feet.

Draw Arms Next, draw arms in relation to the rest of the body, bending at the elbou/s. A simple line u/orks well for hands.

Q Draw a Face Finally, use simple lines and dots to draw eyes, a nose, and a mouth. For the nose, a simple line works well and can be pointed in the direction your person is looking.

j k EMBELLISH! Have fun adding more details to your person once the basic structure has been created.

DRAWING PEOPLE Exercise In the grid belou/, use the Gray Method to draw people. IVe u/ritten some suggestions in the open grids to challenge you a bit. Try adding clothes, shoes, hats, and other details — have fun!

S T

I A N D I

F\

N G

1 R U N N I N G

W A L K I N G J U M P I N G

160

S I T T I N G O N T H E P H O N E D A N C I N G

D A D & S O N W A L K I N G B A C K P A C K E R R E A D I N G A B O O K

T E N N I S P L A Y E R K U N G F U M A S T E R M A S T E R C H E F

DRAWING FACES My friend Austin Kleon has a u/ay of drau/ing faces using a feu/ straight and curved lines for eyebrou/s and mouths, a triangular nose, and dots for eyes. Using these elements in a bingo grid, you can quickly create nine different facial expressions:

EYEBROWS

I

It Or

162

-

DRAWING FACES Exercise Now it's your turn to create faces using Austin's approach:

Next, try that same technique on some bUnk faces:

163

DRAW MORE FACES Exercise How it's time to create more faces. IVe provided a feu; eye and mouth options, but feel free to make up your ou/n.

EYES M O U T H S

* r ^ M

BIFF B U F F Y

T E X F R E D

BOB F R A N Kl E

M O Z Z Y

B I A N C A

WHAT OTHfff FACIAL

EXPRESSIONS

CREATE?

DRAWING TYPE A great u/ay to immediately improve your plain text notes is to emphasize words u/ith hand-drau/n typography. In fact, you can create bolder or larger letterf orms by hand in four easy u/ays:

SINGLE-LINE LETTERING Using a single line, these clean headlines can drau/ attention to a section you'd like to emphasize in your sketchnotes. Plus, drau/ing single-line lettering is easy and quick.

Lflrge Lettering

A l l caps, sm^l l , s ing le- l ine l e t t e r s Uppercase a n d l owerca se s ing le- l ine

a r e g r e a t f o r es tab l i sh ing l e t t e r i n g is espec ia l ly e f f e c t i v e u/hen

sec t ions u/ithin a s ke tchno te . u sed f o r headl ines.

WHEN DRAWING TYPE, JUST RELAX, AND

LET THE LETTERS FLOW ONTO THE PAGE.

When creating single-line lettering, slow down and deliberately create each character:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N C The great thing about learning the single-line type method is that many of these type creation methods are based on it.

TWO-LINE LETTERING By drawing two lines in parallel, you can create bolder type. You can also draw the type as a single line, adding a second line next to it.

Next, you can close the ends of each character with a small line, and then fill in the gap with ink for bold, black letters

DRAW YOUR LETTERS WITH CONFIDENCE NEVER HURRY.

TRIPLE-LINE LETTERING This bold lettering style begins u/ith a single-lined letter, and then tu/o lines are <^dded on either side of the center line.

As u/ith tu/o-line lettering, you can close the ends of each character u/ith a sm ll line, and then fill in the gap u/ith ink for very bold, bl<\ck letters.

START SIMPLE & BUILD UP Using the single-line lettering method allou/s you to quickly convert your letters to tu/o- or triple-line lettering, simply by adding more lines, even at a later time.

k A l l t h r e e o f t he se l e t t e r i n g methods s t a r t t h e same u/ay

BLOCK LETTERING The block lettering approach requires a little more practice, skill, and time. When used properly, block lettering is a nice u/ay to create a strong impression. Block lettering u/orks u/ell on title pages or u/hen you u/ant to emphasize a key point.

A A

I

Regu la r block D r o p s h a d o w l e t t e r i n g a d d e d

WITH ALL of these hand-drawn lettering approaches, you may need to start the first feu/ letters and leave the rest for later. This is fine— just remember to finish the u/ords you've started drau/ing u/hen the sketchnote is completed.

S P E E D Y 1 > S P E E D Y H E A D L J H E & D L O N E

S t a r t e d bu t incomplete C o m p l e t e d a t a l a t e r time

f DRAWING TYPE Exercise Practicing hand-lettering techniques u/ill help you quickly create type for your sketchnotes in a meeting. Use these pages to practice creating single-line, tu/o-line, triple-line, and block lettering.

S I N G L E - L I N E L E T T E R I N G :

A B C a b c

T W O - L I N E L E T T E R I N G :

A B C ^ b e

•

T R I P L E - L I N E L E T T E R I N G

PENMANSHIP Although large typographic elements work great for highlighting sections and ideas, you'll still need legible handwriting to capture detailed ideas in your sketchnotes.

10 YEARS A601 wrote only in ALL CAPS block letters after abandoning lowercase handwriting. It took me months of practicing lowercase letter writing to get comfortable with it again. So, if your handwriting is rough and illegible, you can change it! Just take it slow and keep working on it.

AIX CAPS LETTERING W A S T H B NOF=N\

M y o ld A L L C A P S h a n d w r i t i n g M y l owerca se h a n d w r i t i n g

j

MIKE'S PENMANSHIP TIPS: Here are a few tips that help me u/hen I need clear, legible u/riting:

Q Practice Just a few minutes a day does the trick.

Q Slow Down Focus on each letter, one at a time. Don't rush!

Q Relax Loosen your grip and relax your arm tension as you write.

r DRAWING VISUAL ELEMENTS Visual elements add interest to your sketchnotes and can be a variety of shapes and sizes. Here are a feu; you may find useful to learn as part of your practice routines:

m

VI X >

0

BUILD A VISUAL LIBRARY As you learn and practice drawing all the visual elements you've explored in this chapter, you're actually building a visual library of items.

Learning these techniques is a great u/ay to add selections to your visual library. Another activity is to challenge yourself to draw items from memory when you have some downtime.

ft 0 2 n m

Ml

I x

© Z

0

! O

51 FOR EXAMPLE, using the exercise sheets in this chapter, use your memory and drau/ objects from your kitchen and office. Imagine your toaster, coffee maker, computer, or stapler, and draw it.

Push your mind to think of small, obscure items and draw each one in the book using the five basic drawing elements. This visual exercise challenges you to imagine things in your mind's eye and then draw them as simple objects.

KEEP PRACTICING Once you've filled the visual library exercises in this book, keep your mind in practice by creating new visual library objects using blank sheets of paper, sticky notes, a pocket notebook — even the back of junk mail envelopes.

176

with a WELL-STOCKED

VISUAL LIBRARY

. IN YOUR MEMORY,

drawing ideas and objects

BECOMES EASIER.

VISUAL LIBRARY Exercise: Kitchen In the grid below, draw as many items from your kitchen from memory as you can recall. Remember to use the five basic elements to drau; the images you're seeing in your head.

178

179

J

VISUAL LIBRARY Exercise: Office In the grid below, draw as many items from your office from memory as you can recall. Remember to use the five basic elements to draw the images you're seeing in your head.

P I

180

DRAWING METAPHORS Metaphors are figures of speech that use the attributes of a known idea to describe another, apparently unrelated idea. Good metaphors lean on vivid imagery.

METAPHORS SHOULD BE BOLD & FUNNY The most successful metaphors IVe captured as sketchnotes have been bold and a bit over the top. I like to use humorous ideas for drawn metaphors because funny images are surprising and more likely to stick in your head.

WORLD PEACE WORLD WIDE WEB BUCKET LISTS

THE KEY TO CREATING METAPHORS Let your imagination have free rein u/hen you're sketching metaphors. Don't be afraid to use crazy, silly, or wild

drau/ings for your metaphors. The most absurd drau/ings I've created for sketchnotes are often the most memorable.

JOHN LOST HIS HEAD TIME FLIES HOTHEAD

Seek out the

S ILL IEST, I R A Z I E S T WILDEST

THE MOST BIZARRE IDEAS

r TOOLS for SKETCHNOTING Any paper or notebook, pencil or pen u/ill u/ork just fine for sketchnoting. Hou/ever, there are pens and papers that u/ork better for some than others.

I use pocket-sized Moleskine sketchbooks because they're small and can take a beating in my pocket or backpack.

A Moleskine 's tu/o-page sp reads work u/ell f o r t h e l inear sketchnotes I c reate . Here ' s a sample:

w h a t ' s t h e c / * e t o » a 4 ?

Warren

T O S W A I Type: H O T

THC i£A5ug«f MOVABLE i

i T Y P E 1 1 ' T V p e k l T / C ^ r ^ H / S l F R C S S 3 / FONT STACKING

S l M P i SlfeRS TO

Design rV^*S 1 Content! ii

13-

PATT£RNTAP.S©MS' SAMPLES v$e£* ihrfeftF^pr i fom*

PtXMS on § Q Q P

M/ke Ro/i<te • SXSW/nteractiVe 2010

MY STYLE f e a t u r e s h i gh -cont ras t , b l ack -and -wh i te t ypog raphy and drawings, so I use a bold, 0.7mm gel pen.

M y Pente (EnerGe( 0.7mm gel pen.

OTHER NOTEBOOK & PEN OPTIONS Some sketchnoter s p r e f e r s qua re o r s p i r a l notebooks. Other s use f i n e r black lines as a base and then amp l i f y t h e i r sketchnotes a f t e r w a r d u/ith co lo red markers, co lo red pencils, o r even u/atercolor pa ints .

SPIRAL-BOUND SKETCHBOOK

f PON NOR, (g>

2AN

| TtfUefi aft

Hetto «^ Nom<

J t e x t -text...

&aP6*l£NC6 » Tw*trj«r"

ELE6ANCE MATTERS * W S B & «

•to* same ft* book... MTU TtiOU6tiT,""

\ You can f i n d a u/ide v a r i e t y o f p a p e r t y p e s in s p i r a l no tebooks t o handle ink, marker s , a n d even u/atercolor pa in t .

Sp i r a l no tebooks a r e g r e a t f o r lay ing f l a t ^ on tab les .

/* Sp i r a l no tebooks

can a l so be

f l i p p e d open

f o r easy access

t o any page in

t h e book.

Bauke Schildt • Ton Zijlstra

6

PEN OPTIONS include gel, bal l point, o r f e l t t i p s (0.3 t o 0.5mm f i ne po int ) , u/hich d r y quickly. Highlight y o u r sketchnotes u/ith f e l t - t i p p e d markers o r co lo red pencils.

The books and pens you choose are up to you. Experiment with a variety of book styles, pens, and markers until you find the right

combination thai works best for you.

SHARING SKETCHNOTES Shar ing sketchnotes can be as simple as shoot ing and post ing a photo u/ith y o u r smar tphone o r as complex as making h igh-reso lut ion scans on y o u r desktop computer . I o f t e n share my u/ork both u/ays.

SMARTPHONES Smartphones a re convenient t o c a r r y anyu/here and can c r ea te highly deta i l ed photos f o r backup and shar ing.

By shar ing y o u r sketchnotes using t h e c<\mer<\ on y o u r phone and post ing them t o y o u r f a v o r i t e soc ia l media s i te, y o u ' r e drau/ing o the r s in t o er\joy y o u r u/ork r ight au/ay.

To help o the r s unde r s tand and share y o u r sketchnotes, add a b r i e f but c lear de sc r i p t i on o f t he event and a link t o y o u r u/ork.

Mak ing y o u r sketchnotes easy t o comprehend and share can make u/hat you ' ve c r ea ted more a t t r a c t i v e f o r reader s t o check ou t and even share u/ith t he u/orld.

DIGITAL CAMERAS A n o t h e r opt ion is t o c a r r y a high-end, po i n t - and - s hoo t pocket o r DSLR camera u/ith y o u t o c ap tu re photos o f y o u r u/ork t o share a t a l a t e r t ime. IVe f o u n d pocket po i n t - and - s hoo t cameras have a good t r a d e - o f f betu/een qua l i ty and po r tab i l i t y u/hen I'm sketchnot ing a t an event.

SCANNERS A qua l i t y f l a t b e d scanner produces t he best images, especially i f t h e end resu l t o f y o u r sketchnotes is a PDF document o r a p r i n t ed booklet.

I p r e f e r a smal l scanner pou/ered f r o m a USB cable. This allou/s me t o c a r r y i t along t o an event i f needed. I scan my u/ork as P N G f i les , u/hich I can convert t o PDF f i les o r send t o a p r i n t e r f o r f i n a l p r i n t p roduct ion .

I use Photoshop t o tu/eak t h e c o n t r a s t and levels, and save a f i n a l f i l e u/ith each s p read o f sketchnotes on a layer. This makes i t easy t o u/ork u/ith and expo r t a large batch o f sketchnotes. < V I zc

CHRIS SHlPfoN

E Q U I P M E N T ?

A CrO... AMb fbft S K S T C H | 4 * T I N G -

I UK'S A RUBT VSlOti fiAcVefc UlitM A Fftfig* CA.STELL

I HAVE AUVVA S

I b U D o ^ f f t A IT -TH*?oO<Ht our

i

- FIRS*1- ^W-5**»*

HULLO! MY NAMG IS K Y L e S T G ^ D

Live IN T e x a s

WITH

MY

& OUR TvVO

C R M Y

DOGS 5AH

In) I l l U S T R M I O N S 0 D G S I G K l

CONGRATULATIONS! You 've made i t t o t he end o f The Sketchnote Handbook! Now y o u have a b e t t e r idea o f u/hat sketchnotes a re and hou/ t o c r ea te them.

Here are a few details to remember:

• START SLOWLY Use j u s t a q u a r t e r o f t he page t o s t a r t and expand as y o u improve y o u r skills.

• BUILD OH SUCCESS Try a few techniques and be happy u/ith y o u r progress as y o u cont inue t o improve. G o easy on yourse l f !

• LISTEN UP Manage d i s t rac t i on s , l i sten closely, and concent ra te . The more y o u p rac t i ce l istening, t he b e t t e r you ' l l get.

• DRAW SIMPLY Use t he 5 basic elements t o drau/ simple shapes, j u s t like kids do. Bad drau/ings can s t i l l convey good ideas!

• EXPLORE Find y o u r ou/n u/ay as y o u learn t o sketchnote. Everyone has a unique u/ay o f f o rm ing ideas and captu r i ng them.

• SHARE Share those sketchnotes! You ' r e inv i ted t o share y o u r work a t The Sketchnote Handbook g roup on Fl ickr:

u/u/w.f l i ckr .com/groups/thesketchnotehandbook

196

http://lickr.com/groups/thesketchnotehandbook

INDEX

A a b o u t t h i s book, xiv

a c t i ve l i s tening, 4 6

A k a h , B inaeb i , 2 2 - 2 3

A L L C A P S t y p e , 135,173

ancho r i ng ideas, 2 5

arrou/s, 43,61,134,174

a r t w o r k

a r t & s t r u c t u r e scale, 8 7 - 8 8

ideas empha s i z ed over, 18-11, 148

See also drau/ings

a s te r i s k s , 134

a s y m m e t r i c r<\d\ai s ke tchno te , 1 6

a t t e n t i o n , d i r e c t i n g , 4 7

B backup suppl ies, 58 , 71

B a l * r a , M a t t e l

3ermar\, C r a i g h t o n , 2 4 - 2 5

big ideas, 6 , 3 7

block l e t t e r i n g , 16% 171

bold t y p e , 135,167, 168

book l ight, 58

Boudu/in, Ma r i ch i e l <& Dan, 107

b ra i n

d u a l cod ing t h e o r y and , 2 7 - 2 8

v i sua l maps and , 2 1 - 3 0

b ra i n s to rm ing , 25

B r o a d b e n t , M J , III

Brou/n, Sunni, 85,144

bul let po int s , 133

bul lets , 70,174

c caching ideas, 2 5 , 4 6 , 4 8

cameras , d i g i ta l , IS"?

c a p t u r i n g ideas, 6, Iff, 42

c a r t o o n s , 138,131

Chew, Boon Yeu/ ,40 -4 l

c i rc les, 16,150

commenta r y , I37

concen t r a t i on , 31,31

concept s , descr ib ing , 8

connec to r s , I74

con ta ine r s , 71,175

c - s hape pa th , I03

D d e s c r i p t i v e t e x t , I33,134

d i ag rams , 6 6 - 6 7

d i g i t a l camera s , 181

d i g i t a l s ke tchnote s , 13

d i s t r a c t i o n s

e f f e c t o f s ke t chno t i ng on, 31

e l iminat ing a n d f i l t e r i n g , 4 7

d i v i de r s , 6 8 , 7 5

dood l ing

drau/ing c o m p a r e d t o , 14

s t u d y on memory and , 3 0

do t s , u sed in drau/ings, 16,150

drau/ing f a ce s , I 62 - I 64

basic e lements f o r , I62

exerc i ses on, I 63 - I 64

drau/ing me tapho r s , I82- I83

drau/ing people, I56- I6 I

exerc i se on, 160-161

G r a y me thod of, 157-151

scal ing t i p f o r , 23

s t a r me thod of, I56

d r a w i n g t y p e , I65-I7I

block l e t t e r i n g , 161

exerc i se on, I70-I7I

s ing le- l ine l e t t e r i n g , I 6 6 - I 6 7

t i p s f o r quickly, I68,161

t r i p l e - l i n e l e t t e r i n g , I68

tu/o- l ine l e t t e r i n g , I67

See also t y p o g r a p h y

d r a w i n g v i sua l e lements, I74- I75

d r aw ing s

f a n c y vs. s imple, I53

f i v e bas ic e lements of, 16,141-152,

154-155

ideas conveyed t h r o u g h , 15,18-11,

34-35,15 I

inc luding in s ke tchnote s , 6 6 - 6 7

ski l ls f o r c r ea t i ng , 14

See also a r t w o r k

d r o p shadows , 161

d u a l cod ing t h e o r y , 2 7 - 2 8 , 3 1

d ynam i c no te t a k i n g , 38

E Erb , Ve ron i ca , 4 2 - 43 , 101

Esch, J e s s i c a , 5 2 - 5 3 , 8 5

events , 5 7 - 6 2

arr\v\r\q ea r l y t o , 5 1 , 78 , 71

ga the r i ng mate r i a l s f o r , 5 8

making s ke tchno te s a t , 61

re sea rch ing b e f o r e h a n d , 5 7 , 7 8 , 7 1

sha r ing s ke t chno te s f r o m , 6 2 , 6 3

t i t l e page f o r , 6 0

exper iment ing w i t h s ke tchnote s , 2 0

eyeb rows , d r aw i ng , I62

eyes, d r a w i n g , I64

F f a c e s

bas ic e lements f o r , 162

exerc i ses on d r a w i n g , I 63 - I 64

f a c i a l express ions, I62,164

f e l t - t i p p e d marker s , I87

F inch, A lex is , 5 4 - 5 5 , II4,121

f i v e bas ic d r a w i n g e lements, 16,141-152

exerc i se on us ing, 154-155

f i nd i n g in d raw ing s , 151

f i x ing/tun ing ske tchnotes , 6 2

F l i ck r s i t e f o r book, xv, 116

f ocu s i ng a t t e n t i o n , 4 7

f r a m e s in s ke tchnote s , 43

f r u s t r a t i o n w i t h no te t a k i n g , x i i , 3

f unnel ing i n f o r m a t i o n , 2 5

6 gel pens, I85,187

George, Michel le, 8 0 - 8 1

g r ade schoo l dood les , 14

g r aph i c r eco rd i ng , 111

G r a y , Dave, 158

G r a y d r a w i n g method , 157-151

g r i d - l i k e p a t t e r n s , I08

H handwr i t i n g , 8 ,68 , 173

h a r d - b a c k notebooks , 145

Hau/kins, E r i n M., 140

headl ines, 133

h ie ra rch ie s

c rea t i ng , 133-134

e lements of, 135

ho l i s t i c a p p r o a c h , II

h u b - a n d - s p o k e s t r u c t u r e , 1 5 - 1 6

humor, I38,131

I

icons, 25,70,135,175

ideas

ancho r i ng m e t a p h o r s and , 25

cach ing t h r o u g h l i s tening, 2 5 , 4 6 , 4 8

connect ing u/ith arrows, 43

conveyed t h r o u g h drau/ings, 15,

3 4 - 3 5

e m p h a s i z e d ove r artu/ork, 18-11,

I48

f o cu s i n g on la rger t hemes and , 37

p roces s f o r c a p t u r i n g , 42

s ke t chno te s bu i l t f r o m , 10

Ide-Smith, Michele, I05

i l l u s t ra t i on s . See artu/ork; drau/ings

immers ion process , 48

i P ad a n d iPhone, 5 7 , 5 8

K Keaggy, Bi l l , 131

k i t chen i tems drau/ing exerc i se, 178-171

Kleon, A u s t i n , II2,II8,I62

L Lamm, E v a - L o t t a , 8 2 - 83 , 17 , 144

Lamson, G e r r e n , 86,13,106,118-111

language, v i sua l vs. ve rba l , 3 4 - 3 5

la rger themes/ ideas , 37

l e t t e r i n g

block, 161,17I

s ingle- l ine, I 66 - I 67 ,170

t r i p l e - l i n e , I68,17I

tu/o- l ine, I67,170

l i nea r s ke t chno te p a t t e r n , 7 5 , 1 1 - 14

lines in drau/ings, 16,150,174

l i s ten ing, 44 -51

a c t i v e p roces s of, 4 6

a u t h o r ' s a p p r o a c h t o , 4 7 - 4 1

caching ideas t h r o u g h , 2 5 , 4 6 , 4 8

keys t o p roces s of, 4 5

na tu ra lne s s o f drau/ing u/hile, 32

p r a c t i c i n g ski l ls in, 5 0

s u m m a r y po in t s abou t , 51

live s ke tchnot ing , I 24- I26

l owerca se handwr i t i n g , I73

M Maga in , M a t t h e w , I20-I2I

maps, v i sua l , 1 0 , 2 1 - 3 0 , 3 1

mate r i a l s f o r s ke tchnot ing , 58 ,184 - I 87

McDan ie l , Cass ie , 102

meander ing s t o r y t e l l i n g , 41

memory

d r a w i n g i tems f r o m , I76

s t u d y on dood l ing and , 3 0

v i sua l maps and , 3 0

men ta l cache, 2 5 , 4 8

m e t a p h o r s

anchor ing ideas and , 2 5

t i p s on drau/ing, 182-183

mind

d u a l cod ing t h e o r y of, 2 7 - 2 8

ho l i s t ic no te t a k i n g and , II

v i s ua l maps and , 2 1 - 3 0

modu l a r s ke t chno te p a t t e r n , 106-101

Molesk ine sketchbooks , 7 ,58 ,184 - I 85

Monlux, Ma rk , 131

mouths , drau/ing, I62,I64

N Newmar\, G r e g , I53

note t a k i n g

au tho r ' s f r u s t r a t i o n u/ith, x i i , 3

fee l i ng o f s ke t chno t i ng vs., 3 6 - 3 8

v i sua l a n d ho l i s t ic a p p r o a c h t o , II

number ing po int s , I34,135

0 o f f i c e i tems drau/ing exerc i se, I80-I8I

op in ions in s ke tchnote s , I36,137

organic p a t h shapes, I03

P Paiv io, A l l an , 2 7

panel d i scuss ions, HO

p a t h s ke t chno te p a t t e r n , I 0 3 - I 0 5

p a t t e r n recogn i t i on , 4 6 , 41

p a t t e r n s f o r s ke tchnote s , 10-116

l i nea r p a t t e r n , 7 5 , 11 - 14

modu l a r p a t t e r n , 106-101

p a t h p a t t e r n , I 0 3 - I 0 5

popco rn p a t t e r n , II3-II5

r<Kd\aX p a t t e r n , 7 3 , 1 5 - 1 1

s k y s c r a p e r p a t t e r n , II0-II2

ve r t i c a l p a t t e r n , I 0 0 - I 0 2

P D F document s , 6 2

penci ls

h ighl ight ing u/ith co l o red , I87

penc i l t o ink a p p r o a c h , 127-121

t e x t - o n l y no te t a k i n g us ing, 3

penmansh ip , I73

pens f o r s ke tchnot ing , I85,187

people

exerc i se on drau/ing, I60- I6 I

methods f o r drau/ing, 156-151

scal ing t i p f o r drau/ing, 23

pe r sona l i t y in s ke tchnotes , 1,12,136

pe r s ona l i z a t i on o f ske tchnotes ,

I 3 6 - I 40

pho tog raph ing s ke tchnote s , 61,71,

188-181

pie c h a r t s , 3 0

planning process , 42

P N G f o r m a t t e d f i l e s , 6 2

p o c k e t - s i z e d Molesk ine sketchbook, 7,

I84- I85

popco rn s ke t chno te p a t t e r n , II3-II5

p rac t i c i n g l i s ten ing ski l ls, 5 0

p re sen ta t i on s

immers ing y o u r m ind in, 48

recogn i z ing p a t t e r n s in, 4 6 , 41

R r a d i a l s ke t chno te p a t t e r n , 7 3 , 1 5 - 1 1

r e a l - t i m e s ke tchnot ing , I23,124-I26,14I

reca l l . See memory

recogn i z ing p a t t e r n s , 46 , 41

r e f i n i n g s ke tchnote s , 43

r e l axed note t a k i n g , 36

re sea rch ing events, 5 7 , 71

Reyno lds , T imothy J . , I I3,I42-I43

Rohde, M ike, 12,140,153

rohdes ign.com u/ebsite, xv

r o u g h - t o - r e f i n e d a p p r o a c h , I30-I3I

Row land , F ranc i s , I44- I45

s scann ing s ke tchnote s , 62,181

Sch i ld t , Bauke, I04,I86

seat ing cons ide ra t i on s , 51

s e p a r a t o r s , 68 ,75 ,175

Seu/ell, C a r o l y n , 14

sha r i ng s ke tchnote s , 62 ,63 ,188-181

Sh ip ton , Ch r i s , IOI, 110-111

s ign language, 136

s i gna tu re s in s ke tchnote s , 71

s ing le- l ine l e t t e r i n g , 166-167,170

ske tchbooks

Molesk ine, 7 ,58,184-185

s p i r a l - b o u n d , 23,82,186

S ke t chno te A r m y blog, xii

s k e t c h n o t e r commun i ty , xv

s ke t chno te s

advan tage s of, 3 6 - 3 8

ana t omy of, 64 -71

arrows in, 4 3 , 6 1

a r tu/ork in, 8 7 - 8 8

bu l lets a n d icons in, 7 0

con ta i ne r s u sed in, 71

c r e a t i o n p roces s f o r , 5 7 - 6 2 , 7 2 - 7 7

d i a g r ams a n d drau/ings in, 6 6

d i v i de r s u sed in, 6 8

exper iment ing u/ith, 2 0

h a n d w r i t i n g in, 8 , 68

h i e r a r chy f o r , I 33 - I35

ho l i s t ic a p p r o a c h of, II

how t o c r ea te , 13

ideas o ve r a r t in, 18-11,148

key concept s f o r making, 2 5

p a t t e r n s u sed f o r , 10-116

pe r s ona l i z a t i o n of, 136-140

pho tog raph ing a n d scann ing, 61,62,

188-181

p lann ing p roces s f o r , 42

r e a l - t i m e , I23,124-I26

r e f i n i n g t h e look of, 43

shar ing , 62,63,188-181,110

s i gna tu re s f o r , 71

s t r u c t u r e of, 8 7 - 8 1

s t y l e of, 8 5 - 8 6

t i t l e s f o r , 6 0 , 6 4

t oo l s f o r c r ea t i ng , 58 ,184 - I 87

t w o - s t a g e , I23,127-I3I

t y p o g r a p h y f o r , 65,165- I7 I

s k y s c r a p e r s ke t chno te p a t t e r n , II0-II2

sma r tphone s , I88

soc ia l media, 61,188

Soup i set , Paul , 112-113

speech bubbles, 53,175

s p i r a l - b o u n d sketchbooks , 23,82,186

squa re s , 16,150

s t a r d r a w i n g method , I56

S t eed , Kyle, 114-115

s to r i e s , connect ing, 41

s t r u c t u r e o f s ke tchnote s , 8 7 - 8 1


s t y l e o f s ke tchno te s , 8 5 - 8 6

subheads, 133

s y m m e t r i c radial s ke tchno te , 1 6

s yn the s i z i n g i n f o r m a t i o n , 2 5

ta l k bubbles, 53,175

t e x t , de sc r i p t i ve , I33,134

t e x t - o n l y no te t a k i n g , 3

themes , f ocu s i ng on larger, 37

th ink ing processes , 8 5

t h o u g h t bubbles, I75

t h r e e - p o i n t se rmons , 41

t i t l e s , 3 0 , 6 0 , 6 4

t oo l s f o r s ke tchnot ing , 58 ,184 - I 87

t r i ang le s , 16,150

t r i p l e - l i n e l e t t e r i n g , I68,17I

Tu/i t ter i n f o f o r au tho r , xv

tu/o- l ine l e t t e r i n g , I67,170

tu/o-s tage s ke tchnot ing , I23,127-I3I, I4I

penc i l t o ink a p p r o a c h , 127-121

rough t o r e f i n e d a p p r o a c h , I30-I3I

t y p o g r a p h y , I65-I7I

block l e t t e r i n g , 161

exerc i se on d r a w i n g , I70-I7I

h i e r a r chy empha s i z ed t h r o u g h , I35

inc luding in s ke tchnote s , 6 5

s ing le- l ine l e t t e r i n g , I 6 6 - I 6 7

t i p s f o r add ing t o , I68,161

t r i p l e - l i n e l e t t e r i n g , I68

tu/o- l ine l e t t e r i n g , I67

ve rba l mode, 2 7 - 2 8

ve r t i c a l s k e t chno te p a t t e r n , I 0 0 - I 0 2

v i sua l e lements

bu i ld ing a l i b r a r y of, I76

drau/ing in s ke tchnote s , I 74 - I75

v i sua l language, 3 4 - 3 5

v i sua l l i b r a r y , I76-I8I

adv ice on bui ld ing, I76

k i t chen i tems exerc i se, 178-171

o f f i c e i tems exerc i se, I80-I8I

v i sua l maps, 1 0 , 2 1 - 3 0 , 3 1

v i sua l mode, 2 7 - 2 8

v i sua l notes, II

v i sua l i z i ng ideas, 25

w u/arming up, 111

u/ebsite o f au tho r , xv

u/himsy, 138,140

Wr i gh t , Amanda, 18,186

u/ritten s ke tchnote s , 13

u/-shape pa th , I03

z i g z a g pa th , I03

z o n e f o r s ke tchnot ing , 33 ,31

z - s h a p e pa th , I03

creative edge

Unlimited online access to all Peachpit, Adobe Press, Apple Training and New Riders videos and books, as well as content from other leading publishers including: O'Reilly Media, Focal Press, Sams, Que, Total Training, John Wiley & Sons, Course Technology PTR, Class on Demand, VTC and more.

N o t ime commitment or contract required!

Sign up for one month or a year.

A l l for $19.99 a month

SIGN UP TODAY peachpit.com/creativeedge

http://peachpit.com/creativeedge

PRAISE FOR THE SKETCHNOTE HANDBOOK

Entertaining andl memorable (just like sketchnotes), this fast-reading, :act-packed book by the godfather of sketchnoting provides everything

you and your team need to know about the creative, mnemonic, and business benefits of this brilliant new method of note taking/'

—Jeffrey Zeldman, author of Designing with Web Standards

ike Rohde has taken his original, fun, and smart approach

and DroKen it down into simple, flow anyone can use sKetconotes to capture ideas—even you and me.

—Chris 6ui!lebeau, author of The $100 Startup

lotes are a great way to capture trie nigniignts or an idea

in a way that will naturally work for your brain.

)body will teach you how to do it better than Mike."

David Helrtemeler Hansson, co-author or RK

informative, hands-on book

so you can get right to creating sketchnotes for yourself. Mike's fun,

illustrative style energizes you to pick up a pen and sketchnote!"

—Nancy Duarfce, CEO Duarfce lnt.%

and best-selling author of Resonate and S!ide:olQgy

"Never fear note taking again. Mike Rohde demystifies the practice and makes it accessible to everyone. Your brain will thank him later."

-Sunni Brown, co-author of damesioming and leader of the Doodle Revolution

is book is not really a book. It's a tool kit for learning a new and better

/ of capturing and understanding information, and it's perfectly aligned

way our brains actually work. If you're a student, teacher, or businessp

>ok has the potential to change the way you learn, and the way you thh

—Daniel Coyfe? The New York Times best-selling author of

The Talent Cade and The Utile Bo

and toe most useful how-to guide I ve ever read, no contest. -Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business

The sketchnote handbook 2

Documents

Transcript of The sketchnote handbook 2