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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 permissions@peachpit.com.
NOTICE OF LIABILITY
The information in this book is distributed on an As 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 softu/are and \\<\rdw<Kre products described in it.
vv
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
1S76543
Printed and bound in the United States of America
T o Gail, Nathan,
Linnea, and
thank you for your support
long and challenging
You are the reason
Landon,
on this
journey.
I work so
to create things and share my
I love you.
hard
ideas.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
TAKING ON A PROJECT OF THIS MAGNITUDE is a g r e a t
reminder
o f j u s t how
v a l u a b l e m y f a m i l y , f r i e n d s , c o l l e a g u e s , a n d c o m m u n i t y a r e . W i t h o u t t h e m , I'm
c e r t a i n TheSketchnote
HandbookwoKxld
n o t have happened.
GAIL, y o u a r e t h e f i r s t a n d m o s t i m p o r t a n t p e r s o n o n t h e list. E v e n t h o u g h y o u
u/ere e x p e c t i n g a b a b y , y o u e n c o u r a g e d a n d s u p p o r t e d m e o n m a n y l a t e n i g h t s
a n d weekends.
T h a n k s f o r s h a r i n g t h e v i s i o n u/ith me. I love y o u !
NATHAN, LINNEA AND, LANDON, t h a n k s
f o r s u p p o r t i n g me d u 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 h o p e m y u/ork m a k e s y o u p r o u d .
VON GLITSCHKA, y o u
g e t c r e d i t f o r s p a r k i n g t h i s book o v e r T h a i f o o d in P o r t l a n d .
T h a n k s f o r b e l i e v i n g in m e a n d p i t c h i n g m y b o o k i d e a j u s t m i n u t e s a f t e r
dinner.
NIKKI MCDONALD, y o u ' v e b e e n b e h i n d me o n t h i s b o o k f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g t o t h e
e n d . T h a n k s f o r c o n s i d e r i n g m y b o o k i d e a , selling i t t o y o u r t e a m , a n d k e e p i n g
m e o n t r a c k a n d e n c o u r a g e d t h r o u g h t h e long, h a r d c r e a t i o n p r o c e s s . M o s t
i m p o r t a n t , t h a n k s f o r helping me c r e a t e something t r u l y unique a n d d i f f e r e n t .
ANNE MARIE WALKER, y o u ' v e
b e e n a f a b u l o u s e d i t o r , c h a l l e n g i n g me t o m a k e t h e
b o o k b e t t e r . T h a n k s f o r k e e p i n g m e o n m y t o e s a n d m a k i n g m y p r o s e look s o g o o d .
PEACHPIT, y o u r
t e a m h a s b e e n a j o y t o u/ork u/ith. E v e r y o n e u/as p r o f e s s i o n a l a n d
s o e a s y t o u/ork u/ith. T h a n k y o u N a n c y , G l e n n , K a t e r i n a , M i m i , L u p e , C h a r l e n e ,
A m y , E r i c , L i z , a n d J a m e s f o r m a k i n g m y f i r s t book e x p e r i e n c e a g r e a t o n e .
DAVID FUGATE, t h a n k s f o r y o u r e x p e r t g u i d a n c e 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 k e d f o r a b e t t e r agent.
vi
DELVE WITHRINGTON, t h a n k s f o r c r e a t i n g f o n t s o f my h a n d l e t t e r i n g .
Y o u r t y p e f a c e s h a v e s a v e d me m a n y l o n g h o u r s o f d r a w i n g e v e r y l e t t e r by h a n d .
FEATURED SKETCHNOTERS: B i n a e b i A k a h , C r a i g h t o n Serman, B o o n C h e w ,
V e r o n i c a Erb, J e s s i c a Esch, Alexis Finch, Michelle George, E v a - L o t t a Lamm,
G e r r e n L a m s o n , M a t t h e w M a g a i n , T i m o t h y R e y n o l d s , F r a n c i s Rou/land,
Chris Shipton, Paul Soupiset, and Kyle Steed, thanks f o r y o u r contributions.
BRIAN ARTKA, GABE WOLLENBURG, STEPHEN MORK, MARK FAIRBANKS, AND
CYNTHIA THOMAS, t h a n k s f o r y o u r e n c o u r a g e m e n t t h r o u g h o u t t h e p r o j e c t .
JON MUELLER, t h a n k s f o r allou/ing m y s k e t c h n o t e s o f y o u r t a l k t o b e c o m e s u c h
a k e y p a r t o f t h e book. I've b e e n h o n o r e d t o c a 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
g u i d a n c e in t h e c r e a t i o n o f m y f i r s t book.
FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES, t h a n k 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
b o o k in p r o d u c t i o n . T h i s is a b e t t e r book b e c a u s e o f y o u r help.
TO THE SKETCHNOTING COMMUNITY, t h a n k 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 y e a r s .
Km e x c i t e d t o s e e w h e r e o u r c o m m u n i t y u/ill go a n d hou/ i t u/ill g r o w o n c e t h i s book
reaches new readers and viewers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MIKE R O H D E has a passion f o r simple a n d usable
d e s i g n s o l u t i o n s . T h a t p a s s i o n , a l o n g u/ith his l i f e l o n g
habit o f recording concepts and observations
t h r o u g h s k e t c h i n g a n d doodling, i n s p i r e d him t o
develop s k e t c h n o t e s — a practical a r t t h a t translates
simple a n d complex ideas into easily recalled bits
of information.
Professionally, Mike focuses on user i n t e r f a c e ,
u s e r e x p e r i e n c e , v i s u a l d e s i g n , a n d i c o n d e s i g n f o r m o b i l e a n d u/eb a p p l i c a t i o n s
a t Gomoll Research
+ Design in Milu/aukee, W i s c o n s i n .
A s a s k e t c h n o t e r , M i k e p r o v i d e s live, r e a l - t i m e s k e t c h n o t e s o f e v e n t s ,
m e e t i n g s , a n d e x p e r i e n c e s in v e n u e s a c r o s s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e 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 k e u s e s his u n i q u e d r a u / i n g s t y l e t o a m p l i f y a n d
c l a r i f y i d e a s . His u/ork h a s b e e n f e a t u r e d in REWORK, t h e b e s t - s e l l i n g b o o k by
J a s o n F r i e d a n d D a v i d H e i n e m e i e r H a n s s o n ; The $100 Startup,
b o o k by C h r i s G u i l l e b e a u ; a n d The Little
a best-selling
Book of Talent by D a n i e l C o y l e .
C o m m u n i t y a n d sharing 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 Mike's philosophy, as
e v i d e n c e d 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 s h o w c a s i n g s k e t c h n o t e 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 k e h a s a l s o s h a r e d his t h i n k i n g , d e s i g n p r o c e s s , a n d s a m p l e s o f his d e s i g n a n d
i l l u s t r a t i o n u/ork a t his p e r s o n a l u/ebsite, r o h d e s i g n . c o m , s i n c e 2 0 0 3 .
M i k e lives u/ith his u/if e, G a i l , a n d c h i l d r e n , N a t h a n , L i n n e a , a n d L a n d o n , 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 B a y P a c k e r s f a n .
L e a r n m o r e a b o u t M i k e a t rohdesign.com.
INTRODUCTION
IT WAS THE WINTER OF 2006 AND I COULDNTTAKE IT ANYMORE.
I u/as d o n e . F e d u p . I vou/ed n o t t o t a k e a n o t h e r n o t e u/ith a m e c h a n i c a l p e n c i l o r
u/ith a g i a n t n o t e b o o k u n t i l I'd f o u n d a b e t t e r u/ay t o t a k e n o t e s .
T h i n k i n g back, I'm n o t s u r e hou/ n o t e t a k i n g h a d b e c o m e s u c h a b u r d e n . In high
s c h o o l a n d college, I e n j o y e d e x p r e s s i n g i d e a s v i s u a l l y — e a s i l y b l e n d i n g u/ords
u/ith drau/ings, d i a g r a m s , a n d t y p o g r a p h y in m y n o t e b o o k s .
Someu/here in t h e p r o c e s s o f g r o w i n g u p a n d g e t t i n g a j o b , I l o s t m y u/ay. T h e
r e l a x e d , v i s u a l n o t e - t a k i n g a p p r o a c h f r o m m y college d a y s h a d m o r p h e d i n t o
a f a n a t i c a l l y d e t a i l e d , t e x t - o n l y d e a t h m a r c h . Ironically, I b e c a m e a g r e a t n o t e
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 n o t e s .
T h e s o l u t i o n t o m y n o t e - t a k i n g p r o b l e m u/as a blank p o c k e t M o l e s k i n e , s t a c k e d
n e a t l y o n m y bookshelf. I'd b o u g h t i t o n a u/him a f e u ; m o n t h s 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 s m a l l s i z e , paired
u/ith a n u n e r a s a b l e p e n , c o u l d be a p e r f e c t u/ay t o
challenge my overly detailed, n o t e - t a k i n g m i n d - s e t .
In J a n u a r y 2 0 0 7 , 1 b r o u g h t m y M o l e s k i n e a n d a gel p e n t o C h i c a g o f o r a
c o n f e r e n c e t o t r y s k e t c h n o t i n g . C o u l d I t a k e f eu/er b u t b e t t e r n o t e s ? If I f o c u s e d
o n q u a l i t y , c o u l d I live u/ith s e e i n g m y m i s t a k e s i n p e n ? W o u l d a d d i n g drau/ings t o
m y n o t e s b r i n g back m y j o y o f n o t e t a k i n g ? C o u l d t a k i n g n o t e s b e c o m e f u n a g a i n ?
T h e a n s w e r t o t h e s e q u e s t i o n s u/as a r e s o u n d i n g y e s ! A s I c a p t u r e d m y f i r s t
s k e t c h n o t e s , I u/as a b l e t o slou/ dou/n a n d l i s t e n f o r big i d e a s . I l o v e d 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 using a pen. B e s t o f all, I h a d a g r e a t t i m e t a k i n g
notes again.
E v e r s i n c e t h a t m i n d - a l t e r i n g e x p e r i e n c e , I've b e e n u/orking h a r d t h r o u g h m y
blog, Tfie Sketchnote
Army, a n d a t live p r e s e n t a t i o n s a n d u/orkshops t o s h a r e m y
p a s s i o n f o r s k e t c h n o t i n g . I t a k e g r e a t p l e a s u r e in t a l k i n g a b o u t u/hy s k e t c h n o t i n g
e n a b l e s y o u t o t a k e b e t t e r n o t e s , e x p l a i n i n g hou/ t o c r e a t e s k e t c h n o t e s , a n d
p e r s u a d i n g p e o p l e t o give s k e t c h n o t i n g a t r y . T h i s p a s s i o n f o r s k e t c h n o t i n g is
w h a t d r o v e m e t o s p e n d h u n d r e d s o f h o u r s writing,
illustrating, a n d designing this
book. I want y o u t o e n j o y t a k i n g n o t e s a s m u c h a s I d o , a n d I h o p e t h a t by t h e e n d
o f t h i s b o o k y o u u/ill.
WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?
W h e t h e r y o u believe y o u c a n o r c a n ' t draw, Km h e r e t o t e l l y o u t h a t a n y o n e u/ho
c a n m a k e m a r k s o n p a p e r c a n b e n e f i t f r o m t h i s book. S k e t c h n o t e s a r e a b o u t
h e a r i n g a n d c a p t u r i n g m e a n i n g f u l i d e a s , n o t hou/ u/ell y o u d r a w .
T a k e i t f r o m me, y o u c a n c r e a t e s k e t c h n o t e s . In t h i s book, I u/ill s h o w y o u h o w t o
d r a w simple objects, c r e a t e custom lettering, a n d use o t h e r h a n d - d r a w n elements
t o h e l p y o u e x p r e s s y o u r t h o u g h t s v i s u a l l y . E v e n i f y o u c a n ' t d r a w a s t r a i g h t line,
y o u can learn t o sketchnote w i t h a little practice.
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5TORMING,
SAINTS-
^MJ£q R A T E .
My first sketchnotes • UX Intensive 2007
WHAT IS
THE
The Sketchnote
SKETCHNOTE
Handbook
HANDBOOK?
is a s i m p l e , v i s u a l m a n u a l d e s i g n e d t o t e a c h y o u b a s i c
s k e t c h n o t i n g concepts, a p p r o a c h e s , a n d techniques quickly, so y o u can s t a r t
creating sketchnotes immediately.
E a c h p a g e o f t h i s book h a s been lovingly h a n d - s k e t c h e d t o show y o u hou/ m u c h
f u n i t is t o l e a r n f r o m n o t e s 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 e q u a l l y . R a t h e r
t h a n write a l o t o f words a b o u t s k e t c h n o t i n g , I decided
t h a t i f I was g o i n g t o t a l k
t h e t a l k , I'd b e t t e r walk t h e walk (or, m a y b e , s k e t c h t h e s k e t c h ? ) . So, I c r e a t e d t h e
e n t i r e b o o k a s 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 .
H SKETCHNOTE
\
0 CREATE A TITLE
JonMuel/er&
0
ideas I'm hearing
u/hati'm
start d r y i n g '
thinking about as
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^ great way to
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serve as a good
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THE SKETCHNOTE COMMUNITY
O f c o u r s e , I'm n o t t h e o n l y p e r s o n in t h e u/orld u/ho s k e t c h n o t e s . Km a m a z e d a n d
e n e r g i z e d by t h e u/ide v a r i e t y o f p e o p l e a l l o v e r t h e u/orld u/ho c r e a t e a n d a c t i v e l y
s h a r e t h e i r s k e t c h n o t e s . I love t h e s e n s e o f c o m m u n i t y t h a t h a s s p r u n g u p a r o u n d
t h i s process, a n d IVe made a g r e a t many f r i e n d s t h r o u g h sharing a n d discussing
s k e t c h n o t e s online a n d a t conferences.
I i n v i t e d 15 o f t h e s e f r i e n d s — l e a d i n g 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 / o r l d — t o
e a c h c r e a t e a t u / o - p a g e s p r e a d f o r t h i s book t h a t s h a r e s a b i t a b o u t u/ho t h e y a r e ,
hou/ t h e y c a m e t o s k e t c h n o t i n g , 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 n o t e s .
W h a t I h o p e y o u ' l l n o t i c e f r o m looking a t t h e i r u/ork a t t h e e n d o f e a c h c h a p t e r
is t h a t e v e r y o n e s e e s t h e u/orld d i f f e r e n t l y ; e v e r y o n e p r o c e s s e s i n f o r m a t i o n
d i f f e r e n t l y ; e v e r y o n e h a s t h e i r ou/n, u n i q u e s t y l e , a n d t h a t ' s p a r t o f u/hat m a k e s
s k e t c h n o t i n g s o m u c h f u n ! T h e r e ' s n o r i g h t u/ay o r u/rong u/ay t o d o i t .
I u/ill t e a c h y o u t h e b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s o f s k e t c h n o t i n g , b u t t h e r e a l j o y u/ill c o m e
u/hen y o u s t a r t c r e a t i n g s k e t c h n o t e s a n d d i s c o v e r hou/ t a k i n g n o t e s c a n u n l e a s h
y o u r c r e a t i v i t y a n d make paying a t t e n t i o n , even a t t h e most boring meetings,
s o m e t h i n g y o u look forward
t o doing.
REACH OUT
A s y o u l e a r n f r o m t h i s book, I e n c o u r a g e y o u t o s h a r e y o u r ou/n s k e t c h n o t e s
a t The Sketchnote
Handbook
F l i c k r g r o u p (u/u/u/.f lickr.com/groups/
thesketchnotehandbook). I plan on h a n g i n g o u t t h e r e a l o t , a n d I'd love t o s e e
how y o u ' v e t a k e n t h i s p r o c e s s a n d m a d e i t y o u r ou/n.
Y o u c a n v i e w m o r e o f m y u/ork a n d c o n t a c t m e t h r o u g h m y p e r s o n a l u/ebsite a t
rohdesign.com o r o n T u / i t t e r attu/itter.com/rohdesign. I look f o r w a r d t o h e a r i n g
what y o u t h i n k o f t h e book a n d l e a r n i n g a b o u t y o u r s k e t c h n o t i n g e x p e r i e n c e s .
ITS TIME TO 6ET STARTED. GRAB A NOTEBOOK AND A PEN.
LET'S 60 TAKE SOME NOTES!
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frustration!
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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 "HATE
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
capture
I tried to
every
detail, I needed
pages
of that
large
to store all
information
/ decided *°
GIVE UP
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LISTENED
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e© C U S E D
ON
CAPTURING
rr
IDEAS.
INSTEAD
of using
a
PENCILS
LARGE
N°TEB°OK
r
M Y S E L F
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SKETcH&<*#.
1
t
I CHALLENGED MVSELF
to write and draw notes more
was enjoyab
THIS N E W WAY OF NOTE TAKIN6
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 T H I S 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
N I 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
| nun
BECAUSE YOUR MIND AND BODY ACT TOGETHER, YOU
CAN RECALL MORE OF WHAT YOU HEAR AND DRAW.
J
SKETCHNOTERS INFUSE THEIR OWN
SKETCHNOTES
WITH UNIQUE PERSONALITY
TT
/
15*
\7
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\
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 D R A W
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.
I D E A S , NOT A R T !
Sketchnotes are about
capturing and sharing
ideas, not about art.
SKETCHNOTES
ARE A WAV T O
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 T I M E .
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 t r y
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.
RECAP
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?
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CHAPTER 2
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WHY
W H Y S P E N D 6X T P A EFFORT
C R E W B M e s W T E H N O I P E S WF
M A I M OL' T E X T N O T E S
ARE 6 0 G B E N O d S G H ?
EMGAG>i<
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SKETCH NOTING
YOUR WHOLI MIND
I VEPBM.MOPE 1
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Coding
t*»DUAI'
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.
*
VERBAL*
C o n c e p t s a s words
*
VISUAL*
C o n c e p t s as images
W H E N B O T H M O D E S are A C T I V E ,
Y O U R BRAIN CREATES A N ASSOCIATIVE
L I B R A R Y of W O R D S and I M A G E S with M E N T A L
CROSS-REFERENCES
BETWEEN THEM.
SKETCHNOTING activates verbal and visual modes to
capture concepts. Y O U R W H O L E BRAIN is absorbed
in hearing, synthesizing, and seizing ideas.
i
HEAR
SEE
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
RFPAVQSSE-Cojfej
SXSW 2012
sketchnotes
KWH6
5*
created the
talk title art
while
waiting
for the panel
to start. I had
fun
drawing
the
lettering.
RFPs
^"^k/** 1
<•
UMie W M.M%wQ
rWc«ws»fto^(
itpp;
i hi i
AWt™
Every r f r
T h e p i e c/i<\ri c a m e t o w e e a r t y i n
• 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 2 0 DOODLERS RECALLED
2 9 % 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.
and body are
working in tandem, there is
little room left for distractions.
W/iefi y o o r m#W
(6
As you practice
and improve
your sketchnoting
techniques,
LISTENING
and DRAWING
at the same time
willreel
feelmore
more an
n
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/
I
LISTENING*** / \
IDEAS( • IDEAS
ff
dialed V
IN
ANALYZING
V
MAPPING
IDEAS
1^
\
1
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SKETCHNOTING TAPS
^VISUAL
1111111111111 HHIM n nuilM UNI II1 MI HI 111 n n 11| 111 n 111
A DETAILED
DESCRIPTION
111111111111)
A SIMPLE
DRAWING
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
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
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I I
111111<<j111111j111 111111111111
Complex ideas can often be expressed
more effectively as drawings.
Drawing an idea can often
takejust a fraction of the time
needed to describe the same
idea in verbal detail.
o
THE
PYRAMIDS
O
THE SOLAR
SYSTEM
ROCKY
MOUNTAINS
KANSAS
TORNADO
This is especially important
when you're processing ideas
in real time, and ideas
are coming in fast.
35
\
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
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36
<
SWITCHINGS
SKETCHNOTES
freedme
2 FOCUS ON
LARGER
THEMES
on4
IDEAS
I was able to relax, listen for key
points, and capti
:ure those ideas
VISUALLY.
^
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!
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BESSMS VOTH A C l i V E U S T E M N 6 SKUM*
AIFTIRAUJFYO«AIRENY
IDEAS
ACCUMrK&r, v©u e w t TORN THOSE
(IDEAS UNTO gPPfceTJVE SKETCH N O T E S .
the KEYS to
LISTENING
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*
46
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
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.
rrm
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
v
t
y
*ne3 POINT
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*
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 captur
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
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GAQiEN'TFIW
CHAPTER 4
AFTER YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
I ' V E MVElfiPBD
SKETCHNOTIIN©
MY OWN
PROCESS
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
CREATE A
56
PROCESS^OWN.
HERE ARE THE STEPS I FOLLOW
WHEN SKETCHNOTING EVENTS:
RESEARCH
B e f o r e I arrive o n s i t e ,
I research t h e event,
t h e speakers, and
the topic.
RESEARCH
GIVES M E
INSIGHT
and confidence;
especially u/hen
I'm s k e t c h n o t i n g
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 i n g a t a n e v e n t is c r i t i c a l .
I like t o b r i n g two o r t h r e e Moleskine
s k e t c h b o o k s ; m u l t i p l e pens; a n d my
i P h o n e t o access p h o t o s a n d r e s e a r c h
m a t e r i a l s ; a n d t o a c t as a f l a s h l i g h t
in a p i n c h . A book light is u s e f u l i f
t h e venue is d a r k .
ALWAYS BRING BACKUPS
Y o u n e v e r k n o w u/hen a pen might
r u n o u t o f ink o r a s k e t c h b o o k
might get damaged. Bring
s p a r e s a l o n g t o be s a f e .
56
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.
ARRIVE EARLY
I arrive a t a presentation early and scout out the
b e s t s e a t i n g . S p o t s u n d e r n e a t h lights a n d close
t o t h e f r o n t a l l o w me t o h e a r a n d see t h e s p e a k e r .
SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROW
can reduce
a n n o y a n c e s o r d i s r u p t i o n s i f o t h e r s a r e coming in
l a t e o r leaving e a r l y .
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 o p i c a n d t h e
s p e a k e r ' s name, v e r i f y spellings, a n d s o m e t i m e s
f i n d a p h o t o on my p h o n e t o c r e a t e a visually
i n t e r e s t i n g t i t l e page f o r t h e s p e a k e r o r t h e t o p i c .
/ 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
W h e n t h e t a l k begins,
I listen, synthesize t h e
i d e a s I'm h e a r i n g , a n d
s t a r t d r a w i n g u/hat I'm
thinking a b o u t as
s k e t c h n o t e s in my
sketchbook.
A completed
sketchnote.
PHOTOGRAPH
W h e n Km d o n e s k e t c h n o t i n g ,
I s h o o t p h o t o s o f my
s k e t c h n o t e s . This is
a g r e a t u/ay t o
immediately share
u/hat y o u ' v e
created via social
media, a n d photos
serve as a g o o d
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
Q SCAN, TUNE & POST
W h e n I g e t home, I s c a n my s k e t c h n o t e s a t high r e s o l u t i o n , a d j u s t
t h e c o n t r a s t , a n d f i x a n y t y p o s o r e r r o r s in P h o t o s h o p . F i n a l
s c a n s a r e e x p o r t e d t o P N G f o r m a t t e d f i l e s f o r s h a r i n g online.
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS
share sketchnotes t o promote t h e i r upcoming
e v e n t s t o p o t e n t i a l a t t e n d e e s because t h e y
c a p t u r e t h e e v e n t simply a n d visually.
Organizers often
like t o g i v e a w a y
copies o f t h e
s k e t c h n o t e s as
PDF documents or
p r i n t e d booklets t o
their attendees.
These a f t e r - e v e n t
d o c u m e n t s u/ork
u/ell as h a n d y
offline references.
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, C A
JAN 27-30,2012
ANATOMY OF A SKETCHNOTE
I've c r e a t e d a m a p o f s k e t c h n o t e e l e m e n t s f r o m a n e x i s t i n g
sketchnote so y o u can see a n d b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d each element.
•TITLES
T i t l e s a r e ideal f o r
d e f i n i n g sketchnotes.
T h e y c a n include a n
e v e n t name, s p e a k e r
names, d a t e , l o c a t i o n ,
and topic. Multiple
talks a t t h e same
e v e n t c a n f ollou/ a
consistent design
f o r unity, o r each
speaker's title can
be f u n a n d unique.
<rJon Mueller
900
cso
Re AD
^•MEDIUM
ATHW6
^ — . lj<h> pW
^ f J k ^ m %
W
TAKE TIME TO
CREATE A TITLE
BEFORE YOU
BE6IN YOUR
SKETCHNOTES.
?
THiNo
I STVt=F
ttt
•TYPOGRAPHY
T y p o g r a p h y is u s e f u l t o e m p h a s i z e ideas, c r e a t e a
h i e r a r c h y a n d s t r u c t u r e , a n d even e s t a b l i s h a m o o d .
• DIAGRAMS & DRAWINGS
Diagrams and drawings make f o r more interesting elements.
A feu/ p e n s t r o k e s c a n i l l u s t r a t e complex i d e a s quickly.
67
H a n d w r i t i n g is h e l p f u l f o r a d d i n g a d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n
i f a d i a g r a m o r i n f o r m a t i o n is n e e d e d .
IVON M
UufV^N™ ofM^b«i^
jiA Mjjl C V * * H 4 \ o f *K 0-f*Pi£t*l Mobile
^ p p -few f t * . uuiv^vsT-K|,
• DIVIDERS
D i v i d e r s like rules, d o t t e d lines, a n d s o o n c a n help s e p a r a t e
i d e a s f r o m e a c h o t h e r visually, c r e a t i n g o r d e r a n d s t r u c t u r e .
A r r o w s p o i n t o u t d e t a i l s a n d c a n help f o c u s a t t e n t i o n o n
s p e c i f i c drau/ings, t y p o g r a p h y , o r t e x t , a n d t h e y c a n p r o v i d e
a c o n n e c t i o n between m u l t i p l e ideas.
• BULLETS
B u l l e t s a r e u s e f u l f o r i d e n t i f y i n g a s e r i e s o f i d e a s o r highlighting
a single i d e a a m o n g drau/ings o r t e x t . D i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f b u l l e t
icons c a n f u r t h e r d e f i n e ideas.
Look
Icons a r e h a n d y t o use t h r o u g h o u t a s k e t c h n o t e d o c u m e n t
t o i d e n t i f y ideas visually as repeating elements.
•CONTAINERS
C o n t a i n e r s c o n n e c t v a r i o u s e l e m e n t s t o g e t h e r in a single
grouping t o represent an overall idea o r topic.
•SIGNATURES
S i g n a t u r e s a r e a n o p t i o n a l u/ay t o i d e n t i f y s k e t c h n o t e s . If y o u ' r e
c r e a t i n g s k e t c h n o t e s f o r y o u r ou/n use, no s i g n a t u r e is r e q u i r e d .
Jo/7 Mueller
900
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TPANSLAToR-LA^- 7//Z/Z012.
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A SKETCHNOTE
from START to FINISH
T o help y o u see t h e p r o g r e s s i o n o f a s k e t c h n o t e f r o m s t a r t t o f i n i s h ,
IVe labeled e a c h s e c t i o n u/ith a n u m b e r a n d p r o v i d e d a b r i e f
d e s c r i p t o n t o s h o w u/hy a n d in u/hich o r d e r e a c h a r e a u/as drau/n.
Q
T h e t i t l e c r e a t i o n u/as d o n e b e f o r e t h e e v e n t , u s i n g a p h o t o o f
t h e s p e a k e r , J o n M u e l l e r , o n my iPhone.
Q
F o r t h e f i r s t i d e a , I c a p t u r e d " A T H I N G T H A T YOU D O /
@
J o n t a l k e d a b o u t a s n a r e d r u m , so my f i r s t d r a w i n g u/as o f a d r u m .
Q
H e r e IVe f i t t e d " D R U M S W E R E MY T H I N G " i n t o t h i s s n u g s p a c e
o n t h e r i g h t s i d e o f t h e s n a r e d r u m drau/ing.
•@
A n o<rrow p o i n t s t o a n o t h e r i d e a lou/er o n t h e page.
.Q
I c<dded a " D O M Y O W N T H I N G " c o n c e p t in t h e l o u / e r - r i g h t a r e a .
@
H e r e I e m p h a s i z e d t h e i d e a o f s n a r e d r u m s being v e r b o t e n .
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
JOIN'S
T H
i E T U p i
i•
S t a r e ? .
o - — — « @<
—
T WIS C H A t f
1
6
^
0
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A SKETCHNOTE
from START to FINISH
©
H e r e I a d d e d a drau/ing o f J o n ' s d r u m s e t u p a s I p i c t u r e d i t
in my m i n d ' s eye. I <^dded t h e t i t l e a f t e r drau/ing t h e image.
©
This d e s c r i p t i o n o f J o n ' s a p p r o a c h t o s e n d i n g s o u n d s
t h r o u g h s n a r e d r u m s u/as key t o t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n , s o I
gave i t f o c u s u/ith large, A L L C A P S t y p o g r a p h y .
©
I u s e d a s e p a r a t o r t o c r e a t e a b r e a k betu/een t h e t o p a n d b o t t o m .
©
J o n mentioned driving t o Boston, creating a record, a n d
t o u r i n g t h e c o u n t r y , s o I <kdded i t j u s t belou/ t h e s e p a r a t o r .
©
H e r e ' s a n o t h e r s e p a r a t o r using d a s h e d lines.
Q
T o u/rap u p my s k e t c h n o t e s , I u s e d bold t y p e
t o emphasize the speaker's final thought.
On the second page of my sketchnotes, I used
a linear pattern for the information with heavier
emphasis on drawings and typography.
IS
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. * WHAT
•4 JOIN'S S E T U P i f
THRPU6H Snares.
DO YOUR
RESEARCH
and—
ARRIVE 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
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S k e t c h n o t e s a r e b e a u t i f u l because o f t h e i r v a r i e t y a n d p e r s o n a l i t y .
E a c h s k e t c h n o t e is c r e a t e d in a d i s t i n c t , i n d i v i d u a l s t y l e , r e f l e c t i n g
t h e p e r s o n u/ho c r e a t e s i t .
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than j u s t style,
sketchnotes reveal
t h e thinking processes
of their creator.
S k e t c h n o t e s convey
u/hat t h e p e r s o n is
hearing, hou/that
person analyzes
and processes
information, and
u/hat is m o s t r e l e v a n t
in t h a t p e r s o n ' s view.
j&sg-iv
Sunni Brown • Getting Things Done
BY LOOKING AT
SKETCHNOTES
-
THEIR STYLE AND
STRUCTURE - / CAW
B£7T£ft
UNDERSTAND
HOW THEIR AUTHOR
THINKS.
B5
Y o u m a y n o t i c e t h a t m a n y o f t h e s k e t c h n o t e s in t h i s book a r e
beautifully illustrated. Professional illustrators and designers,
u/ith y e a r s o f v i s u a l e x p e r i e n c e , have c r e a t e d t h e m .
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Gerren Lamson • BbWorld 2012
IF YOU'RE NOT AN ARTIST, d o n ' t
let these sketchnotes
d i s c o u r a g e y o u . Instead, look t o t h e m f o r i n s p i r a t i o n a n d ideas,
a n d k e e p in m i n d t h a t y o u ' r e j u s t s t a r t i n g a s a s k e t c h n o t e r .
W h a t e v e r y o u r skill level, be h a p p y u/ith u/here y o u a r e . C r e a t e
s k e t c h n o t e s a n d have f u n , a n d u/ork t o i m p r o v e 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
cr
11,
GOOD
ARTWORK
ii
SIMPLE
ISAAAAAMAAJMM
600D
STRUCTURE
GOOD
STRUCTURE
FANCY
ARTWORK
I ii
FANCY
IUM4AAAM4U4I
GOOD
STRUCTURE
ALWAYS GOOD STRUCTURE
REGARDLESS of ART QUALITY.
AT ONE END OF THE SCALE
y o u ' l l s e e ideas r e p r e s e n t e d a s r o u g h d r a w i n g s
by r e g u l a r people. Even using simple d r a w i n g s ,
these sketchnotes use s t r u c t u r e t o c a p t u r e
ideas e f f e c t i v e l y o n t h e page.
AT THE OTHER END
y o u ' l l see b e a u t i f u l i l l u s t r a t i o n s c r e a t e d by e x p e r i e n c e d
p r o f e s s i o n a l s . A l t h o u g h t h e a r t m a y be m o r e refined,
t h e k e y t o a s k e t c h n o t e is a logical o r g a n i z a t i o n t h a t
makes sense a n d c a p t u r e s t h e ideas.
THINK OF
GOOD
STRUCTURE
asW[
BAT
and
POTATOES,
AND FANCY ARTas the
GRAVY ON TOP.
SKETCHNOTING
PATTERNS
In t h e l o s t f i v e y e a r s IVe reviewed many s k e t c h n o t e s
a n d have f o u n d t h a t m o s t f a l l i n t o a feu/ p a t t e r n s :
LINEAR
RADIAL
VERTICAL
PATH
MODULAR
SKYSCRAPER
POPCORN
90
LINEAR
F o l l o w i n g t h e p a t t e r n o f a p r i n t e d book, t h e l i n e a r
sketchnote f o r m a t shows i n f o r m a t i o n diagonally
f r o m t h e t o p l e f t t o t h e b o t t o m r i g h t o f a page o r
s p r e a d o f tu/o pages.
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Matt Ba/ara • Oz IA 200f
91
THE LINEAR PATTERN is w h a t
I t y p i c a l l y u s e f o r my
s k e t c h n o t e s f o r t w o r e a s o n s : I like t h e s t o r y - l i k e , l i n e a r
f l o w o f i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e page, a n d i t u/orks w e l l in t h e
t w o - p a g e s p r e a d s I u s e in h a r d c o v e r s k e t c h b o o k s .
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M/ke RoMe • SXSW/ntenact/ve 20/0
92
• How wilt u$ets be *
affectecf btjijupe?
F&ntS *s S H O E S :
TArial
(course AibS^)
SKETCHNI0TIN6 in a
linear p a t t e r n f r e e s y o u t o use as
many pages a s n e e d e d t o c a p t u r e ideas. It's a l s o e a s y t o
r e a d , b e c a u s e 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 u s e d f o r h u n d r e d s o f y e a r s .
JUST DONT RUN OUT OF PA6ES!
j
ration
t o o
:
rnutH -
mRNM
PEOPLE H*VE
tJQNE
5IDE
P R O J E C T S %y
SDHlE
HAVE
mAtie
Gerren Lamson • SXSW Interactive 2011
HOWEVER, t h e
r i g i d f l o w o f l i n e a r s k e t c h n o t e s c a n limit
l a y o u t o p t i o n s , u/hereas t h e f r e e - f o r m r a d i a l s k e t c h n o t e
p a t t e r n , d i s c u s s e d next, p r o v i d e s m o r e f l e x i b i l i t y .
%M I P | J [ PROBLEMS §f
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Carolyn Sewelt • TypeCon 2011
RADIAL
The r a d i a l p a t t e r n r o u g h l y f ollou/s t h e s t r u c t u r e
o f a bicycle u/heel u/ith t h e hub a t t h e c e n t e r a n d
spokes r a d i a t i n g o u t w a r d .
The c e n t e r o f a r a d i a l s k e t c h n o t e may f e a t u r e
t h e name a n d d r a w i n g o f t h e s p e a k e r o r s p e a k e r s
u/ho a r e p r e s e n t i n g ideas, o r t h e c e n t r a l t o p i c .
THE CENTRAL
HUB ESTABLISHES
THE OVERALL
CONCEPT, AND
IDEAS CREATE A
RADIATING PATTERN
MOVING OUTWARD
FROM THE CENTRAL HUB.
A RADIAL SKETCHNOTE d o e s n ' t
have t o be a p e r f e c t c i r c l e ,
a n d t h e hub d o e s n ' t n e e d t o be in t h e c e n t e r o f t h e page. T h i s
p a t t e r n can a p p e a r as an organic shape and still follow a
hub-and-spoke structure.
SYMMETRIC
ASYMMETRIC
CIRCULAR and
EQUALIZED
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.
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Amanda Wr/ght • dConstruct 2011
98
7
THE ADVANTAGE o f
information
wherever
a r a d i a l f o r m a t is t h e f r e e d o m t o a d d
i t f i t s in a n o u t e r spoke.
B e c a u s e all o f t h e s p o k e s a r e c o n n e c t e d t o t h e c e n t r a l hub,
clocku/ise, c o u n t e r c l o c k w i s e , o r rar\dom
p a t t e r n s c a n u/ork u/ell
u/ith t h e r a d i a l s k e t c h n o t e f o r m a t .
R a d i a l
s k e t c h n o t e s
s o m e t i m e s
m a k e
w o r k
h a r d e r
a
b i t
c o m p r e h e n d
o f
i d e a s ,
b e c a u s e
i n f o r m a t i o n
in
a
complex,
t h e
is
a
c a n
r e a d e r
t o
p a t t e r n
t h e
s t r u c t u r e d
n o n l i n e a r
w a y .
VERTICAL
Similar t o a linear p a t t e r n , vertical sketchnotes
p r e s e n t i n f o r m a t i o n in a single f low, f r o m t h e
t o p t o t h e b o t t o m o f t h e page.
TOPIC
I tic*******
STARTS
THIS PATTERN c a n
be h a n d y
because i t allou/s y o u t o c o n t i n u e
adding information vertically,
as needed. The vertical p a t t e r n
also provides a clear d i r e c t i o n a n d
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
WHAT
LOOK FoR.
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Chris Shipton • Ange/ /nvestors
t H 6
D E A U
D E V E L O P AN A S S E T
101
HEALTH 2012. IKTHQPI/CTIOJ/J
IF y o c C A M T
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# £ "'•SUMS":
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Cossfe McDaniel • eHealth 20/2
102
TOO WUCH W A I T I N ©
Too MUCH COST...
WATSON CAN
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A SILV&R,
<
PATH
The p a t h s k e t c h n o t e p a t t e r n c r e a t e s a p a t h o f
i n f o r m a t i o n a c r o s s t h e page v e r t i c a l l y ,
h o r i z o n t a l l y , o r diagonally. T h e p a t h p a t t e r n
c a n a p p e a r a s a z i g z a g , c - s h a p e , u/-shape, o r
a n y o r g a n i c p a t h s h a p e y o u c a n imagine.
Z-Shape Path
C-Shape Path
W-Shape Path
Organic Path
USING A PATH PATTERN c a n be p e r f e c t f o r t e l l i n g a b o u t a n
e v e n t o r t h o u g h t p r o c e s s u s i n g a s e r i e s o f s t e p s t h a t work u/ell
u/hen f o l l o w i n g a n o r g a n i c s h a p e .
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Bauke Schildt • Ton Zijlstra
is THE-]
7
PATH PATTERNS d o
r e q u i r e a l i t t l e planning, a n d i f t h e
i n f o r m a t i o n y o u ' r e s k e t c h n o t i n g is m o r e e x t e n s i v e t h a n
y o u ' v e p l a n n e d f o r , y o u may r u n o u t o f r o o m .
105
MODULAR
The m o d u l a r p a t t e r n d i v i d e s a single page o r
s p r e a d o f pages i n t o d i s t i n c t r e g i o n s o r modules.
E a c h module holds s e p a r a t e b i t s o f i n f o r m a t i o n
o r d i f f e r e n t s p e a k e r s u/ithin a l a r g e r event.
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PTHCTS.
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.
IDEA
Sir ©
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MAIN T A L K
1
3
2
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.
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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
I. Names & Faces
2. Capture comments
© & ©
TOHN
CiHJI
tvXAW
SUB
tlUJi
Q*^Q
C*^P
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
M O R E SELECTIVE QUOTE CAPTURE.
111
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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.
ML
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
P A T T E R N S 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
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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 NOT
TRADITIONALLY, EXCEPT YOU'RE ADDIN6
A WHOLE TOOLBOX OF VISUAL ELEMENTS
TO YOUR NOTES, LIKE THESE:
• TYPOGRAPHY
• DRAWINGS
• HANDWRITING
• DIAGRAMS
• DIVIDERS
• ARROWS
• BULLETS
• ICONS
• 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 atftlater 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 isftgood 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:
. .
.
ITS AN ACTIV
PRACTICE
SKETCHNOTING
IS SOMETHING
YOU DO.
•
132
CREATING A HIERARCHY
When you create sketchnotes, one of your key tasks
is to constructftlogical 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 useftvariety 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.
The drawing of a couch
emphasizes
point no. I.
Descriptive
establishes
U E A T> E
5
text
the talk.
Numbering
of the points
offers a clear
hierarchy.
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A main point is captured
as a quote using larger
type.
134
An asterisk provides
emphasis
to the detail under item no. I.
An arrow
provides
contrasting
emphasis
to the detail
under
item no. 2.
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
AL CAPS
L
1. The First Concept
2. The Second Concept
a. First sub item
b. Second sub item
•Bold t y p e helps
d r a w t h e eye t o
i m p o r t a n t ideas.
- U s i n g A L L C A P S is
a n o t n e r u/ay t o
bring a t t e n t i o n t o
i m p o r t a n t ideas.
- N u m b e r s work u/ell
f o r providing a more
structured hierarchy.
Icons a r e g r e a t f o r
marking key ideas
o n t h e i r ou/n o r i n
bulleted lists.
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
TO *>se
O,
Mark Monlux-lFVP 20(2
139
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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
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CHAPTER 7
©
o
SKETCHNOTING
IT'S T I M E TO BUILD YOUR
VISUAL NOTE T A K I N G TOOLBOX.
-?- Vi
146
!
SO FAR YOU'VE LEARNED:
El
El
El
El
What sketchnotes are
Why you should create them
How to create sketchnotes
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
Car
Earth
Satellite
Radio
Dog
Lightsaber
Cat
iPhone
Book
TV
Robot
^ ^ ^ ^
i
RATHER
THAN CREATE
museum-quality
ILLUSTRATIONS,
focus INSTEAD on
QUICKLY CREATING
SIMPLE DRAWINGS
of the IDEAS
IN YOUR HEAD
using the 5 bask elements.
O A - -
COMPARE THESE 10 ITEMS
5 FANCY ILLUSTRATIONS
5 SIMPLE DRAWINGS
>
Wom^n
Woman
V
Laptop
M i
Laptop
Tree
— —
Pie C h a r t
1
SSST
Pie C h a r t
Book
Fancy illustrations by Greg Newman
Book
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.
HOUSE
LAPTOP
CAR
COFFEE
MUG
CLOCK
BOOK
BOAT
IGLOO
CAT
DOG
TRUCK
TRAIN
TRACTOR
LIGHTBULB
EARTH
SATURN
MOUNTAIN
TREE
HAMMER
W R E N C H
FISH
BIRD
BUG
ROBOT
FLASHLIGHT
C A M E R A
SUBMARINE
SANDWICH
BATTERY
TV
HEADPHONES
DVD
BASEBALL
MILK
TV
CAP
H A M B U R G E R
J U G
REMOTE
M 1 N IVAN
T-SHIRT
SHOES
PEN
PENCIL
BIKE
TRASH
CAN
WATCH
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
156
Add faces, hair, clothes, etc.
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.
a Head
© Draw
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!
ST A N D I N G
RUNNING
1
F\
I
WALKING
160
J U M P I N G
SITTING
DAD
& SON
TENNIS
WALKING
PLAYER
ON
THE
PHONE
B A C K P A C K E R
KUNG
FU
MASTER
DANCING
READING
MASTER
A
BOOK
CHEF
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
162
Or
-
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
MOUTHS
*
r^M
BIFF
BUFFY
MOZZY
TEX
FRED
BIANCA
WHAT OTHfff
FACIAL
EXPRESSIONS
BOB
F R A N Kl E
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 letterforms 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
All caps, sm^ll, single-line letters
Uppercase a n d lowercase single-line
are great f o r establishing
l e t t e r i n g is e s p e c i a l l y e f f e c t i v e u/hen
s e c t i o n s u/ithin a s k e t c h n o t e .
used f o r headlines.
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:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNC
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 h e s e l e t t e r i n g m e t h o d s s t a r t t h e s a m e 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
R e g u l a r block
lettering
Drop shadow
added
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.
SPEEDY
H E A D L
S t a r t e d but incomplete
1 >
J
SPEEDY
H E & D L O N E
C o m p l e t e d a t a l a t e r time
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.
SINGLE-LINE
LETTERING:
ABCabc
TWO-LINE
LETTERING:
ABC^be
TRIPLE-LINE
LETTERING
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
WAS
THB
NOF=N\
j
M y old A L L C A P S handwriting
My lowercase handwriting
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.
DRAWING VISUAL E L E M E N T S
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
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.
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51
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.
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 Y O U R M E M O R Y ,
drawing ideas
and objects
BECOMES EASIER.
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
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.
PI
180
181
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 P E A C E
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.
J O H N LOST HIS HEAD
TIME FLIES
HOTHEAD
Seek out the
SILLIEST,
IRAZIEST
WILDEST
THE MOST BIZARRE IDEAS
r
T O O L S 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 M o l e s k i n e ' s tu/o-page s p r e a d s work u/ell f o r t h e l i n e a r
s k e t c h n o t e s I c r e a t e . H e r e ' s a sample:
w h a t ' s t h e c/*eto»a4
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MY STYLE f e a t u r e s h i g h - c o n t r a s t , b l a c k - a n d - w h i t e
t y p o g r a p h y a n d d r a w i n g s , s o I u s e a bold, 0.7mm gel pen.
M y P e n t e ( E n e r G e ( 0.7mm g e l
pen.
OTHER NOTEBOOK & PEN OPTIONS
Some s k e t c h n o t e r s p r e f e r s q u a r e o r s p i r a l n o t e b o o k s .
O t h e r s u s e f i n e r black lines a s a base a n d t h e n a m p l i f y t h e i r
s k e t c h n o t e s a f t e r w a r d u/ith c o l o r e d m a r k e r s , c o l o r e d
pencils, o r even u/atercolor p a i n t s .
SPIRAL-BOUND SKETCHBOOK
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v a r i e t y o f p a p e r t y p e s in
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even u/atercolor paint.
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Spiral notebooks are
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on tables.
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c a n a l s o be
flipped open
f o r easy access
t o a n y p a g e in
t h e book.
Bauke Schildt • Ton Zijlstra
6
PEN OPTIONS include gel, ball p o i n t , o r
f e l t t i p s (0.3 t o
0.5mm f i n e p o i n t ) , u/hich d r y quickly. Highlight y o u r
s k e t c h n o t e s u/ith f e l t - t i p p e d m a r k e r s o r c o l o r e d 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
S h a r i n g s k e t c h n o t e s c a n be as simple as s h o o t i n g a n d p o s t i n g
a p h o t o u/ith y o u r s m a r t p h o n e o r as complex as m a k i n g
h i g h - r e s o l u t i o n s c a n s on y o u r d e s k t o p c o m p u t e r .
I o f t e n s h a r e my u/ork b o t h u/ays.
SMARTPHONES
S m a r t p h o n e s a r e convenient t o c a r r y anyu/here a n d c a n
c r e a t e highly d e t a i l e d p h o t o s f o r backup a n d s h a r i n g .
B y s h a r i n g y o u r s k e t c h n o t e s using t h e c<\mer<\ on y o u r p h o n e
and posting them t o y o u r f a v o r i t e social media site, y o u ' r e
drau/ing o t h e r s in t o er\joy y o u r u/ork r i g h t au/ay.
T o help o t h e r s u n d e r s t a n d a n d s h a r e
y o u r sketchnotes, add a brief but clear
d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e e v e n t a n d a link
t o y o u r u/ork.
Making your sketchnotes
easy t o comprehend and
s h a r e c a n m a k e u/hat
you've c r e a t e d more
attractive f o r readers
t o check o u t a n d even
s h a r e u/ith t h e u/orld.
DIGITAL CAMERAS
A n o t h e r o p t i o n is t o c a r r y a h i g h - e n d , p o i n t - a n d - s h o o t
p o c k e t o r D S L R c a m e r a u/ith y o u t o c a p t u r e p h o t o s o f
y o u r u/ork t o s h a r e a t a
later time. IVe f o u n d pocket
point-and-shoot
c a m e r a s have a g o o d
t r a d e - o f f betu/een
quality and portability
u/hen I'm s k e t c h n o t i n g
a t a n event.
SCANNERS
A q u a l i t y f l a t b e d s c a n n e r p r o d u c e s t h e b e s t images,
especially i f t h e e n d r e s u l t o f y o u r s k e t c h n o t e s is a
P D F d o c u m e n t o r a p r i n t e d booklet.
I p r e f e r a s m a l l s c a n n e r 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 a n e v e n t
i f n e e d e d . I s c a n my u/ork a s
P N G f i l e s , u/hich I c a n c o n v e r t
t o PDF files o r send t o a printer
f o r f i n a l print production.
I u s e P h o t o s h o p t o tu/eak t h e
c o n t r a s t a n d levels, a n d save
a f i n a l f i l e u/ith e a c h s p r e a d
o f sketchnotes on a layer.
This m a k e s i t e a s y t o u/ork
u/ith a n d e x p o r t a large b a t c h
o f sketchnotes.
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CONGRATULATIONS!
Y o u ' v e m a d e i t t o t h e e n d o f The Sketchnote Handbook!
Now y o u have a b e t t e r i d e a o f u/hat s k e t c h n o t e s a r e a n d
hou/ t o c r e a t e t h e m .
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 h e page t o s t a r t a n d e x p a n d a s
y o u i m p r o v e y o u r skills.
•
BUILD OH SUCCESS
T r y a few t e c h n i q u e s a n d be h a p p y u/ith y o u r p r o g r e s s
as y o u c o n t i n u e t o improve. G o e a s y o n y o u r s e l f !
•
LISTEN UP
M a n a g e d i s t r a c t i o n s , l i s t e n closely, a n d c o n c e n t r a t e .
T h e m o r e y o u p r a c t i c e l i s t e n i n g , t h e b e t t e r y o u ' l l get.
•
DRAW SIMPLY
Use t h e 5 basic e l e m e n t s t o drau/ simple s h a p e s , j u s t like
kids d o . B a d drau/ings c a n s t i l l convey g o o d ideas!
• EXPLORE
F i n d y o u r ou/n u/ay a s y o u l e a r n t o s k e t c h n o t e . E v e r y o n e
has a u n i q u e u/ay o f f o r m i n g ideas a n d c a p t u r i n g t h e m .
•
SHARE
Share those sketchnotes! You're invited t o share y o u r
work a t The Sketchnote Handbook g r o u p o n F l i c k r :
u/u/w.f l i c k r . c o m / g r o u p s / t h e s k e t c h n o t e h a n d b o o k
196
199
INDEX
A
c
a b o u t t h i s book, xiv
caching ideas, 2 5 , 4 6 , 4 8
active listening, 4 6
c a m e r a s , d i g i t a l , IS"?
Akah, Binaebi, 2 2 - 2 3
c a p t u r i n g i d e a s , 6, Iff, 4 2
A L L C A P S t y p e , 135,173
c a r t o o n s , 138,131
anchoring ideas, 2 5
Chew, Boon Yeu/,40-4l
arrou/s, 4 3 , 6 1 , 1 3 4 , 1 7 4
c i r c l e s , 16,150
artwork
c o m m e n t a r y , I37
a r t & s t r u c t u r e scale, 8 7 - 8 8
c o n c e n t r a t i o n , 31,31
i d e a s e m p h a s i z e d over, 18-11, 148
concepts, describing, 8
See also drau/ings
c o n n e c t o r s , I74
a s t e r i s k s , 134
c o n t a i n e r s , 71,175
a s y m m e t r i c r<\d\ai s k e t c h n o t e , 1 6
c - s h a p e p a t h , I03
attention, directing, 47
D
B
d e s c r i p t i v e t e x t , I33,134
backup supplies, 58, 71
diagrams, 6 6 - 6 7
Bal*ra, M a t t e l
d i g i t a l c a m e r a s , 181
3ermar\, C r a i g h t o n , 2 4 - 2 5
d i g i t a l s k e t c h n o t e s , 13
big i d e a s , 6 , 3 7
distractions
block l e t t e r i n g , 1 6 % 171
b o l d t y p e , 135,167, 168
e f f e c t o f s k e t c h n o t i n g o n , 31
eliminating and filtering, 4 7
book l i g h t , 5 8
dividers, 6 8 , 7 5
Boudu/in, M a r i c h i e l <& D a n , 107
doodling
brain
dual coding t h e o r y and, 2 7 - 2 8
visual maps and, 2 1 - 3 0
brainstorming, 25
drau/ing c o m p a r e d t o , 14
study on memory and, 3 0
d o t s , u s e d in drau/ings, 16,150
drau/ing f a c e s , I 6 2 - I 6 4
B r o a d b e n t , M J , III
basic elements f o r , I62
Brou/n, S u n n i , 85,144
exercises on, I 6 3 - I 6 4
b u l l e t p o i n t s , 133
drau/ing m e t a p h o r s , I 8 2 - I 8 3
bullets, 70,174
drau/ing p e o p l e , I 5 6 - I 6 I
e x e r c i s e o n , 160-161
m a k i n g s k e t c h n o t e s a t , 61
G r a y m e t h o d of, 157-151
researching beforehand, 57,78,71
scaling t i p for, 23
sharing sketchnotes f r o m , 6 2 , 6 3
s t a r m e t h o d of, I56
title page for, 6 0
d r a w i n g t y p e , I65-I7I
experimenting with sketchnotes, 2 0
block l e t t e r i n g , 161
e y e b r o w s , d r a w i n g , I62
exercise on, I70-I7I
e y e s , d r a w i n g , I64
single-line lettering, I 6 6 - I 6 7
t i p s f o r q u i c k l y , I68,161
F
t r i p l e - l i n e l e t t e r i n g , I68
faces
t u / o - l i n e l e t t e r i n g , I67
b a s i c e l e m e n t s f o r , 162
See also t y p o g r a p h y
exercises on drawing, I63-I64
d r a w i n g visual elements, I74-I75
f a c i a l e x p r e s s i o n s , I62,164
drawings
f e l t - t i p p e d m a r k e r s , I87
f a n c y vs. s i m p l e , I53
F i n c h , A l e x i s , 5 4 - 5 5 , II4,121
f i v e b a s i c e l e m e n t s of, 16,141-152,
f i v e b a s i c d r a w i n g e l e m e n t s , 16,141-152
154-155
exercise on using, 154-155
i d e a s c o n v e y e d t h r o u g h , 15,18-11,
34-35,15I
f i n d i n g in d r a w i n g s , 151
fixing/tuning sketchnotes, 6 2
i n c l u d i n g in s k e t c h n o t e s , 6 6 - 6 7
F l i c k r s i t e f o r book, xv, 116
skills f o r c r e a t i n g , 14
focusing attention, 47
See also a r t w o r k
f r a m e s in s k e t c h n o t e s , 4 3
d r o p s h a d o w s , 161
f r u s t r a t i o n w i t h n o t e t a k i n g , xii, 3
d u a l coding t h e o r y , 2 7 - 2 8 , 3 1
f unneling i n f o r m a t i o n , 2 5
d y n a m i c note t a k i n g , 38
6
E
gel p e n s , I85,187
Erb, Veronica, 42-43,101
George, Michelle, 8 0 - 8 1
Esch, J e s s i c a , 5 2 - 5 3 , 8 5
g r a d e s c h o o l d o o d l e s , 14
events, 5 7 - 6 2
g r a p h i c r e c o r d i n g , 111
arr\v\r\q e a r l y t o , 5 1 , 7 8 , 7 1
G r a y , D a v e , 158
gathering materials for, 58
G r a y d r a w i n g m e t h o d , 157-151
g r i d - l i k e p a t t e r n s , I08
H
L
h a n d w r i t i n g , 8 , 6 8 , 173
Lamm, E v a - L o t t a , 8 2 - 8 3 , 1 7 , 1 4 4
h a r d - b a c k n o t e b o o k s , 145
L a m s o n , G e r r e n , 86,13,106,118-111
Hau/kins, E r i n M., 140
l a n g u a g e , v i s u a l vs. v e r b a l , 3 4 - 3 5
h e a d l i n e s , 133
larger themes/ideas, 37
hierarchies
lettering
c r e a t i n g , 133-134
block, 161,17I
e l e m e n t s of, 135
single-line, I 6 6 - I 6 7 , 1 7 0
h o l i s t i c a p p r o a c h , II
t r i p l e - l i n e , I68,17I
hub-and-spoke structure, 1 5 - 1 6
t u / o - l i n e , I67,170
linear sketchnote pattern, 75,11-14
h u m o r , I38,131
lines in drau/ings, 16,150,174
I
listening, 44-51
icons, 2 5 , 7 0 , 1 3 5 , 1 7 5
a c t i v e p r o c e s s of, 4 6
ideas
author's approach to, 47-41
anchoring metaphors and, 25
caching ideas t h r o u g h , 2 5 , 4 6 , 4 8
caching t h r o u g h listening, 2 5 , 4 6 , 4 8
k e y s t o p r o c e s s of, 4 5
c o n n e c t i n g u/ith arrows,
n a t u r a l n e s s o f drau/ing u/hile, 3 2
43
c o n v e y e d t h r o u g h drau/ings, 15,
34-35
e m p h a s i z e d o v e r a r t u / o r k , 18-11,
I48
p r a c t i c i n g skills i n , 5 0
s u m m a r y p o i n t s a b o u t , 51
live s k e t c h n o t i n g , I 2 4 - I 2 6
l o w e r c a s e h a n d w r i t i n g , I73
focusing on larger themes and, 37
process f o r capturing, 42
M
s k e t c h n o t e s b u i l t f r o m , 10
Magain, M a t t h e w , I20-I2I
Ide-Smith, Michele, I05
maps, visual, 1 0 , 2 1 - 3 0 , 3 1
i l l u s t r a t i o n s . See a r t u / o r k ; drau/ings
materials f o r sketchnoting, 58,184-I87
immersion process, 48
M c D a n i e l , C a s s i e , 102
iPad a n d iPhone, 5 7 , 5 8
meandering storytelling, 41
memory
K
d r a w i n g i t e m s f r o m , I76
K e a g g y , Bill, 131
s t u d y on doodling and, 3 0
k i t c h e n i t e m s drau/ing e x e r c i s e , 178-171
visual maps and, 30
K l e o n , A u s t i n , II2,II8,I62
mental cache, 2 5 , 4 8
metaphors
p o p c o r n p a t t e r n , II3-II5
anchoring ideas and, 2 5
r<Kd\aX p a t t e r n , 7 3 , 1 5 - 1 1
t i p s o n drau/ing, 182-183
s k y s c r a p e r p a t t e r n , II0-II2
mind
vertical pattern, I 0 0 - I 0 2
d u a l c o d i n g t h e o r y of, 2 7 - 2 8
PDF documents, 6 2
h o l i s t i c n o t e t a k i n g a n d , II
pencils
visual maps and, 2 1 - 3 0
h i g h l i g h t i n g u/ith c o l o r e d , I87
modular sketchnote pattern, 106-101
p e n c i l t o i n k a p p r o a c h , 127-121
Moleskine sketchbooks, 7,58,184-I85
t e x t - o n l y note t a k i n g using, 3
M o n l u x , M a r k , 131
p e n m a n s h i p , I73
m o u t h s , drau/ing, I 6 2 , I 6 4
p e n s f o r s k e t c h n o t i n g , I85,187
people
N
e x e r c i s e o n drau/ing, I 6 0 - I 6 I
Newmar\, G r e g , I53
m e t h o d s f o r drau/ing, 1 5 6 - 1 5 1
note taking
s c a l i n g t i p f o r drau/ing, 2 3
a u t h o r ' s f r u s t r a t i o n u/ith, xii, 3
p e r s o n a l i t y in s k e t c h n o t e s , 1,12,136
f e e l i n g o f s k e t c h n o t i n g vs., 3 6 - 3 8
personalization o f sketchnotes,
I36-I40
v i s u a l a n d h o l i s t i c a p p r o a c h t o , II
n u m b e r i n g p o i n t s , I34,135
p h o t o g r a p h i n g s k e t c h n o t e s , 61,71,
0
pie c h a r t s , 3 0
188-181
o f f i c e i t e m s drau/ing e x e r c i s e , I 8 0 - I 8 I
planning process, 4 2
o p i n i o n s in s k e t c h n o t e s , I36,137
P N G f o r m a t t e d files, 6 2
organic p a t h shapes, I03
p o c k e t - s i z e d M o l e s k i n e s k e t c h b o o k , 7,
P
p o p c o r n s k e t c h n o t e p a t t e r n , II3-II5
Paivio, Allan, 2 7
p r a c t i c i n g listening skills, 5 0
p a n e l d i s c u s s i o n s , HO
presentations
I84-I85
path sketchnote pattern, I03-I05
immersing y o u r mind in, 4 8
pattern recognition, 4 6 , 4 1
recognizing p a t t e r n s in, 4 6 , 4 1
p a t t e r n s f o r sketchnotes, 10-116
linear pattern, 75,11-14
R
modular pattern, 106-101
radial sketchnote pattern, 7 3 , 1 5 - 1 1
path pattern, I03-I05
r e a l - t i m e s k e t c h n o t i n g , I23,124-I26,14I
recall. See memory
d i a g r a m s a n d drau/ings i n , 6 6
recognizing patterns, 46,41
d i v i d e r s used in, 6 8
refining sketchnotes, 43
e x p e r i m e n t i n g u/ith, 2 0
relaxed note taking, 36
h a n d w r i t i n g in, 8 , 6 8
researching events, 57,71
hierarchy for, I33-I35
Reynolds, T i m o t h y J . , II3,I42-I43
h o l i s t i c a p p r o a c h of, II
R o h d e , M i k e , 12,140,153
h o w t o c r e a t e , 13
r o h d e s i g n . c o m u/ebsite, xv
i d e a s o v e r a r t i n , 18-11,148
r o u g h - t o - r e f i n e d a p p r o a c h , I30-I3I
key concepts f o r making, 2 5
Rowland, Francis, I44-I45
p a t t e r n s used for, 10-116
p e r s o n a l i z a t i o n of, 1 3 6 - 1 4 0
s
photographing a n d scanning, 61,62,
scanning s k e t c h n o t e s , 62,181
188-181
Schildt, Bauke, I04,I86
planning process for, 42
seating considerations, 51
real-time, I23,124-I26
separators, 68,75,175
r e f i n i n g t h e look of, 4 3
Seu/ell, C a r o l y n , 1 4
sharing, 62,63,188-181,110
sharing sketchnotes, 62,63,188-181
s i g n a t u r e s f o r , 71
S h i p t o n , C h r i s , IOI, 110-111
s t r u c t u r e of, 8 7 - 8 1
s i g n l a n g u a g e , 136
s t y l e of, 8 5 - 8 6
s i g n a t u r e s in s k e t c h n o t e s , 71
titles for, 6 0 , 6 4
single-line lettering, 166-167,170
tools f o r creating, 58,184-I87
sketchbooks
t w o - s t a g e , I23,127-I3I
Moleskine, 7,58,184-185
spiral-bound, 23,82,186
typography for, 65,165-I7I
s k y s c r a p e r s k e t c h n o t e p a t t e r n , II0-II2
S k e t c h n o t e A r m y blog, xii
s m a r t p h o n e s , I88
s k e t c h n o t e r c o m m u n i t y , xv
s o c i a l media, 61,188
sketchnotes
S o u p i s e t , P a u l , 112-113
a d v a n t a g e s of, 3 6 - 3 8
s p e e c h bubbles, 5 3 , 1 7 5
a n a t o m y of, 6 4 - 7 1
spiral-bound sketchbooks, 23,82,186
arrows
s q u a r e s , 16,150
in, 4 3 , 6 1
a r t u / o r k in, 8 7 - 8 8
s t a r d r a w i n g m e t h o d , I56
b u l l e t s a n d icons in, 7 0
S t e e d , K y l e , 114-115
c o n t a i n e r s u s e d in, 71
stories, connecting, 41
creation process for, 5 7 - 6 2 , 7 2 - 7 7
structure o f sketchnotes,
87-81
style o f sketchnotes, 8 5 - 8 6
s u b h e a d s , 133
v e r b a l mode, 2 7 - 2 8
s y m m e t r i c radial s k e t c h n o t e , 1 6
vertical sketchnote pattern, I 0 0 - I 0 2
synthesizing information, 25
visual elements
b u i l d i n g a l i b r a r y of, I76
drau/ing in s k e t c h n o t e s , I 7 4 - I 7 5
t a l k bubbles, 5 3 , 1 7 5
v i s u a l language, 3 4 - 3 5
t e x t , d e s c r i p t i v e , I33,134
visual library, I76-I8I
text-only note taking, 3
a d v i c e o n b u i l d i n g , I76
t h e m e s , f o c u s i n g o n larger, 3 7
k i t c h e n i t e m s e x e r c i s e , 178-171
thinking processes, 8 5
o f f i c e items exercise, I80-I8I
t h o u g h t bubbles, I75
visual maps, 1 0 , 2 1 - 3 0 , 3 1
three-point sermons, 41
visual mode, 2 7 - 2 8
titles, 3 0 , 6 0 , 6 4
v i s u a l n o t e s , II
tools f o r sketchnoting, 58,184-I87
visualizing ideas, 2 5
t r i a n g l e s , 16,150
t r i p l e - l i n e l e t t e r i n g , I68,17I
w
T u / i t t e r i n f o f o r a u t h o r , xv
u/arming u p , 111
t u / o - l i n e l e t t e r i n g , I67,170
u/ebsite o f a u t h o r , xv
t u / o - s t a g e s k e t c h n o t i n g , I23,127-I3I, I4I
u/himsy, 138,140
p e n c i l t o ink a p p r o a c h , 127-121
W r i g h t , Amanda,
rough t o r e f i n e d a p p r o a c h , I30-I3I
u / r i t t e n s k e t c h n o t e s , 13
t y p o g r a p h y , I65-I7I
18,186
u/-shape p a t h , I 0 3
block l e t t e r i n g , 161
exercise on d r a w i n g , I70-I7I
h i e r a r c h y e m p h a s i z e d t h r o u g h , I35
z i g z a g p a t h , I03
i n c l u d i n g in s k e t c h n o t e s , 6 5
zone f o r sketchnoting, 33,31
single-line lettering, I 6 6 - I 6 7
z - s h a p e p a t h , I03
t i p s f o r a d d i n g 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-line lettering, I67
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