I’m one of those designers that likes to sketch out new website layouts with pen and paper. Nothing fancy- I don’t haul out the acrylic paints or anything. My sketches are usually just a bunch of boxes and lines with arrows pointing out different sections of a layout. When I first started, I did these sketches on nearly anything that was handy- the back of a flyer, an empty space in a newspaper page, and yes, the ubiquitous paper napkin. After awhile, and too many lost sketches,I got wise and bought a tabbed notebook (okay, so it was a Five Subject Notebook). Several years later (I started web design in ’95, when I was very young), someone gave me my first Moleskine… and the rest- well, you know the rest. Au ‘voir, Mead- hello, Moleskine.
Now, the repurposing of non-techie tools this way is nothing new. Indeed, I know many completely geeky geeks who go gaga over vintage fountain pens and would rather send a thank you note on letterpressed paper than via email, who keep first editions of Dickens right next to Mastering PHP on their night tables. And, of course, there are the dozens of people who have completely replaced their PDAs with Moleskines.
For me, my Moleskine has become an integral part of my personal design process. If you’re interested in trying it out, here are a few tips that might come in handy:
- Choose your Moleskine. The hard-covered pocket-sized book is classic, but there are so many wonderful types available now. The “squared” series is particularly good for designers who use the grid, and the “storyboard” notebook features a sequence of frames (for storyboarding!)
- You don’t have to use Moleskine. Actually, any notebook or blank book will do- check out Derwent, Rhodia, or Field Notes. A recent discovery of mine is the very wonderful Vintage Engineer Field Book from Three Potato Four. Size is up to you, as well- I only suggest that it be easy to carry around with you. If you use a big backpack all the time, feel free to use a large sketchbook.
- Choose a pen (or pencil). Some people won’t use anything but Montblanc, but the affordable Pilot G2 gel pen has quite a following as well. I suggest trying out different pens to see what works for you and the paper of your notebook.
- Number your pages. I like to number each page in my Moleskine, for use in a table of contents I list at the front of my notebook. Granted, I’m a little bit OC like that- but when you’re searching for some notes several months from now, you’ll be grateful for that table of contents. With a notebook, unfortunately, you don’t have the “luxury” of a search engine.
- Don’t rip out pages. When I design on a computer, I invariably delete the rough, early versions of my designs- much to the horror of my husband, who is very good about saving his work at all stages of its design process. Because I don’t like to rip up my paper notebooks, however, I have the very roughest sketches of my designs in hard copy- which is great to look back on.
- Cut ‘n paste. There’s something else I bring almost everywhere with me: a glue stick. I like to cut out articles, photos, swatches of fabric, packaging labels- anything that inspires me, really. Some of these are pasted into the pages of my Moleskine, while others go into its nifty back pocket. For example: I’ve printed out several “cheatsheets” (For page layouts, CSS, and random design tips) and carry these around in that back pocket.
- Customize it. These days, you can skin nearly everything. Have your Moleskine Yes-We-Canned, buy a special cover for it, or hand-paint it yourself.
The pros of going the notebook route? Less chance of distraction. Less chance of accidental deletion. If you drop it, it doesn’t break. Oh, and no viruses. Ever.
