

Sketchbooks aren't about being a good artist, they're about being a good thinker - grinich
http://jasonsantamaria.com/articles/pretty-sketchy/

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kenver
I have a few friends who are mechanical and electrical engineers and they
always use a notebook.

Apparently its so that they can document their work and thought process
continuously, just incase they ever need to justify why they did something.

I've started to do it myself because it seemed like a good idea. It definitely
beats having random pieces of copier paper that are piled up in a mess all
over my desk.

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joeyo
Indeed. If you ever need to provide evidence for a patent, this is the way to
do it.

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easyfrag
I always keep paper around me to jot down ideas, sketches of interfaces, uml,
whatever. The problem for me is retaining the content of the paper for later
use, and being able to find it.

I tried a OneNote on a tablet PC for a while but having to wake/boot a
sketchpad before capturing your thought just doesn't flow. I also tried
OneNote (great program) on my main machine but the mouse and keyboard just
isn't conducive to sketching.

What do you guys do?

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edw519
Get a spiral bound (so it opens 359 degrees) 8.5 x 11 sketchpad with
detachable pages for about 4 bucks at CVS or Walgreens. When it fills up, file
it away. Remove any pages that apply to a certain project and put them in that
file. I attach 4 different color markers to mine and carry it everywhere.

~~~
callmeed
Lefties like me can't use spiral notebooks as they hurt the wrist.

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sparky
What about one with the binding up top?

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thismat
Yeah, being a leftie as well, spiral notebooks are incredibly uncomfortable,
unless the spiral is on the top. Even reversing them can feel awkward.

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alabut
The best tip I can give non-designers or non-artists is to read Dan Roam's
Back Of The Napkin. It's about how to use basic sketching skills to both
capture and express your ideas.

We're holding a discussion on it on Sept 10th at our next UX Book Club, for
those in the bay area:

[http://groups.google.com/group/ux-book-club-san-
francisco/br...](http://groups.google.com/group/ux-book-club-san-
francisco/browse_thread/thread/90c7f93b24ac91f9)

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billswift
They are also better than using a computer for exploring ideas, because paper
is more flexible.

[http://drezner.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2006/05/26/pen_and_pa...](http://drezner.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2006/05/26/pen_and_paper_rule)

The comments including many by engineers, and a couple of musicians, are
especially interesting.

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diiq
Is it white on pale yellow and unreadable for anyone else?

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pasbesoin
If you are intending to keep them for some time, look for pH neutral/buffered
paper, and a permanent (and non-toxic) marking device.

