“The Sketchnote Handbook” by Mike Ronde

A journalling book in all but name!

I bought Mike Rohde’s book  initially because I like the idea of making practical, illustrative notes in meetings. Once I sat and started to pour over Mike’s book, however, the more I realised that, essentially, this book is a guide to speedy .

Okay, it’s not exactly journalling. Mike’s sketch note idea is one of making very visual, and visually engaging, notes during meetings. Notes which can include character drawings, diagrams, bubble and 3D writing – radial paths and linear paths, modular like a comic strip or explosions of ideas like a spider-diagram. The book covers a wide range of ideas and many, many examples throughout of ways to make note-taking and enjoyable and rewarding experience.

For the casual note-taker this might seem like a radical change in note-taking direction.

To the sketcher and journal writer; I would say that this book offers a great many ideas for how your sketchbook or journal can be brought to further life through note-taking.

1. What are sketchnotes? – In which Mike explains his frustration with traditional linear note-taking and some examples are given off sketchnotes ion practice.

2. Why sketchnote? – In which it is explained how one becomes totally focussed when creating visual notes (But us sketchers knew this already)

3. Listen up! – In which the secret keys to listening are revealed

4. The sketchnoting process – In which we discover Mike’s seven steps in a sketch noting process.

5. Types of sketch notes – In which we are shown different patterns of layout for sketchnotes.

6. Sketchnoting approaches, hierarchy, and personalisation – In which we find out different ways to sketchnote, some ideas about structure and how to make it personal to you.

7. Sketch noting skills and techniques – In which we are shown ways to letter, ways to frame and a variety of sketching tips to quickly capture figures and objects.

205 pages