The Art of Visual Notetaking

by Emily Mills

  GUIDING SHAPES

  Earlier you learned how a good layout and visual guiding tools move your reader from start to finish, but there is another method you can use to help readers know where to look next: guiding shapes.

  Guiding shapes lead the viewer from each area of information to the next. They help contain the information you’ve captured by creating borders and pathways that make reading easy. Guiding shapes can be made from dots, lines, textures, shading, or color, and they occupy the negative space (blank white areas) around the visual notes. It’s best to add guiding shapes after you finish taking visual notes, but before you refine them.

  EXERCISE

  Revisit some of your practice visual notes or take new notes. After you finish, go back and fill in guiding shapes in the negative space around your notes. Be sure to take a before and after picture to see the difference.

  SHADOWS

  Adding shadows is one of the easiest ways to make information stand out from your pages of visual notes. Here are a few quick ways to add shadows to a container or drawing.

  Pick one side or two adjacent sides of your object and add a gray or black shadow behind it. You can also add gray or black all the way around the object like a drop shadow.

  If you want to learn how to accurately add shading, put different objects under a direct light source, like this example. Study where the shadows actually fall.

  EXERCISE

  Go back to some of your visual notes and add shadows to text, containers, or drawings. Any changes you make should help the main ideas shine.

  SHADING TECHNIQUES

  STIPPLING Add lots of dots where it’s darkest and fewer dots where it’s light.

  CROSSHATCHING Use perpendicular lines that overlap closest where it is darkest and farther where it is light.

  FILL Use solid color to fill in where the shadow is.

  SCRIBBLE A more free-feeling version of crosshatching, scribble tightly where it’s dark and loosely where it is light.

  CONTOUR Draw lines that follow the curve or shape of the object. The lines visually suggest depth and dimension.

  EXERCISE

  Copy these examples into your sketchbook and practice shading using the different styles.

  COLOR

  The most important thing to remember about color is to keep it simple. It’s easy to overdo and it can visually overwhelm viewers. If you’re using all the colors of the rainbow, you’re probably creating distraction, not clarity. When you start out, try using only black and gray; then add color in small amounts as your confidence increases.

  The best way to learn about color is from the color wheel, shown here. The primary colors are red, blue, and yellow.

  ONE COLOR If you’re a beginner, I recommend using only one color to start. One color forces you to be selective in how you use it, and it’s rarely visually overwhelming. Just remember to keep it simple—you don’t need to color all your headlines, callouts, quotes, or containers. Use one color like you would a highlighter—to call attention to special points of interest or importance. When you’re using only one color, avoid light colors like tan.

  Complementary colors sit directly opposite from each other on the color wheel.

  Analogous colors sit next to each other on the color wheel. Analogous colors are a little more subtle and easy to look at because the contrast is lower.

  TWO COLORS When you’re working with two colors, I recommend using complementary or analogous colors.

  Triadic colors are three hues evenly spaced on the color wheel.

  THREE COLORS When you’re ready to use three colors, try a triadic scheme. It’s easy—create an even-sided triangle on the color wheel, and the three colors at each point will go together well. I avoid using more than three colors because it creates more chaos than clarity.

  HOW TO COLOR YOUR VISUAL NOTES

  Think “highlighter,” not “coloring book.” Use color to bring attention to special points of interest or importance. Just because you drew a tree doesn’t mean that you need to color the leaves green. You may choose to use your color selectively, like only on block letters or for arrows. Every color decision should be made keeping the information in mind.

  Consider the examples on this page, and remember to keep it simple!

  BEFORE COLORING

  TOO MUCH COLORING

  GOOD COLORING

  WHAT MAKES VISUAL NOTES “GOOD?”

  “Good” visual notes are not based on aesthetic, but rather on content. Information has zero value if you can’t remember it or act on it. Visual notes are meant to share information in a way that our brains will remember. Even the simplest visual notes can be extremely effective at getting the information to stay in our heads. That’s good news! There’s no pressure to be an amazing artist, because visual notes prioritize function over form.

  Visual notes are like a puzzle: you can’t see the whole picture unless all the pieces are there. Your visual notes should be an accurate summary of the main points that were shared. Only after your notes meet this qualification of accuracy should you focus on improving the aesthetics. If you can’t capture an accurate summary of what you hear, no amount of drawing, shading, lettering, or coloring will improve your visual notes. There’s a big difference between looking good and being good. Your notes need to BE good before they can LOOK good.

  HOW TO KNOW YOU’RE CAPTURING ACCURATE VISUAL NOTES

  • You don’t miss capturing information.

  • You’ve mastered taking pictures of slides and penciling in quotes to make sure you get what’s shared in the moment.

  • People don’t tell you, “You missed it when they said…” and you don’t ask your neighbor, “Did you catch what he said just now?”

  • You’re able to distinguish main ideas from “fluff.”

  • Viewers understand your notes and don’t ask many questions like, “What does that mean?” or “Was there more context for this point?”

  • Your notes are easy to read and use hierarchy perfectly.

  If this sounds like you, you’re probably ready to level up the aesthetics of your notes!

  LOOKING “GOOD”

  If you’re capturing content consistently well, you’re probably itching to get your notes looking better and better. You might even feel like you’ve hit a plateau of creativity and you’re not sure how your notes can get better. Visual notes are an artistic and creative expression of information. To make them look good, we’ll reference the basic principles of art and design.

  BALANCE

  Balance refers to the visual “weight” you see. Our brains love balance in two main ways: symmetry and asymmetry. Symmetry is best described as two halves being mirror images of each other. Asymmetry is two parts of a whole, but each part isn’t equal.

  ASYMMETRICAL

  SYMMETRICAL

  One of the easiest ways to create visually compelling notes is to make them high in contrast. One way to do this is using only black and white, which makes a strong visual statement.

  EMPHASIS/CONTRAST

  This is often achieved by creating a visually dominant area next to a visually passive one. The juxtaposition of the two areas creates interest and visual tension.

  HIERARCHY/PROPORTIONS

  This refers to how everything is arranged in terms of size and quantity, and how well each part relates with the others. With visual notes, hierarchy is mostly dictated by the content you’re capturing: the emphasis is on main ideas, not small details.

  UNITY/HARMONY

  This is achieved when everything looks like it belongs together. Be careful though—if everything looks the same, your work will feel boring. Harmonious visual notes are achieved when similar, related pieces logically come together and work well. One way to easily achieve this is to use one color or two analogous colors.

  VARIETY

  Use different elements to hold visual attention. Be careful though—if everything is too different, your work will feel chaotic. Use variety
, but have some cohesion. This is why I advocate for limiting color use.

  RHYTHM

  Rhythm is achieved through repetition. Use icons and consistent hierarchy and lettering styles to create organized flow.

  MOVEMENT

  Visual flow is achieved by leading the eyes throughout the piece. Movement is relatively easy to achieve through words and sentences, but there are other creative ways to move the viewer’s eye around that may break normal reading patterns.

  KEEP IT SIMPLE

  If there’s one thing to remember about keeping your visual notes looking good, it’s this: keep it simple. Go for memorable over masterpiece. Don’t get carried away trying to create a work of art when the whole point is to make the information stand out.

  SHARING YOUR VISUAL NOTES

  You’ve finished taking your visual notes and refined them to your liking. You’re officially done! Or are you? The last true step of taking visual notes is sharing them with the public.

  If you’re already thinking of arguments for why you don’t want to share your work publicly, let me stop you.

  If you don’t want to share your work because it doesn’t meet your own standards, know that everyone starts somewhere. There’s no shame in the beginning of a journey. In fact, people might really appreciate your vulnerability and courage when you say, “I’m trying something new and I want to share it with the world.” There is no place for perfectionism in life and that goes especially for your visual notes.

  If you’re too embarrassed to show your work because you fear what people will say, know that the mean people win when you don’t take the risk of sharing at all. Take a chance on the good you contribute to the world, and don’t worry about the haters! You’re spending your time contributing to the world and they’re spending their time criticizing it. Who’s really the winner there? (Hint: it’s you.)

  If you don’t want to share your work because you don’t think it’s very good compared to the work of others, the solution is to stop comparing! You can’t compare your first attempts with the efforts from a seasoned professional. It’s not a competition. Just because you don’t like your work doesn’t mean someone else won’t. Give your work a chance and give others a chance to like it too. I am a professional sketch artist today because I took a risk and drew some silly cartoons on my office whiteboard. I didn’t think others would like them, but one thing led to another and now I get to earn my living by drawing full-time. You never know what opportunities could come about from sharing your visual notes!

  CAPTURING THE BEST IMAGE

  Use a well-lit spot. I like to go outside when possible, because natural sunlight always looks better than indoor lighting. If you can’t get to a place with good lighting, take several pictures using the lighting you do have, with and without flash. Compare your photos to see what looks best. Flash has the tendency to wash out notes and colors, but it can also be a lifesaver in a pinch!

  Position yourself directly above or in front of your visual notes, making sure all sides of the canvas are as parallel to the edges of the frame as you can make them. Make sure your shadow isn’t being cast onto them! The more straight-on you are, the better. Save the artistic angles for other projects. You share visual notes because you want people to read them, so make it easy to see!

  Take photos using the normal mode or HD setting. Tap your touchscreen over different parts of your notes to make sure they’re in full focus. I recommend taking at least three pictures every time so you can choose the best one and eliminate any crooked or blurry shots. If you used a large canvas for your notes, take several pictures and stitch them together with photo-editing software.

  OTHER TIPS:

  • Once you have a good photo, use photo-editing software or an app to make slight adjustments, such as brightening or increasing the contrast. Always make sure your notes are easy to read.

  • When you’re ready, share your images online. If you post on social media, using hashtags like #sketchnotes or #visualnotes helps other people interested in visual notetaking find your work.

  If you took your visual notes on smaller paper, using a scanner is another great way to make a digital copy. If you know how to use editing software, you can easily make changes there too. Once you have your final image, you can crop it to a specific size and share it right from your computer.

  THE VALUE OF SHARING

  Sharing your work online is a great way to find a community of like-minded visual notetakers, and it provides an opportunity to get valuable feedback on your work. There is a vibrant sketchnoting community made up of people all over the world! Sketchnoters love to learn from and help each other. If you ever feel stuck, sharing your work and asking for help is a great start.

  Sharing your work is also an amazing way to track your growth. I often don’t notice that my visual notes improve from page to page in a sketchbook, but I do notice from sketchbook to sketchbook. When I look at my latest social media post compared to the previous one, I think, “I guess I’m still at the same skill level as before.” But then I scroll further back and think, “Nope! I’ve definitely gotten better since then.” Changes can be small and hard for you to notice, but others will notice them! I often receive feedback from my followers saying, “You keep getting better and better!” and it’s hard for me to believe them, but they’re not as close to my work as I am. Sometimes you need to take a step back to see the big picture.

  WHEN SHOULD YOU SHARE?

  Our ability to remember information is low when we’re limited to hearing alone. The content people hear in a session fades from memory with every passing minute, so it’s important to get visual notes in front of them fast! I like to share my visual notes within 30 minutes of the session’s end, if possible. There’s nothing more awkward than sharing your notes after the excitement has worn off and everything is back to business as usual. The faster you can share your notes, the better.

  If you took visual notes in class, try to post them right after. If you took visual notes during church, try to post them before the end of the day. If you took visual notes at a conference, try to share before the official closing. Don’t forget to use relevant hashtags on social media so others can find your work too!

  As much as I advocate sharing your visual notes, there are times when it isn’t appropriate. If you’re capturing notes for an event that would be described as invitation-only, closed-door, internal, or proprietary, the information is not meant for public viewing. Ask the leader or planner if you can share your notes with the event’s attendees.

  For many of my professional gigs, the information is private. Sometimes I’ll share that I’ll be sketching for a company and leave it at that, but sometimes clients don’t even want me sharing that information. ALWAYS clarify what you are and are not allowed to share. Finally, don’t put anything online that might compromise the identity or personal safety of yourself or others.

  Outside of those obvious situations in which sharing your visual notes isn’t appropriate, there are other times when you might not want to share. I once captured visual notes during a medical procedure. I was very proud of the work I did, but I disliked the nature of it. I decided to not share my work to prevent attracting similar clients or projects.

  In addition to the above, whenever I’m not sure if I should share my visual notes, I ask myself these questions:

  1. Am I proud of the work?

  If you’re not proud of your work or you have other reasons for questioning whether to share it, I’d say trust your gut and keep your notes private.

  2. Do I have any hesitations in sharing about the event, who the presenter is, or the contents of what was shared?

  If you disagree with the content of the notes or have strong ethical objections, you might not want to share. By sharing your work, you are associating yourself with that information. (Including a disclaimer is one way around this.)

  3. Would my work help others or hurt others?

  If your work would help peo
ple understand, that’s a positive! If the information you share might hurt people, it’s best to keep it private.

  People value visual notes! You might find that you can monetize your work, such as making your notes available for purchase after an event.

  IMPROVING YOUR CRAFT:

  TRACK YOUR TRENDS

  As you practice visual notetaking, you’ll begin to discover your own style. When you’re practicing, pay attention to the timing of your notes. Do you tend to take a lot of notes in the beginning and then taper off once you get a feel for the presenter? Or maybe you write really large and use a lot of space? Perhaps you don’t write enough, or spend too much time on drawings instead of listening. Self-awareness in noticing these tendencies will help you refine your skills and plan your layouts.