top of page
Writer's pictureAnamika Chakravarty

Using Sketchnotes for Journaling


A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words! Sketchnoting is the technique to add pictures to your journal. Also known as visual notetaking, it is the creative and graphic process through which we can record our thoughts with the use of illustrations, symbols, and texts. Our brains retain visuals more easily! The best way to learn how to sketchnote is to just start doing it - as it is for anything new we learn. Just start. Then you can figure out what works for you. Here are some basic steps.


1. Giving your page a headline orients you to the main information on the page. One of the easiest ways to write the headline is to make the letters bigger than the rest of the page. You can highlight the headline by using a highlighter. You can use calligraphy fonts. You can use a grey pen to draw shadow lines. You can use block letters. Do anything so that you can differentiate the headline.

2. A way that information gets called out on a page is by taking related information and putting it in a colored box on a page. An easy way to do this is to write a sentence, quote, or phrase, and just bubble it with a colored pencil or marker. You can bubble another related phrase and draw an arrow to connect the two together. Arrows are quite commonly used in sketchnotes.

3. Stick figures are easy to draw and you can make them do things. They can smile or frown. You can draw the letter V for eyebrows and make one angry. Add an exclamation point or question mark over his head and he gets even more animated. You can vary the lines you use for arms and legs, and make the stick figures sit, run, wave, and even dance!

4. You can divide a page in half with a straight, zigzag or dashed line. You can draw the line over only part of the page to make it more interesting. To give the page more personality, you can make the line dashed or add color. The border is just to create separation, and is a handy device to use the blank part on all four sides of a page.

5. Doodles are used in sketchnotes and visual journaling to give text a visual anchor. This can spark your memory when you review the notes later. Use theNounProject.com for readymade icons for anything!

6. If you make any mistake or do not like any of the sketchnotes, stick something interesting to cover it.

10 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comentarios


bottom of page