Journal
15 creative ideas for your notebook
Our notebooks are made from surplus paper from print shops. That is why no two books are alike: colours, textures and paper weights change partway through. You can put that to use — here are 15 ways to fill a book like this.
01
Bullet journal with changing paper
Use the different sheet colours as natural chapter dividers: each month starts where the paper changes colour. You do not need tabs — the book comes with its own.
02
Sketchbook for pencil and fineliner
Uncoated papers from around 120 g give graphite a velvety feel. Set aside two sheets at the back for testing and note which pen or pencil works on which paper.
03
Travel journal with things you find
Stick in tickets, labels and napkins — heavier sheets will not buckle. Date and place at the top left, thoughts below: that is all the structure you need.
04
Colour journal
One page a day, one block of colour a day. Tinted papers create combinations you would never get on white.
05
Recipe book from your own kitchen
Recipe on the left, cooking notes on the right. Greasy fingers are part of it — a well-used recipe book is a good recipe book.
06
Reading journal
One spread per book: quotations on the left, your own thoughts on the right. At the end of the year, you have a library in one volume.
07
Morning pages
Three pages of freewriting as soon as you get up, without corrections. Rough paper gently slows your hand and your writing.
08
Project logbook
One notebook per project, in chronological order, with a date on every page. Later, you can trace when each decision was made.
09
Typography practice book
Copy one typeface per spread. Smooth, coated papers suit fine nibs; rough papers suit broad markers.
10
Paper sample collection
Stick in offcuts, small pieces and proofs, and note the paper weight, colour and manufacturer. A personal sample book that grows with you.
11
Letter book
Write letters you will never send — to people, to your former self, to a year. Each page has an addressee.
12
Nature journal
Pressed leaves, bird sightings, weather. Tinted papers give greens and beiges a calmer appearance than white.
13
Hand-drawn habit tracker
One grid per month, drawn with a ruler. Draw it yourself and you will look at it more often than an app.
14
Risograph and printing notes
Record colour combinations, screen rulings and papers that worked well in print. That saves a whole proof run for the next edition.
15
Gift notebook with a first page
Write the first page yourself — a dedication, a question, a beginning — and give the rest away blank. It makes the blank page less daunting.
Which paper suits which idea?
80–100 g
Lightweight, with room for plenty of writing: morning pages, letters, reading journals. Fountain pen ink may bleed through — ballpoint pens and pencils are safer.
120–170 g
The all-rounder: sketches, fineliners, things you stick in. These sheets will not buckle, even with a glue stick.
from 200 g
Card for dividers, colour studies and printing notes. Takes marker and screen-printing ink without bleed-through.