The theme of the most recent installment of Visual Vocabulary: Fruit. Below you will see simple sketches of five of my favorite fruits. The first and last are my absolute favorites. Apple: Banana: Grapes: Orange: Strawberry: The sketches seen here are part of a project called Visual Vocabulary. In addition to helping me build my… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: June 2012
Footwear Sketches
Two weeks ago I focused my Visual Vocabulary project on the theme of Footwear. Here’s what I came up with. Sandals: Tennis Shoes: Chacos: Vibram Fivefingers (I love hiking in these!): Barefoot: The sketches seen here are part of a project called Visual Vocabulary. In addition to helping me build my own visual vocabulary, my… Continue Reading
Three Handwritten Fonts for Sketchnoting: Natural, Bold, and Italic
In order to be an effective visual note taker, you need to make some ideas stand out from others. One way to achieve that goal is to surround those important ideas with some sort of frame – a rectangle, thought bubble, or maybe even a fake explosion around the words. A more subtle way to… Continue Reading
Sketchnotes of Radiolab Podcast: Grumpy Old Terrorists
It’s a beautiful, peaceful day today in Portland, Oregon. But the park bench on which I sat this morning was not the most appropriate setting to listen to Radiolab’s most recent podcast, which deals with the issue of catching terrorists within the U.S. Not just any terrorists. Old, grumpy terrorists. I took the sketchnotes above… Continue Reading
Sketchnotes of the Preface to The Elements of Graphic Design
Sketchnoting is graphic design on the fly. My goal as a sketchnoter is not to become a master graphic designer, but I do want to learn enough basic design principles so that my sketchnotes are clear and clean enough that I enjoy returning to them when I want to re-immerse myself in the topic that… Continue Reading
Sketchnotes from the Final Rural-Urban Connections Seminar – Farming 2.0: Modern Innovation for Sustainability
Portland State University hosted the sixth and final Rural-Urban Connections seminar last Wednesday at the PSU Native American Student and Community Center. The sketchnotes above and below record some of the issues that came up during the panel discussion (click on the images to view larger versions). Panel participants Cory Carman (Carman Ranch), Alison Hensey… Continue Reading
Sketchnotes of the News: Seeking An Edge, Teenage Strivers Turn To Stimulants
The sketchnotes above are from the recent New York Times article Seeking an Edge, Teenage Strivers Turn to Stimulants. Excerpts: “Once you break the seal on using pills, or any of that stuff, it’s not scary anymore – especially when you are getting A’s,” said the boy who snorted Adderall in the parking lot. “It’s… Continue Reading
This Is How I Take Notes
While rummaging through some boxes in search of the frustratingly small but surprisingly inspirational book The Elements of Style, I came across a sketchbook from a former phase of my life – a phase when I wanted to be a full-time computer programmer. I have developed a few very simple iPhone and iPad applications, and… Continue Reading
Olaf Breuning Previews Home 3 at Fifth Ave Cinemas
Olaf Breuning discussed his past work and previewed his new film last week to a packed audience at 5th Ave Cinemas on the campus of Portland State University. The sketchnotes above capture some of what came up during his talk. A recurring theme throughout the night was how the medium in which you work significantly… Continue Reading
