Using a predefined Sketchnote structure can tremendously amplify the outcomes
And save you from Decision Fatigue.
This is my personal go-to structure and I would like to share why and how I use this.
Even though it works better in portrait orientation, it is also good in landscape mode. I always start with this as a default for everything that implies some sort of recording, such as a talk, lecture or a courses, to summarize what is read…
Of course this IS NOT a fixed template, it can be stretched, modified or expanded depending to the topic, your mood, page dimension and so on. In any case having a vision on how to organize the space is greatly helpful and allows you focus your energies on the sketchnote production itself rather than thinking about “what goes where and why it goes there”.
Let me explain how this works.
The Title: I strongly believe a good title is essential, not only to make very clear what you are sketchnoting, but also its role becomes crucial when you go back to your notes to retrieve information. Date, place, lecturer and Twitter handle, even URLs are details I love to annotate to make my life easier later on.
The Main Topic area: where the real story evolves, the central part of the sketchnote. This section is flexible, expandable but always starts from the very top of the sketchnote area, just below the title, and goes down to the bottom end to become the “conclusion” area.
The Conclusion area is where I close the story or at least I try. The final sentence or the main take-home concept goes there. This is the most underrated area in a sketchnote. I think is because when we arrive there, the event we are capturing is coming to an end. Therefore, when the sound of the voice fades away, we stop writing. I learned that working carefully on the contents in this area, matching and referencing them with the title, will improve not only the overall aspect of the sketchnote but also make it compelling and complete the ability to deliver information at first glance.
Topic descriptions area: the area on the right side. This is where I write/draw those details that help to render the context and deepen the concept. Think about quotes, if you write them in the main flow they might break the rhythm. Putting them in an appropriate area makes the story goes on smoothly.
Sub-Topic area: the part on the left side that I truly love and I need to take a step back to explain you why.
I am terrible at live sketchnoting. Truly. It is a gift I don’t have. I admire all my friends and those who create sketchnoted symphonies of contents on the fly. Someone may argue that is because I’m a man and men can focus only on one thing at a time. Oh well… this is another story :-) .
So, I developed my 2.5 step system.
To make a long story short:
Step 1: I take very rough notes, usually on paper I recycle from printers (everyone can find it at office)
Step: 1.5: I give myself time to make ideas and let thoughts settle down. This is a very important part.
Step 2.5: Later on I juxtapose all my notes in front of me and start working on them. Without mercy I discard what does not “resonate” anymore and start researching on what attracts my curiosity and “engages” me. Sometime this takes me very far from the main topic BUT makes space for serendipity and maximize the final result which is, by the way, knowledge.
Ok, the sub-topic area is where I put my discoveries such as interesting aspects of the lecturer’s career or life, or just references that really worth being followed, those “I-don’t-know-where-it-came-from” ideas or “off-topic topics”, everything that infers in some way with the main topic, I find important or interesting but can be disruptive for the original main purpose of the sketchnote.
Last but not least, signature and copyright space. I was very naive in this and sometimes I forgot even to put my name or at least my twitter handle on my work.
DON’T do that! Once you release your works in the wild you’ll never know where they can eventually go. Always sign your work and, if needed, make clear the copyright rules that apply. Not to mention, Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org are great for this.
Wrap up
Let me remark once again, this is NOT a fixed template. I always bend this structure following the real needs of a sketchnote, but having a clear idea of a starting point allows you to not waste time imagining how it will goes or overthinking trying to plan a kickass structure. In any case you will waste decisional power .
Do you know? The amount of decisions we can make has a limit, beyond that limit we fall in the “decision fatigue”** https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_fatigue .
**Here is a NYT article about decision fadigue, it’s not new but is very good http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html
Never underestimate this aspect and this is why having a visual vocabulary, a favorite colors palette and a go-to starting structure can save lots of energy to be used in a more effective sketchnoting session.
If you find this helpful, would you be so kind and please tap/click that small heart icon on the left corner at the end of the post? It would be greatly appreciated and of course I’d love to hear from you and discuss further.
Thanks for reading!
- Mauro
