Mike Roady visual notes read. Visual Notes

Bought, reviewed and put on the shelf for almost two years. And just this past January holiday, I not only leafed through the book, looking at other people's sketches, but also tried to take notes using Rowdy's method. Apparently, it's time to learn this way of keeping records.

So, Mike Rowdy, a designer and illustrator who regularly attends various conferences, seminars and lectures, has developed his own style of taking notes, which allows you to better remember the information received. The essence of the method is very simple: you process information and write down the most significant words, supplementing them with visual images. This method is more efficient than regular note-taking, and it has to do with how our brains work.

Brain processes the received textual information into a visual object. In other words, the brain creates pictures in the subconscious and a separate picture is stored for each word, as in a visual dictionary. Therefore, with continuous note-taking, he has to process each recorded word. Whereas, using the Rowdy method, the information is immediately processed, and only the most important remains. Further, it is assembled into semantic blocks. The brain spends less time processing words into pictures due to the fact that there are fewer words themselves. And it turns out that information is not remembered better, but more effectively remembered. The brain records absolutely everything that a person hears and sees. Graphic elements and drawings that complement text notes, like anchors, indicate to the brain where in its archives there is that layer of information that is associated with this picture and this text.

The book has a lot of information on how to create visual notes - sketches:
- types of sketches, approaches and techniques of creation;
- psychological component (“draw like a child!”);
- correct thinking, concentration and development of the ability to listen (skip the information received and display meaningful ideas, and not an endless chain of words);
- many inspiring illustrations and examples from which you can draw a lot of ideas for creating your own sketches;
- lessons on basic techniques for creating sketches, fonts and information visualization;
- useful exercises for working out basic graphic elements that will help beginners master the basic techniques of sketchnoting;
- and most importantly - inspires you to fight your inner perfectionist ("sketching is not art!") and various fears about drawing.

At the same time, the book is not at all about drawing and illustrating, although this idea is prompted by the constant use of the word “sketch”, since a sketch is rather a sketch, and here we are talking about visual notes - text supplemented with graphic elements. But I do not rule out that the book can push those who think they cannot draw to improve their skills, for example, to show their sketches.
Also in the book, the author focuses on using sketches to record oral presentations, but it seems to me that you can outline anything in this way - books, films, recipes, thoughts, events, even just your past day - and it really will be remembered much better, than dozens of pages of text.

Total:
I was so impressed with this book that I opened my wallet and bought it, despite the fact that I do not like to buy paper books - they are expensive and there is nowhere to store them. Without a discount, the book cost more than seven hundred rubles, and now it is already about a thousand. That's why you should think before buying and do not waste money if you are not sure that you will apply new knowledge in practice. But nevertheless, I recommend Mike Rowdy's book "Visual Notes" for inspiration and implementation.

Type of book: motivational, educational
The price is high
Is it worth buying in paper: yes
Rating: 4 out of 5

Almost all the paper books I have in my house are useful books, as I call them, not fiction books. Moreover, mainly in creativity and self-development.

One of them is Mike Rowdy's book "Visual Notes. An Illustrated Guide to SketchNoting".

This book is published by Mann, Ivanov, Ferber, it is dressed in paperback (in reviews on livelib everyone writes about a paradise for kinesthetics - I'm not a kinesthetic, so take my word for it, but the paper is really pleasant to the touch). I took a few photos + in the best quality a piece of the book can be viewed on the publisher's website.

In short, this book is about how to effectively, beautifully and understandably record lectures or some kind of speeches so that later you a) want to return to them, b) it is clear what you have returned to.

In the first six months of my life in St. Petersburg, I often went to professional events, listened to dozens of speakers and dotted the pages of my notebook with understandable, but short and rather dull notes. The eye does not cling to anything there, the handwriting is not legible. In general, I just now opened this notebook to see what was left in it. And if I had known about sketchnoting earlier, then perhaps I would have used the acquired knowledge better and more successfully.

Each spread of this book is the same sketch (or visual note). Mike tells how he came to sketchnoting, how best to prepare for his first sketch (for example, design a title in advance), what are the sketches, what are the differences and features, what tools and fixtures will be needed for sketchnoting.

At the end of the book, theory comes to an end and practice time begins. In specially prepared squares, it is proposed to draw faces with different emotions, objects from your office or kitchen (at the same time, the author constantly emphasizes that any person can draw simple pictures and a schematically depicted dog in a sketch is no worse than depicted in detail).

Most of all I liked to look at the sketches of other artists. After each chapter, there are two spreads with such examples. I looked at all these arrows, strokes and letters with pleasure, went to the websites and instagrams of these authors, added someone to my bookmarks, and subscribed to someone.

I also kept thinking about the artist who “translated” this book. After all, he had to redraw other people's sketches, observing the style and features. It must not be so easy, considering how many different authors were involved in the preparation of the book.

All the time while I was reading this book, I did not leave the desire to break loose and draw a sketch. But I restrained myself, I wanted to read everything to the end. And just like that, when I finished reading the book, I was left with the last series of the wonderful TV film by Vladimir Pozner "England in general and in particular." I decided that this was not an accident, but a pattern and made my first sketchnote based on a series about English democracy :)

(Materials used: Moleskine large Sketchbook and two liners from an ordinary bookstore - thinner red, thicker black).

The book is quite expensive, 600 rubles, so I probably won’t recommend it to everyone and everyone. But personally, the knowledge from this book was very useful to me and, I am sure, will be useful again. Today, in this way, I summarized 2 lectures from the course on Coursera, which I am currently taking, I plan to summarize webinars and, possibly, other useful books.

By the way, I just looked at the MIF website to check the price, and I saw that the second book “Visual Notes in Practice. Advanced Visual Note Techniques”, it has not yet gone on sale, but the price is already impressive - 990 rubles! However, I bought the first book for 750, and now it has fallen in price to 600, maybe that one will become available to me.

I think there is no need to even introduce the author - Mike Rhodey's first book "Visual Notes" was widely distributed and the ideas of sketchnoting "went to the people", as they say. Today I have the second book in front of me - a continuation of the topic of visual notes, presenting a lot of practical examples and tips for improving this skill - both from the author and from the masters of this business, who have introduced the visualization of ideas into their lives for a long time. Needless to say - as always, a pleasant to the touch book, and even in a bright orange cover - what you need on a cold autumn evening!

In general, Mike's ideas are so simple and obvious, thanks to just the visualization of the text, that it seems as if you always thought so. Moreover, as a person with a "motor" memory, I always perfectly remembered what I wrote down, even without rereading. And that's why I've been looking for a way to write down everything faster for quite some time - I even tried to learn shorthand)

In fact, the idea of ​​such visualization intuitively came to many people for sure. Spontaneously, I began to do something similar while sitting at lectures on the history of art in the Hermitage. The lecturer spoke so interestingly that it was a pity to miss something, constantly writing down, and it was also a pity not to write down - and quite unconsciously I began to quickly sketch some objects in the text that were discussed! I didn’t know how to draw then, and I didn’t suspect that I would someday start - but I knew for sure that now I won’t forget what I heard. And almost 20 years have passed - and I still remember those lectures, and if you open a notebook and look at the sketch notes, you will remember even more.

Moreover, I remember the whole atmosphere of the lecture hall, and the weather in those days, and many other details that are engraved in my memory so clearly that they have not been worn out to this day. And now, looking at the pages of Mike's book with diagrams, drawings and texts, I understand that the same method is given here, only already structured and tested by many people. And everyone is capable of it - and those who have a "motor" memory are also in dire need of it). Because in addition to lectures or some events, we also want to remember our life - for example, for this I got myself a diary where I write down the events of the day, but then again - sometimes it’s just too long to describe it, and gaps appear in the diary due to lack of time. And this wonderful way will definitely help me to cope with it! Because sometimes it is enough to sketch an event somehow symbolically - and it will no longer sink, and it will be possible to return to it and add on!

I'm even surprised - how did I not think of this before? Although, I think, the reason is simple - we take everything too seriously sometimes: if you write it down, then it should be done correctly, if you draw it, then skillfully. And this is where such books help - which calmly say that for this you do not need to be able to draw at all, and that sometimes - even just capturing at least something in the process, at least some detail - is no longer out of place, and helps to pull everything else out of memory later))

In addition, as a person who is already drawing, I again discovered an amazing property of memory: in the process of drawing, not only the image of what you are drawing is imprinted, but also of everything around! And I already enjoy keeping an art diary, which I finally got after reading again from the MIF publishing house!
Now there is a feeling that a new book came just in time, because the art diary got better, but the diary of daily life sagged a little, such is our fast paced time that some things sometimes fall out. And with all this - I consider daily records a necessary element. But when you write so much, by the evening you don’t even have enough strength sometimes. And here such an inherently charming method is offered! Or rather, it was proposed in the first book, and then there is development: a variety of applications! From travel to recipes, from planning to idea generation...

And of course, a lot is said about the usefulness of this activity - after all, the combination of verbal and visual information makes both hemispheres work at once! still what use it turns out) plus and attention to detail develops - and this is not superfluous to anyone!

And so - along with use cases: a lot of tips to improve the skills and optimize the process of taking such notes.
This includes planning - and who does not need it? And in such an easy casual manner!

This includes examples of writing different fonts that will definitely be relevant in times of lettering fashion))

All this is collected in the chapter on "advanced things"...

Well, examples from real people are scattered throughout the book - how and why they use visual notes in their lives.

In general, the book is "groovy" and completely practical. It even has working pages where you can immediately try to create different types of sketches, icon sets, metaphors.
Such a book can be a good gift for yourself and friends - the case when entertainment and benefit go hand in hand!

Mike Rhodey

Mike Rhodey is a professional user interface designer, visual designer, icon designer for mobile and web applications. His work has been included in Rework: Business Without Prejudice, a bestseller by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson.

Sketches are a variety of visual notes made up of handwritten text, drawings, diagrams, and pictorial elements.

According to Mike, he got into sketchnoting when he became dissatisfied with the text recordings he made at work meetings and other events. He tried to capture every detail of the speech, but instead of detailed notes, he received a complex text that did not want to re-read. But what is the use of notes that you don’t want to return to again? Yes, none.

Sketches were born out of frustration

Instead of writing down absolutely everything as text, Rowdy decided to sketch and capture only the most important ideas. This approach allows you to concentrate on listening and perceive information both verbally and visually. This is called the dual coding theory, which was proposed in 1970 by Allan Paivio.

Mike was pleased with the result of the experiment and became so interested in sketchnoting that he even published his own book about it.

By the way, the book itself is like one big sketch. These are sketches by Rowdy himself, as well as other sketchbookers from around the world.

In the book you will find many techniques and techniques for creating sketches. Get acquainted with their main types, get advice from the author and other sketchers, and in general, get a purely visual pleasure from the book, which is made and translated just fine (“MYTH” - well done!).

It is important to understand that Visual Notes is a book not about how to draw(although there are some basic lessons here). This is a book about how to visually capture your ideas in the form of visual notes. You don't have to be an artist, designer, or illustrator to sketch. Remember: sketches are not about art, they are about visual fixation major ideas.

You can and should make sketches that are easiest for you to draw. If you like text, experiment with typography. Love drawings - please draw. Do not mind adding any embellishments - but for God's sake. Just relax, focus on listening and sketch whatever you like.

A complex idea is often easier to express in a simple drawing rather than a paragraph of text.

It's great that the book has exercises for drawing laymen like me. After all, even if you don’t like or don’t know how to draw, you still have to do some sketches sometimes. The book describes some of the simplest methods of sketching objects, people and faces. This helps to gain self-confidence and (after all, even a poorly drawn tree is still a tree, right?).

This is how, for example, I learned to draw people:

It turned out awful, but it's clear that a person is depicted :) And this is the main thing.

When I started reading this book, I decided not to make a summary in the form of text, but to try to make sketches based on the book. And you know, I liked it! I went to the stationery store, picked out some pens and markers, and enjoyed sketching this book. That's what I did:

Of course, it is difficult to call it masterpieces, and much of what is written is difficult to make out. But the main thing is that I understand it. They are more useful, because refreshing a fragment of a speech is much easier when you have all kinds of visual images in front of you, and not just dry text. It is much more pleasant to refer to such notes later.

Sketches can be used for more than just outlining a book. You can sketch when:

• Workshops, presentations
• Educational events, lectures
• Browse TED lectures
• Listening to podcasts, educational programs

Just try! Everywhere and always. Constant practice is the key to success.

Don't forget to share your sketches with others, or at least store them digitally for yourself. For example, in some cloud storage. In the case of the Visual Notes outline, I simply uploaded all the sketch photos to Evernote and now I have a visual outline of the book always at hand.

Of course, sketches are hardly suitable for recording lectures at an institute, where you need to record absolutely everything, not because you will need all this, but because you don’t know what exactly you will get on the exam. But for everything else, it's fine.

The book can be read literally in a day, it is quite short, but its benefits in practice can be really huge. The main thing is to practice every day, try and do not be afraid. Your task is not to become a good artist, but to learn how to visually capture really important ideas, remember this. And in this "Visual Notes" help as well as possible.

Draw sketches and read good books! Good luck :)