Welcome to Nollie Design, where I show you the steps it takes to become an interdisciplinary designer. We use a 12 Principle Framework so that you can develop a full understand of the design world.

Interdisciplinary design isn’t anything new, it actually used to be the norm. You can check out our list of 10 of famous interdisciplinary designers in this post.

One of the best steps to becoming an interdisciplinary designer, is by having a solid understanding of your creative process. The best way to do that is to use a Personal Process Journal or Design Journal.

The Beginners Guide to Starting a Design Journal

Keeping a Design Journal is one of the biggest ways to improve your design ability. If you’re new to writing, it may feel pretty intimidating and you might not know where to start. You may not understand what you can gain from keeping notes. Perhaps you want to keep organised.

A journal is useful to every designer, regardless of your area of expertise. 

I am a huge advocate for keeping note of your design practice. I’ve been keeping a design journal since 2013 and use it daily. It has been the one constant in my career and it has documented every project, every client, every encounter I’ve had in my decade of design. 

How I Started Design Journaling

I’m convinced that I wouldn’t be where I am today without my wee journal. The first time I ever had to journal for a project was for my final project at college as a Graphic Designer in 2012.

At that point I was not long out of school, and the thought of writing for fun seemed insane. I was a designer, I should be drawing and creating, not writing? 

That project I used a tiny A7 journalist notebook and filled it mostly with doodles that had nothing to do with that project. But little did I know, that journal would be something that set off how I am as a Designer over a decade later.

That little A7 Journal is what got me my first job. The biggest factor in deciding to hire me was that I had a written account of what I’d done and how I’d done it. Once I started, I made an effort to write any time one of the managers was looking. Finally, the habit stuck…

Now, over a decade later and a huge collection of notes and notebooks. I’ll help you start you on your design journaling path. 

What is a Design Journal

Firstly let’s clarify what a Journal is. A journal is free and open record and can be used to document thoughts and emotions, as well as correlate dates and events like a diary.

When people think about diaries and journals, they often might get the wrong idea. They might see keeping a diary or journal as childish. It might even put them off starting one in the first place.

But the truth is, the majority of people who use diaries are businesspeople who are tracking meetings, who have deadlines, who have to balance their work and personal lives.

A journal is an incredible tool you can use to benefit yourself as a Designer.

What do you even write about?

The most important thing to do when writing a design journal is keep it consistent. For me, I like to write at the start of every morning, setting me up for the rest of the day.

I normally start with a short paragraph about any news that I think might be important later. This could be any alterations a client has asked for, if I have somewhere to be after work or just how I’m doing that day.

Why keep a Design Journal? 

That is the question I hear the most from aspiring designers. Some courses require students to keep a detailed account of their project, like you are showing your work. 

By keeping track of your work as you do it, you’ll be able to come back to it easier. This could be useful for creating case studies, Project Journals, Proposals, etc.

Where do I keep my Notes?

Here’s the best part of Design Journaling, it doesn’t matter where or how you do it. As long as you do it. 

I prefer the tradition of putting pen to paper and using a dotted page journal. It helps me remember things better, I can doodle without any lines in the middle and the dots can be used to create scale drawings. I always carry my notebook in my bag, and almost always have it on me. 

If you’re interested, I recommend and use an RETTACY A5 Bullet Dotted Notebook. It has over 320 pages so I know I can use it for a long time, and it has dotted pages which makes it easier to draw while still being able to write in a straight line.

My friend uses the note app on his iPad to journal. He even uses the pen that goes with it so he can still doodle if he wants to.

You could use a simple word document. I’ve seen people in group projects use this to work together to create one team Process Journal.

If you’re really struggling to write you could use a voice-to-text function on Google Docs to write your journal entry.

When to Write in your Design Journal

Try using your notebook at the start of each morning or whenever you start work. Give yourself five minutes to write out what you need to get done that day and how you’re feeling about it. You may want to write the time you start work. 

As the day goes on, write in any information that affects your design skills or the project you’re working on. I like to timestamp when things get done. For example, I’ll write 13:28 – Got Project Moodboards Finished. That way I’ll know how long each task took means I can use that in the future.

If you get into the habit of using your notebook everyday you’ll eventually finish it. It might take a few weeks, a few months or even a few years. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. All that matters is that you get into the habit of using it.

How to start your Design Journal

1: Get the first page out of the way

Put something, anything on the page. A blank book is more intimidating to look at so get that fixed as soon as possible. 

There are many ways you can start a new notebook. Theres a few different things you can do here like:

• Write your name
• The date
• Write a summary of the project your working on
• Create a contents page
• A doodle
• Your favourite swear word. I’m Scottish, we love swearing.

2: Make it Personal

The best way to think about your new notebook is that it is for your eyes only. Who cares what you write if nobody is going to see it except you?

The more you write the more you’ll see your personality coming through the pages.

As we go on, the things I write about DO NOT need to be the same things you write about. What worked for me, might not work for you. 

3: Use it Daily, Create consistency

The best way to make it a habit is to use it often. 

I use my notebook the most in the morning. It helps set me up for the day. I’ll start by writing the day’s date then a bit of news, like an update from a client or my thoughts on how a project is going. 

I’ll then add a To Do list and track my progress as the day goes on.

4: To Do List

Write a To Do List at the start of the week and at the beginning of the day. It helps keep you organised and accountable. Don’t give yourself too much to do in a day, or you just won’t do it. I normally put between 3-5 tasks each day.

I have added new elements to my To Do List over the years, for example:

• 3 Questions I can ask during the day
• Something I need to learn that day
• Take Book Notes

5: Improve Your Design Skills

The most important thing you can do with your design journal is write down anything that makes you a better designer. 

Write down any advice you get, any new software you haven’t tried, a new technique you’ve never used. Just write it down.

6: Doodle

Draw. Draw whatever you want. It’s your notebook. Treat pages of it like a sketchbook if you want!

7: Write out questions beforehand.

There is nothing employers enjoy seeing more than a notebook with pre-planned questions. 

By showing up with a notebook it shows that you are thinking ahead of time. It makes you look organised. It makes you look professional. Feel free to take notes during the interview and it will make the interviewer feel listened to.

When going to an interview, try to prepare around 6 questions before going.

8: keep a paper trail

By writing down each project and the tasks involved to complete it, you will have note of everything you’ve worked on. It’s nice to look back over and remember exactly where you were when you wrote something.

Sometimes in your design career you have to cover your own back. Not everything can be sunshine and rainbows all the time. 

By keeping track of things in your design journal you have evidence to call on if you ever need it. 

9: Don’t write about people

Write about what you can learn from people vs writing about the people. 

People get offended if they think you’re writing about them without their permission. Some people can become paranoid and think you’re writing about them. You would be surprised, but this does happen on occasion. 

Explain that you don’t write about people, only what you can learn from them.. 

Don’t write bitchy comments about people you work with.

10. Keep it about Design

My notebooks are only about Design work. That way I can keep everything organised. I know how much I’ve progressed in certain areas and can revisit old projects. 

When I have to write about something unrelated I keep it separate. This can be when starting a project that requires it’s own notebook or starting a project that doesn’t involve design.

Conclusion

Hopefully you can take the information in this blog post and begin journaling. Writing is an undervalued skill in the design industry and is useful to every field. Let your journal be your place to reflect on your projects, create long term goals and show where you are as a designer with each note.

Comment below if you are a designer who uses a journal, and how have you benefited from using one!

Nollie Design is on a mission to showcase the transferable skills between all design fields. We do this to encourage designers to explore Multidisciplinary Design.

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