Saturday 2 March 2019

Book Review: The Art of Visual Notetaking by Emily Mills (Non-Fiction)

Title: The Art of Visual Notetaking
Author: Emily Mills
Publisher:
Qaurto - Walter Foster

Publication Date: 21 January 2019
Pages:
128
Format:
eBook - EPUB
Genre:
Non-Fiction
Source:
ARC via NetGalley

 


Visual notetaking is the perfect skill for journaling, class lectures, conferences, and any other time that retaining information is key. Also referred to as sketchnoting, visual notetaking is ideal for documenting processes, planning projects, outlining ideas, and capturing information. And as you'll learn in The Art of Visual Notetaking, this approach doesn't require advanced drawing or hand-lettering skills; anyone can learn how to use simple lines, connectors, shapes, and text to take dynamic notes.

In The Art of Visual Notetaking, aspiring sketchnoters and journalers will find helpful "Getting Started" pages of icons and badges for common note-taking purposes, with tips and encouragement for creating you own unique icons. You'll go on to discover instruction and how-to techniques, tips, and tutorials that focus on visual notetaking for different settings, from a business meeting, workshop, or convention, to a college lecture or sermon. Expert instruction from a professional sketchnote artist and educator demonstrates how to visually arrange and compile ideas, focal points, and key concepts.


When I first came across The Art of Visual Notetaking, I thought it was something that might appeal to me. The book is nicely laid out, with plenty of excellent information and some good examples. It did concentrate on visual notetaking at events and conferences, and I might have liked to have seen a few more examples from the more personal side of things, but that is a minor complaint, as the book was, on the whole, an interesting and informative read. I liked the fact that there were spaces available in which you could practice different ideas, and everything was clear and easy to follow. I would definitely like to give visual notetaking a try after reading this text. 4.5 stars

2 comments:

  1. (edited spelling)
    Oh man! That is a great point about it focusing on conferences that I didn't realize. I really appreciate you talking the time to review my book! I'll be sure to add some tips on personal visual notetaking on the sketchnoteacademy blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Emily. I will certainly check out your blog to see some of those examples. One thing I am considering is using this notetaking approach to create some visual representations/overviews of my novels as bonus content for readers. We'll see how I go with it!

      Delete