The importance of the sketchbook

I love to use the sketchbook, but I think I understood clearly what the real purpose of this tool is only in the second term, working on projects that were less structured than the ones in the first.

In order to clarify this point, I bought a book which I think is fundamentalç "Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World's Great Graphic Designers".

It's fantastic to see how the greatest graphic designers' ideas are born. Looking into their sketchbooks is like seeing into their minds.

I realised what my sketchbook shortcomings were, I was inspired by theirs' and I learned a few things about improving my work.

The sketchbook is the first step in idea development. It is used to annotate any sort of idea, even the most rudimentary. Even if it will never become a finished work, it could serve later as an inspiration for other projects or form the basis for another work.

The sketchbook is the perfect place to store half-ideas, bad drawings, to make mistakes, try, experiment, with no shame. It's the tool that helps us the most in developing our thought process more than our technical skills (even if it can surely help our drawing capabilities).

Learning to jot down any idea we have, even the silliest ones, is the best way to become a better graphic designer.

The sketchbook must be an extension of our mind, it must replicate what we think, good and bad ideas both.

My mistake was to not present all the idea development process from the start, including my errors and tries. Now I have researched the subject, and I have a more precise idea of what a great sketchbook is.

Here are some pictures I have taken from the book, showing the sketchbooks that inspired me the most.