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DAY 1 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE VISUAL ALPHABET DAY 2 REVERSE ENGINEERING USING THE VISUAL ALPHABET DAY 3 DOODLING THINGS AROUND YOUR HOME DAY 4 DOODLING ALL KINDS OF RANDOM STUFF DAY 5 YOUR FIRST DOODLING CREATIVE CHALLENGE DAY 6 YOUR SECOND DOODLING CREATIVE CHALLENGE DAY 7 DOODLING ANIMAL HEADS USING THE VISUAL DAY 8 USING FRAMEWORKS TO STRUCTURE YOUR DOODLES DAY 9 BUILDING YOUR VISUAL VOCABULARY DAY 10 PEOPLE DAY 11 ACTIVE PEOPLE DAY 12 MORE ACTIVE DAY 13 ACTIVE PEOPLE DOODLING SKILLS DAY 14 FACIAL EXPRESSIONS USING THE FACE MATRIX DAY 15 TURNING SQUIGGLES INTO FACES DAY 16 DOODLING DETAILED HUMAN FACIAL FEATURES DAY 17 DOODLING MORE DETAILED HUMAN FACIAL FEATURES DAY 18 DOODLING HEADS OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES DAY 19 IT'S REALLY ALL IN THE NOSE
P age |2 DAY 20 DOODLING FACES ON INANIMATE OBJECTS DAY 21 DOODLING HUMAN HANDS AND FEET DAY 22 DOODLING SCARY LITTLE MONSTERS DAY 23 CREATING MOVEMENT AND DIRECTION DAY 24 DOODLING THREE DIMENSIONAL SHAPES DAY 25 USING DEPTH AND DISTANCE IN YOUR DOODLES DAY 26: USING PERSPECTIVE WITHIN YOUR DOODLES DAY 27 DOODLING METAPHORS AND ABSTRACT WORDS DAY 28 TURNING ABSTRACT WORDS INTO DOODLES DAY 29 DOODLING IS ABOUT IDEAS NOT ARTWORK DAY 30 STANDARD VS. VISUAL FORMS OF NOTE-TAKING THE IQ DOODLE DAY 31: FONTS, TITLES AND WORD PICTURES DAY 32: USING DIAGRAMS AND DOODLES DAY 33: USING HANDWRITING AND CAPTIONS DAY 34 USING DIVIDERS AND SEPARATORS DAY 35 USING ARROW DAY 36 – BULLETS AND ICON DAY 37 – USING FRAMES, CONTAINER & BUBBLE THOUGHT
P age |3 DAY 38 – VISUAL NOTE TAKING CHEAT SHEET DAY 39 - STRUCTURING YOUR VISUAL NOTES DAY 40 - GUIDELINES FOR CAPTURING NOTES VISUALLY
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DAY 1 An Introduction to the Visual Alphabet On Day 1 of this course we will look at the fundamental principles behind the doodle. When learning how to doodle we must start with the basics, and the basics start with the visual alphabet. Today I will introduce you to the visual alphabet, familiarize you with the 12 basic shapes, and then I'm going to hand it over to you so you can practice your doodling skills
is OTHER SAD BALL:
O – Oval T – Triangle H – House E – Eye R – Rectangle S – Spiral A – Arc D – Dot B – Blob A – Angle
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L – Line L – Loop
DAY 2 Reverse Engineering Using the Visual Alphabet On Day 2 of this course we will look at how to reverse engineer objects within your environment. We will build on the previous day's lesson by using the elements of the visual alphabet to build an object from scratch. Specifically I will be using an example of a desk lamp and showing you how it's simply made up of visual alphabet elements.
DAY 3 Doodling Things Around Your Home BASICS On Day 3 of this course we will look at various things you can doodle very easily around your home. Again we will build on previous lessons and continue to use only elements from the visual alphabet to doodle these objects. I will provide you with several examples and then I will hand things over to you and ask you to create doodles of your own.
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HASIL
DAY 4 Doodling All Kinds of Random Stuff BASICS
P age |7 On Day 4 of this course we will continue to practice using elements of the visual alphabet to doodle stuff. Today specifically let's doodle a few more indoor items, but also let's expand our horizons a little by looking outside the home or office and doodling other things that might catch your eye. Again, keep things simple and have fun with the process.
HASIL
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DAY 5 Your First Doodling Creative Challenge On Day 5 of this course I'm going to test you a little. In fact, you might even feel a little uncomfortable undertaking the creative challenge I have planned for you. And that's perfectly okay. When we feel uncomfortable it means we are learning and growing. I do really hope that you give this creative challenge a try. Who knows, you might even surprise yourself.
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HASIL
DAY 6 Your Second Doodling Creative Challenge BASICS On Day 6 of this course I'm going to present you with your second doodling creative challenge. And this one might be a little more difficult than the last, but I do hope that you're up for the challenge. Remember that when we're challenged it helps us learn and grow. And the more you learn from these creative challenges the better visual thinker you will become.
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HASIL
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Day 7 Doodling Animal Heads Using the Visual On Day 7 of this course let's continue practicing our visual alphabet skills by doodling animal heads. I of course understand that you may never need to doodle animal heads, but this isn't about what you might or might not ever doodle. It's rather about practicing your doodling technique in various ways to help build the confidence you need to doodle anything your heart desires.
DAY 8 Using Frameworks to Structure Your Doodles On Day 8 of this course we'll take a look at how to use frameworks to help structure your doodles more effectively. It's of course not necessary that you use frameworks when doodling. However, understanding frameworks can be of value when working with proportions or if you desire to doodle more complex objects. I hope you will find this lesson of value.
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PROSES DENGAN FRAME
DAY 9 Building Your Visual Vocabulary On Day 9 of this course let's take all the lessons we have worked through so far and use the practical experience you have had to begin building your visual vocabulary. Within this lesson I'm going to ask you to take small consistent actions each and everyday to grow your visual vocabulary. This won't take much effort however your effort does need to be consistent.
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DAY 10 PEOPLE On Day 10 of this course let's take a look at something that most people dread when it comes to doodling. It's of course doodling people. However, doodling people doesn't need to be difficult. We are not attempting to create works of art. We are instead doodling something that represents a person, which can of course come in the form as basic as a stick figure.
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DAY 11 ACTIVE PEOPLE On Day 11 of this course let's take a look at how to doodle active people. You should now feel pretty comfortable doodling stick figures, blog figures, box figures, etc. But what if we want to represent these figures moving and doing all sorts of stuff, and not just standing around in one spot? Well it all comes down to making a few small tweaks that I explain within today's lesson.
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DAY 12 MORE ACTIVE On Day 12 of this course we will look at nine more examples of active people doing stuff, and I'm of course going to ask you to recreate them in your own way. Today specifically we will look at doodling a person falling backward, crawling, splatting, praying, doing the splits and handstands, a person thinking, reaching down and spinning around in endless circles.
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DAY 13 Active People Doodling Skills On Day 13 of this course I'm not going to introduce anything new. Instead I will challenge you to take what you have learned over the past few days and turn those lessons into doodles. Specifically I want to challenge you to doodle a few more active people without providing you with any of my own examples. Are you up for the challenge?
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DAY 14 Facial Expressions Using the Face Matrix On Day 14 of this course I'm going to introduce you to a face matrix designed to help you express nine types of emotions through your doodles. All it really takes to express these emotions is three lines. Yes, just three lines used in various combinations can help you express nine different kinds of emotions. It really couldn't get any easier than this.
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DAY 15 Turning Squiggles into Faces On Day 15 of this course I'm going to introduce you to Mr. Squiggle. Then after the introductions we will do what Mr. Squiggle does best, which is turn random squiggles into recognizable doodles. I suspect you will have a lot of fun with the activity I have for you today. Who knows, just maybe your random squiggles will turn into a few giggles when all is said and done. :)
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DAY 16 Doodling Detailed Human Facial Features On Day 16 of this course let's add a little more character and life to our facial expressions. Today I am going to show you various ways to doodle eyes, a mouth, noses, and hair. This might seem a little complex at first, however it is important to mention that we are still working with the fundamentals of the visual alphabet. All these facial features are built upon those principles.
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DAY 17 Doodling More Detailed Human Facial Features On Day 17 of this course I am going to take it up a notch. I gather you already understand how to doodle simple human emotions. And yesterday you practiced doodling more complex facial features. Well for today, let's combine those two lessons and look at ways we can express a wider variety of human emotions using only the eyes, mouth and the eyebrows.
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DAY 18 Doodling Heads of All Shapes and Sizes On Day 18 of this course let's bring the past few lessons together and continue to build upon your doodling skills. Today we will specifically look at human heads. Okay, maybe not quite human. Let's call them cartoon heads instead. What you will find is that cartoon heads come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Literally any closed shape can easily become a head with a little imagination.
DAY 19 It's Really All in the Nose On Day 19 of this course we'll be taking a closer look at the art of doodling the nose. Yes, I do remember we have already gone through a lesson that explained how to doodle a nose, but this lesson is very different. Within today's lesson we are simply going to represent the nose as a pointy V, and I'm going to show you that where the nose goes the head follows.
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DAY 20 Doodling Faces on Inanimate Objects On Day 20 of this course let's use all the practice you have had up to this stage doodling faces. However, instead of doodling faces on human figures, let's look at doodling faces on inanimate objects such as a pencil, bottle, book, tree, kettle, etc. Putting faces on these objects can give your doodles a lot more character and will certainly make them more memorable.
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DAY 21 Doodling Human Hands and Feet On Day 21 of this course we'll go through one of my most awkward doodling experiences I've ever had. We are of course going to discuss how to doodle hands and feet. Doodling hands in particular was a nightmare when I first got started doodling. I found it difficult because I fell into the trap of over complicating them from the onset. However, doodling hands doesn't need to be a complex process.
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DAY 22 Doodling Scary Little Monsters On Day 22 of this course I might get a little criticism for the fact that I'm going to ask you do doodle scary little monsters. Yes, on the surface it might seem childish, but my goal is after all to bring out your inner child. :) Also doodling monsters is just another doodle skill that challenges you to think creatively. Who knows? One of these days you may even need to doodle a scary little monster. :)
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Day 23 Creating Movement and Direction On Day 23 of this course let's take a look at how to show movement and direction within your doodles. Adding movement and direction to your doodles can help tell a story. It can show that something is progressing from one point to another; that something is moving quickly or slowly; or that something is moving through time. And all it takes is a few squiggles.
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DAY 24 Doodling Three Dimensional Shapes On Day 24 of this course let's take a look at how to quickly doodle three dimensional shapes. You can use 3D shapes to add depth to some of your doodles. There are of course many 3D shapes we could potentially explore here. However, there are probably three shapes in particular that will be of most value for your doodles. These shapes include the box, the pyramid and the pipe.
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Day 25 Using Depth and Distance in Your Doodles On Day 25 of this course we will look at how to add depth to your doodles through the use of shading and shadows. We will also explore how to show the distance between objects. This is certainly a more advanced lesson. In fact, when it comes to using shading and shadows, they are very much luxuries in the doodle world. But it's certainly well worth learning more about.
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Day 26: Using Perspective Within Your Doodles On Day 26 of this course we will look at three perspectives you can use while doodling. We will first take a look at the Renaissance perspective, then the Chinese perspective and finally the Egyptian perspective. I'm also going to re-share a video I shared with you on Day 1 of this course where Dave Gray discusses these three perspectives in some detail.
The Renaissance Perspective (ses a horizon line and a vanishing point in the distance)
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The Chinese Perspective (a bird’s-eye view of your environment)
The Egyptian Perspective (mimic how things look like in real life)
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Day 27 Doodling Metaphors and Abstract Words On Day 27 of this course let's take a look at doodling visual metaphors and abstract words. This lesson is certainly a little different. We are of course still doodling, however a lot more thought is required to bring these doodles to life. In fact, a little creative energy on your part is called for, which of course you have even if you don't think you're creative. :)
or instance words such as love, success, freedom, or serenity. Each of these words have specific meaning, and this “meaning” probably differs from person-to-person. It might even differ for each person at different moments of their life. If that’s the case, then how do we go about representing these words in a
visual way?
P a g e | 43 Trophy, book, coffee cup, computer, crystal ball, dice, eyes, candle, heart, keys, magnifying glass, phone, scales, star.
Trophy: recognition, winning, reward. Book: learning, reading, study, journal, smart, intelligent. Coffee Cup: awake, alert, morning, caffeine, work, relaxation. Computer: technology, electronics, email, internet, research. Crystal Ball: the unknown, future, fortune, prediction. Dice: game, luck, gamble, chance. Eyes: look, vision, observe, perspective. Candle: hope, light, illuminate. Heart: love, friendship, relationship, caring, nurturing.
P a g e | 44 Keys: answer, solution, open, lock. Magnifying Glass: research, mystery, clue, inspect. Phone: communication, talking, connecting, technology. Scales: justice, balance, fair, equal, law. Star: goal, shine, bright, wish.
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DAY 28 Turning Abstract Words into Doodles Within the previous lessons we discussed metaphors and abstract words. Then I had you doing an exercise where you extracted meaning from a bunch of random doodles and presented them as abstract words. Today we are going to flip things upside down by turning abstract words into doodles.
Since you already have all the background information about this topic, let’s just jump straight into things.
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DAY 29 Doodling is About Ideas Not Artwork
Throughout this program I’ve mentioned time and again the doodling is about ideas not artwork. It’s about taking thoughts out of your head and visualizing them on paper (or tablet) in the simplest possible way that helps get your desired message across. This is not about winning artistic awards, it’s rather all about your message not your artwork. Let’s say for instance we want to doodle a person running. There are a few ways we can of course go about this. We can potentially just doodle a stick figure showing the person running. There’s of course not much detail here. In fact, we can’t even tell if the stick figure is male or female, but does it really matter? If all we want to do is represent the idea of a person running, then maybe a stick figure is all we need to doodle.
If we have a little more time or want to assign the stick figure a specific gender, then we might add more detail by including hair, clothing and shoes. This doodle now represents a woman running. If that’s the message we want to get across, then this is definitely a suitable doodle. But if our message was just to represent a person running, then we’ve gone further than we needed to. In the third example we have gone borderline artistic by using shading and adding a few more details to the character. But yet again, this doodle
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represents a female running. So nothing has essentially changed since our second doodle. “But it look better” you might say. Yes, it might look somewhat better and more artistic, but the message is still the same. Of course this doesn’t meant that we shouldn’t spend a little more effort on our doodles if we have the time. That’s perfectly okay. But if time is of the essence and our message is to simply convey a person running, then the first doodle is really all we need. Doodling is about getting across our desired ideas. It’s not about artwork. Let me show you using an example. Picture in your mind a bird. We all certainly have an idea of what a bird looks like. However, we also all have a different idea of that same bird. We will therefore probably all represent that bird differently within a doodle. Therefore when doodling a bird there will always be a myriad of possibilities. Let’s try this out. Below I have doodled a bird 10 different ways. As you can see I have used lots of shapes and various elements of the visual alphabet to bring this bird to life. However, each doodle is simple and quick to create, and hopefully each doodle gets my desired idea of a “bird” across.
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DAY 30 Standard vs. Visual Forms of Note-Taking
At school you might have been instructed as I had been instructed to take plenty of notes. “Take plenty of notes so that you don’t miss anything.” This is all well and good, however taking plenty of notes is rarely ever helpful. In fact, it’s often quite overwhelming. For me personally it seemed as though the more notes I took the more stressed I became because there was an ever growing amount of information to remember. I don’t know about you, but all my notes kind of looked the same. They were all in one color (blue or black), comprised mainly of words, and everything was written in an orderly linear format. Studying using these notes was an absolutely overwhelming and frustrating process. My brain was disinterested and almost suffocating amidst all this information.
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It’s very difficult (but certainly not impossible) for the brain to integrate these notes. Remember back to before Day 1 of this course when I shared with you a link about how we are hardwired to think visually? This article explores how the brain is stimulated by pictures, colors, and associations. In fact, 75 percent of the neurons in the brain are dedicated to the visual processing of information. And yet the notes within this example go against absolutely everything that comes naturally to the brain. Yes, of course with a great amount of effort and painful discipline you can certainly learn this information using notes such as these, however why in the world would you take the difficult and arduous path when there is a shorter and easier path available?
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Knowing what you now know as you have moved through this course, consider how these notes could potentially be improved. Here are some of my ideas:
We could potentially add more than one color to help separate ideas and concepts.
We could use borders and lines to distinguish topics.
We could use different font sizes to make headings and sub-headings stand out.
We could utilize some icons, imagery and doodles to visualize the most important points.
We could create a hierarchy of ideas to distinguish how important certain bits of information are.
We could connect words and phrases together using lines and arrows to show relationships and associations.
Is there anything else we could do to improve these notes? So as you can see there are many things we can do to improve these notes in order to make them more “brain friendly”. However, neglecting to make these changes often leads to distraction and procrastination.
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Here is a typical scenario: We take standard notes along lines, using only one color, creating long lists and making every page look exactly the same as the previous page. Your brain of course finds this boring and difficult. You begin to doubt yourself that you will be able to remember your notes, and then all of a sudden you lose focus and enter the distraction zone. Within the distraction zone there are magazines filled with color and pictures; television filled with color and moving pictures; and video games filled with color and moving pictures. Do you see a theme here? Your brain is therefore distracted by the things it naturally craves, which is of course color andpictures.
This is a very typical scenario, and one that happens way too often. As a result we often get very little accomplished — at least not as much as we could. But what if there was another way, a better way? What if there was a way to take notes that excited and stimulated our brain? What if we took stimulating elements from magazines, television and video games and inserted these into our note-taking practices?
The IQ Doodle
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The answer can of course be found within an IQ doodle. If you’re not familiar with what I’m talking about, then I would like to encourage you to have a read of What is a Doodle? I shared this article with you before Day 1 of the course. But just to quickly refresh your memory, an IQ doodle is the process of turning your thoughts and ideas into structured visual notes, symbols and words on paper. This process helps improve your memory and recall of the information you are listening to or learning. It also allows you to clarify your understanding about circumstances and problems you are working through. For the remainder of this course all the way up to Day 40 I will teach you how to create visual notes that stimulate your brain and help you remember and recall more of the information you are learning. In fact, all doodling skills you have been learning up to this point will now become of paramount importance. You will finally begin to see the incredible value that the doodle can bring into your life through visual note-taking practices. And of course I call these visual notes an IQ doodle, just because it’s a smarter and more purposeful way to doodle. Over the coming days we will discuss the various components that go into creating an IQ doodle. I will introduce you to these concepts and then I will ask you to do a short simple activity that will help you to practice these skills. In fact, here is a summary of what I have installed for you over the coming days:
Day 31: Using fonts, titles and word pictures to express your ideas visually. Day 32: Using diagrams and doodles to express your ideas visually. Day 33: Using handwriting and captions to express your ideas visually. Day 34: Using dividers and separators to express your ideas visually. Day 35: Using arrows and connectors to express your ideas visually. Day 36: Using bullets and icons to express your ideas visually. Day 37: Using frames, containers and thought bubbles to express your ideas visually. Day 38: The IQ doodle cheat sheet. Day 39: The different ways to structure your IQ doodles and a couple of examples.
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Day 40: Tips and guidelines for capturing notes visually and final thoughts moving forward. As you can see, there are a lot of things that we are still yet to cover. In fact, these concepts are what we’ve been working towards all this time. This wasn’t supposed to be a course about just doodling. I don’t want you to just doodle without a purpose. I want you to use the skill of doodling to help improve your life and circumstances. This course actually only touches the surface of what’s possible, however what I think it does well is introduce you to a new way of interacting with your world through the process of visual thinking. And with this new approach, I hope that it shifts something within you to help you move your life forward in a better way. Many of these remaining lessons were inspired by Mike Rohde and his Sketchnote books
Day 31: Fonts, Titles and Word Pictures
On Day 31 of this course we are launching into ingredients that make up an IQ doodle. In today's lesson we'll specifically discuss the use of fonts and titles. There are seemingly no doodles here, however with a little imagination literally anything can be turned into a doodle — making it more memorable and eye-catching. I provide you with examples of this when we discuss word pictures.
P a g e | 55 se these font styles for titles and maybe at times for sub-headings. Then use your normal hand writing style for notes and paragraph text. The key is to create a hierarchy of fonts you will use when creating your IQ doodles. At the top of the hierarchy you will have fonts that are maybe more bolded and stand out more, and at the bottom of the hierarchy you could just have your normal hand writing style. Whatever works for you is perfectly okay.
Day 32: Using Diagrams and Doodles On Day 32 of this course we'll discuss the idea of using diagrams and doodles. We have of course already spent the vast majority of our time creating doodles. As such, this lesson won't be so much about how
P a g e | 56 to doodle, but rather about how to use doodles and diagrams to present your information in more visually appealing and creative ways.
The doodles you use within your visual notes are there to either help you remember and recall certain bits of information, or they are used to help explain complex ideas in a simplified visual way. Of course how you use doodles is completely up to you. However, there does often need to be a balance of doodles and other elements to help get your ideas across most effectively. That balance yet again is up to you to decide, and may in fact vary depending on the topic of the visual notes you take.
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Day 33: Using Handwriting and Captions On Day 33 of this course we'll talk about handwriting and captions. Okay, so the doodle below might have already caught your eye, and you're thinking that I've lost my mind. Maybe don't take my advice. :( However, what's significant about this doodle is that it's (hopefully) a little funny. And when something is funny it makes it more memorable. And that's important when it comes to visual note-taking
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The goal isn’t to eliminate words altogether. Doodles, words and everything else that goes into creating your visual notes must work seamlessly together to get your message across in the most effective way possible.
The great thing about words is they can be used in isolation to express ideas or capture information, and they can also be used in conjunction with doodles to explore more details about what each doodle
P a g e | 59 represents. Moreover, when using different kinds of diagrams, words can be used to explain what this data means and how to make sense of it.
DAY 34 Using Dividers and Separators
On Day 34 of this course we’ll look at using dividers and separators within your visual notes. On the surface this doesn’t seem to be a very glorified lesson. Normally when we think of dividers and separators we may think of lines dividing content into various sections to help with readability. However, your dividers and separators don’t need to be lines. Let’s instead use our imagination. Separators and dividers give your visual notes more order and structure. They help make reviewing your notes easier because every idea or cluster of ideas has its own space and place on the canvas.
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DAY 35 USING ARROW Arrows and connectors are two valuable tools you can use to help give your visual notes a little more structure. Arrows for instance help direct your attention to certain aspects of your notes such as important points or key ideas. Arrows can also be used to lay down a path that directs the eyes from one point to another. And arrows can also of course be used as connectors.
P a g e | 62 Connectors can come in the form of lines, shapes, squiggles or various types of doodles. They provide effective ways to show relationships between concepts and ideas. These concepts and ideas are connected because they are related in some way. Connectors can also be visually coded to indicate the nature of the connection between ideas. For instance a certain type of connector can show a positive relationship between ideas, while another type of connector can show a declining relationship between ideas.
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Day 36 – Bullets and Icon Cari apa saja - http://thenounproject.com/ Bullets can of course be used to break up content and separate ideas in order to make them more readable. While icons can be used as a means of highlighting common repeated themes within your visual notes. However, because of the simplicity that goes into creating icons, they can also be used as bullets.
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DAY 37 – Using Frames, Container & Bubble Thought On Day 37 of this course we’ll look at using frames, containers and thought bubbles within your visual notes. ❶Frames are typically used to highlight key areas of your visual notes. ❷Containers are three dimensional objects that are used to encircle your doodles or keywords.
P a g e | 65 â?¸Thought/speech bubbles are used very much like frames but for the primary purpose of expressing opinions. Frames, Yang di hilight adalah kata-kata kunci misalnya :
Sama-sama dengan frames, Container juga seperti itu hanya di buat dalam bentuk 3 dimensi:
Dan Bubble Thought gunanya sebagai ungkapan tentang pendapat dan pandangan dari kamu atau tokoh tsb contohnya:
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DAY 38 – Visual Note Taking Cheat Sheet ver the past few days we have been breaking down the anatomy of an IQ doodle to help you create imaginative visual notes. Over this period we have gone through ideas on how to create typography, doodles, how to create separators, arrows, bullets, icons, frames, bubbles and connectors, and how to use captions effectively. I hope that you have had some practice working through each of these areas and that you see the value in this process.
Today I would like to provide you with an IQ doodle cheat sheet that you can use as a reference tool to help you begin creating better visual notes. This cheat sheet basically summarizes the work we have been doing over the past few days into an easy to reference poster to help you create better visual notes.
Below you will find a link to the IQ doodle cheat sheet. Feel free to print it out to use as a reference tool for the creation of your own IQ doodles.
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CASE 1 Setting goals encourages a sense of purpose and certainty; it encourages personal growth and responsibility; it encourages a positive outlook on life, and also encourages prioritization of activities.
To set goals effectively you must follow the S.M.A.R.T. approach for goal setting. Your goals must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Ready, and Timed. To better understand this process ask yourself the following questions:
S – Do I know what I want? M – How will I know when my goal has been achieved?
P a g e | 68 A – Do I believe I can attain this goal? R – Is this the right moment in my life to pursue this? T – When will I complete this goal?
CASE 2
The earth is approximately 4.54 billion years old. An earth day has 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. There are 8.6 million lightning strikes per day. 97% of the water on earth is salt water. 3% fresh. 90% of rubbish in the world’s oceans is plastic. Approximately one million species live in the oceans. -89.2ºC is coldest temperature recorded in Antarctica. 57.8ºC is hottest temperature recorded in Libya. 75% of earth’s animal species could be extinct within the next 300 years. The earth’s continents move 2 cm every year. Approximately 200,000 people are born daily. The earth releases about one million earthquakes every year, most of which are never felt.
Day 39 - Structuring Your Visual Notes Just like people come in all shapes and sizes, so do visual notes. What this means is that there are a variety of ways you can structure your visual notes depending on your personal style and preferences. For the purpose of this discussion we will take a look at five ways to structure your visual notes. These methods have been taken from Mike Rohde’s excellent and highly recommended book: The Sketchnote Handbook – The Illustrated Guide to Visual Note Taking.
P a g e | 69 As we move through each of these methods for structuring your visual notes, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no right or wrong way to structure them. It just basically depends on the information you are capturing or based on your personal style and preferences. In fact, all these methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. Familiarizing yourself with each one will help you to get a better understanding of how to potentially structure your visual notes. The Linear Method The linear method basically follows the pattern of a printed book moving from top left to bottom right diagonally moving from one page to another. You might therefore place a title on the top left corner of the page and then move down the page in a linear fashion. It’s a wonderful storytelling format to use for your visual notes. However, Mike states that the linear format can be quite rigid and can therefore limit your layout options.
The Radial Method The radial method is very much like a mind map style of structure. Mike says that it’s like a bicycle wheel with the hub at the center and the spokes radiating outward. Within the center you might jot down the title or doodle an image that represents your topic. Then from there you would radiate outward from the middle with supporting ideas and concepts.
Mike notes down that the advantages of the radial method is that it gives you the freedom to add information wherever you like around the central image or title. However, a disadvantage is that your notes may be difficult to follow because the information isn’t structured in an orderly way.
The Popcorn Method The popcorn method gives you the flexibility to structure your visual notes any way you wish. It provides you with a process of capturing information and slotting it in anywhere randomly on the page. Mike notes that this method is great for those times when you want to capture information and ideas quickly, however the random arrangement of all your notes can make them very difficult to make sense of or follow.
The Pathway Method The pathway method creates a path of information across the page vertically, horizontally or diagonally. This path pattern can come in a variety of shapes that best suits the topic you are IQ doodling. Mike notes that this method is fantastic for telling about an event or thought process using a series of steps.
P a g e | 70 However, he cautions that this method does require a little planning beforehand or otherwise it becomes very easy to run out of space.
The Modular Method The modular method divides a page into very specific parts that then can be used to structure your notes into various themes or topics. Mike notes that this method works well when you want to organize your information in a grid-like pattern, however this will also limit the amount of information you can fit into each section. I have listed five of the visual note taking methods here within this lesson. Mike discusses two additional methods within his book. He also provides actual examples of visual notes he calls sketchnotes for each of these methods. It’s well worth checking out. You can purchase The Sketchnote Handbook – The Illustrated Guide to Visual Note Taking from Amazon.
ANSWERS OF THE CASE 38 As you view my visual notes, can you tell what structure I used to create them? I would say that for the Goal Setting IQ doodle I used a pathway method, and for the Facts About Earth IQ doodle I used a radial method. I didn’t necessarily plan ahead of time the structure I was going to use. It rather just made sense given the information I was working with that one structure was the better choice over another. But of course this doesn’t meant that I couldn’t have structured these visual notes in a different way. It could have worked just as well, and just maybe your visual notes read very well using an alternate structure.
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DAY 40 - Guidelines for Capturing Notes Visually Congratulations, you’ve reached the final day of this course. I can imagine it’s been a long and sometimes uncomfortable journey, but I hope that with the work you have put in you are now feeling much more confident then you did at the beginning of the course. This is however of course only the start of your journey. We have only gone through the fundamentals of doodling and visual note-taking. There is so much more still left to explore in the world of visual thinking. And I hope to share with you more advanced visual thinking strategies and techniques in the future that will help you live a better and more inspiring life.
On the final day of this course let’s go through some simple guidelines that will help you use everything you have learned throughout this program more effectively.
You can use visual note-taking for a variety of purposes. When used in a casual way you don’t necessarily need to adhere to these guidelines. However, when you use visual note-taking in a learning or meeting environment, then these guidelines are certainly applicable, and abiding by them will definitely help you get the most from your visual notes. Having Goals is Critical
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Every time you take notes visually, it’s important to be clear on the specific goal/s you would like to achieve. With a goal in mind your brain is more focused on all the stuff that it needs to pay attention to when taking visual notes. And anything not aligned with that goal can be ignored or passed over.
When taking visual notes it’s never about capturing “all the ideas”. It’s rather about capturing the most important ideas. This is why you must be very clear about your goals. When you have clarity about your goals, then you will know exactly what information to jot down and what information to ignore. You are not concerned about missing bits of information that is simply not relevant to the goal you want to achieve. Taking note of this information is just a waste of time because it distracts you from you goal. Prioritize Everything
Be very selective with the content you choose to capture. Remember that details will only bog you down. It’s rather about the big picture ideas and capturing key pieces of information that are aligned with your main goals. The less content you have to work with, the greater clarity of mind you will have.
Instead of worrying about capturing everything, just capture the key pieces of information that can help trigger other less important bits of information at a later time. This is why prioritization is absolutely of paramount importance. Keep Things Simple
Simplicity is the key when it comes to visual note-taking. Everything you take note of and doodle must be captured in a simple and straightforward way. When things are simple they are easier to remember and recall at a later time. Therefore challenge yourself to continuously think of ways to keep your visual notes as simple and straightforward as possible.
Remember that it’s not about world class design or about creating pretty little pictures. It’s rather about being efficient and producing notes that are good enough to get your ideas across in the most effective way possible. You can always go over your notes a second time afterward and spice them up any way you wish.
P a g e | 73 Finally, to keep things as simple as possible stick to the Five Second Rule of doodle creation. All the doodles you create must be doodles in five seconds or less. If something is taking you longer than five seconds, then you’re going into too much detail. Ease off on the detail and speed up the process of your visual note-taking. Your Doodles Must Support Your Words
The doodles you create must support the words you use within your notes. In fact, you must find the right balance between doodles and words. Too many doodles and it might be difficult to make sense of your notes. Too many words, and things can become overwhelming and complicated very quickly. There must always be a balance. However, this “balance” can vary with different topics. Ultimately you must figure out a balance between using words and doodling to help maximize your memory and comprehension. Live Visual Note-Taking
When in a learning or meeting environment you will often capture notes live. In such instances time is of the essence. There will be nobody there to press the pause button for you. You must take notes quickly without falling behind. This is of course where goal setting and prioritization become of paramount importance. This is also why it’s important to keep your visual note-taking technique as simple as possible.
But no matter how hard you try, you won’t always be able to keep up. In such instances, just capture a part of an idea with a doodle or a key word. This doodle or word will be enough to trigger your memory for later when you get back to your notes. Just maybe there will be a small gap within the lecture or meeting that will allow you some time to go back and add more notes. And if you don’t get this opportunity, then you can always go over your notes after the lecture or meeting and finish them off. You won’t capture everything, but…
It’s often impossible to capture everything. Even capturing the most important stuff is going to be difficult. However, unless you are the only person taking notes, then the chances are that someone else has captured the notes that you missed. Therefore at the conclusion of the meeting or lecture, borrow someone else’s notes and spend a little time filling in the gaps. Keep Building Your Visual Vocabulary
P a g e | 74 As your visual vocabulary grows, so will your ability to create visual notes in quick succession. It’s therefore paramount that you keep exploring new ways to present information visually. And this of course begins with the notebook you use to capture items within your environment. Keep adding to this notebook daily or at least on a weekly basis. Keep adding new doodles and always look for ways you can simplify the way you use doodles within your notes. Make the Content Relevant
If your objective is to create visual notes that will allow you to better remember and recall the information you are capturing, then it’s helpful to consistently relate the content back to your life and circumstances in some way.
When doodling something in your notes, don’t just doodle randomly without putting thought into what you are doing. Create doodles that are relevant to your life. In fact, create doodles that link the topic you are taking visual notes about to aspects of your life, interests, goals, hobbies, etc. The more relevance you are able to find between this topic and aspects of your life then the easier it will be to remember and recall this information at a later time. It of course also makes learning much more enjoyable, interesting and fun. :) It’s Okay to Make Mistakes
Making mistakes is absolutely okay. In fact, expect that mistakes will happen. Your visual notes will not always come out as you expected them to, but that’s okay. Learn from this experience and try and do better the next time around.
Visual note-taking is a skill that we learn and develop over time. Just like with any skill, you won’t become proficient over night, however you will become competent and quite successful at it over time. But this requires effort, patience and perseverance to stick with it for the long-term.
The more you practice your doodling and visual note-taking skills the better you will become at expressing ideas in a visual way. In fact, with practice you will become an accomplished visual storyteller who can break down information, concepts and ideas and present them to others in an engaging and memorable way.
P a g e | 75 This entire process may also help you gain some valuable insights about yourself, your life, your problems and the goals that you would like to achieve — laying down the creative foundations for the rest of your life. Congratulations for Completing the Doodle Course!