Sketchnoting is our favorite tool for creating excellent infographics. We are innate Visual Thinkers! So, that's the most reliable way we can use the configuration of the human brain for improved learning. Learn here how to get the advantages of Sketchnoting in your sketchbook with sketchnoting for beginners!
What is and how to use the Sketchnoting technique?
Sketchnoting is translating the words in your notes into graphics, drawings, sketches, doodles, and other graphics resources. That's how you can apply Visual Thinking to your written notes to understand complex concepts easily.
Sketchnoting for beginners and tips:
All you need is an idea, some creativity, sketchbook, markers, and pencils. You don't need to be the most skillful painter to use it. You don't have to be ashamed since it's not a child's thing, it's a useful skill. If you are, you just have got to start sketching to forget about shame.
- Draw everything! All the ideas, reminders, thoughts, new knowledge and more. Everything is doodling material in sketchnoting for beginners.
- Practice a lot: What you need to be a proficient doodler is some practice. Even graphic designers started doodling. Your creativity is the only limit!
- Create! Create visual metaphors, personal metaphors only you and a few others can understand. That improves your creativity as well.
- Have fun! Not everything you do has to be work-related. You can make this activity part of your recreational time.
- Use these visual resources to get started: Lines, arrows, underlining, boxes, visual metaphors, characters, expressions, emojis, comic book bang-poof-ow, and fonts. These are the best visual resources in sketchnoting for beginners.
Follow our tips and you'll be a visual thinker in a matter of days!
The process of the Sketchnoting technique.
You may be thinking the process for creating sketchnotes is very challenging. However, it's not. It has much in common with Visual Thinking. Due to this, everyone can use it!
- Observe/listen: If you're in a conference, obtain all the information you can by hearing. If you have an idea, reflect on the steps to make it happen, its consequences, and more.
- Develop the idea: Once you have the required data, think of the indispensable. You have to keep the main idea visible to encapsulate it. Put your brain to do the hard work of framing this puzzle on how to do it!
- Doodle! The funniest part of this process surely is putting the creativity to work. Let all the energy of creation flow through your hand and draw until you think the idea is complete. You can create as many sketches as you want to using all the graphics you need to explain.
- Use your creation: Now you have your sketch ready, and you understand it as a whole, show it to someone. You can also enlarge the idea to explain related concepts. The uses are unlimited!
We use this method at Ernesto Olivares Visual Information. We take the ideas of our clients, the Design Thinking methodology, and sketchnoting, to create exceptional infographics. That is the first step!
Advantages of the Sketchnoting technique.
Check out some of the many advantages of this practice:
- Improved memory: 60% of humans are Visual Thinkers, which means we learn quicker and easier through visual figures. Your brain retains ideas and thoughts longer if you link them to images. That is an unconscious process. Whenever you want to remember something, sketch it. Draw directions to remember them. Sketch details about the store you reminded yourself to check out. Draw people you just met or write their names in large capital letters. That will support your memory!
- Enhanced learning: It doesn't matter if you have a Ph.D. or if you're in college, high school or fifth grade. It doesn't even matter how old you are! All you need to improve your learning curve is sketching!
- State ideas thoroughly: Learn to communicate your thoughts in sketches, and you'll never have confused people in your conferences.
- Create better infographics! If your doodle is good enough to make everyone understand, it only needs some improvements to make a great infographic. That is important because infographics are vital instruments for sharing data.
- Develop your creativity: It has a tremendous influence on everything we do. Due to this, improvements in your creativity will affect your everyday activities. That will help you achieve the best result.
If you manage to create the perfect infographics from sketching, all the advantages of infographics come into play.
Are you ready to enter the visual world?
We live in a visual world. Everyday knowing how to express our ideas and thoughts using images becomes a very important skill. Use these “sketchnoting for beginners” tips and start your journey into the visual world with ease!
