Getting Started with a Visual Journal

Inspiration doesn’t always come easy to creative minds, and there are times when you have some great ideas but nowhere to put them. This is where having a visual journal comes in handy as it’s basically a compilation of your visual references over time and it’s where you could archive such ideas. It could be like your very own ‘Inspiration Library’. You could do anything and everything — pictures, clippings, notes, photographs, cutouts, stickers, doodles, prints, finishes, paper and put them together in whatever way you like.

These days we consume so much digital content, the internet being such an abundant source of information and a creativity hub, that if there’s a piece of work we like, we may not even remember it a week later. And the saying ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ fits in this situation perfectly. That’s why many successful designers encourage maintaining a diary to keep a track of your creative journey. In the end it’s always rewarding to see your progress.

If you are doing this for the first time, you can approach getting started in different ways. Here are some ideas if you don’t know where to start:

Private journal

This is completely about you. Pick out any small thing specific from that day and stick it in your journal. It could be a business card someone handed you, a packaging cutout, a restaurant’s bill, movie tickets or just anything you found interesting and is worth doodling to keep as a memory. By the end of it, you would have a momento of your entire year, all the places you went, the people you met, the good times and even the tough times along with all the design inspiration it holds. It’s a very good practice to get in touch with your creative side and it’ll make you pay attention to small details in your life. Not only will it create a personal impact, you never know when you may get great ideas from such details for your design projects.

Design journal

Collect a set of pictures you like, pictures you find on Instagram or Pinterest, or magazine cutouts or anything like that. Put them in your journal and write down in one or two words what you like about it, like ‘minimal aesthetic’, ‘Colour palette’, ‘Rendering style’, ‘Lighting and shadow’ etc. Let’s say if you are into film making, you can put screenshots of the movie for colour grading references. Doing this regularly will help you keep your design eye sharp. A good piece of creative work won’t simply slide by you and be forgotten. This will make you more aware of what designers around the world are doing and you would be able to have smart conversations with your fellow designers.

Digital journal

In a digital journal, what happens is that as time passes if you don’t end up liking what you made in the beginning, you might just edit or delete that particular page, whereas in a hands-on journal, you wouldn’t wanna tear the pages as they would seem too precious. But anyway, for those who do not get enough time or want to do journaling on-the go, they can try their hand at making a digital journal. There are many apps and softwares available for this. If you want a blank canvas, you can simply start by making a collage on a keynote slide everyday.

You could always combine different styles, like it could be strictly based on the kind of work you do or you can combine it with private entries. As the title says, there are many perks of maintaining a visual journal:

1. Gives a creativity boost — By keeping a journal you’re not only training your eye towards finding things that interest you but you also start looking for anything that can be used as an inspiration later. The way you arrange pictures, doodles, notes and everything together on every single page is a piece of creative work done by you. It opens you up to many possibilities of experimentation.
2. Widens your thought process — Keep scribbling whatever goes in your head when you come across such art and design works and those thoughts would always stay with you. Keep jotting down questions, the ones you’d ask yourself even in the process of making your journal, and when you look back at it after a while, you might have answers for some.
3. Caters to your style specifically — Your journal would be personally created and curated by you. If you look closely, you would see certain recurring patterns. Your own artistic style could emerge out of it and you would be valued for it. You could even implement that style in your other works.
4. Good for mental health — Journalling reduces stress and takes your mind off other things while you are in your zone. There is no pressure as you are not competing with anybody. You don’t have to do it everyday if it feels hectic. Put your thoughts together, note your feelings and even write down your dreams. You never know, it may be an interesting read in your later years.
5. Helps in personality development — Committing to keeping a journal is a big step towards inculcating discipline in your life. Not only you’d be developing a new habit, you would also be developing a new skill. It can even give you a sense of direction in terms of your career. For example, if you like multiple images where there is a play of light and shadow, ask yourself why is it an influence on you. Maybe lighting design is your calling.
6. Makes you self reliant — All of your artistic collection would be in one place and everything you make in those pages is yours. You wouldn’t have to go elsewhere spending time looking for inspiration when you really need it. You can simply pick out any element from your journal and work with it.

It’s all about just putting in that extra effort. And remember, it should never be an added task on your to-do list that, like a chore. Let it be your source of relaxation, something that gives you pleasure. Don’t stress about how it looks, it’s not a project. Take a breather from your fast paced life and enjoy the journey.