The Joy of Colorful Note-Taking
The Reading & Thinking Diary
When I moved to Paris from Los Angeles, I miraculously fit my whole life into 3 suitcases. To accomplish this, I had to be selective, but one thing I was not going to leave behind was art supplies. It’s probably the art school kid in me who looked at the miscellaneous vine charcoal, graphite pencils, double-sided tape, and markers, amongst other things, and stuffed them into my already-full bag before heading to the airport. Little did I know those supplies would change my relationship with note-taking.
Doctor Renate Stauss, who taught my fashion theory course, sat before us on the first day of class with a stack of bright pink sketchbooks and assigned us ‘The Reading & Thinking Diary.' The assignment was straightforward: to answer the set questions for each class in your diary in any format you would like and bring it to class each day filled out. Many students initially found this puzzling because they had already written their responses digitally on their computer and just found that more manageable.
Reading & Thinking Diary (front cover).
Reading & Thinking Diary (back cover).
Admittedly, I was initially nervous about this approach, but once I opened up the blank sketchbook, I was reminded of my small stash of art supplies and couldn’t wait to get started (there’s the art school kid in me again). Starting grad school in global communications felt intimidating, especially with my background in art and design. I was overwhelmed by all the academic reading and writing. However, I quickly realized that the skills I developed as a graphic designer helped me approach academic tasks like I would a creative project.
Reading & thinking diary, pages 16-17. Left: Reflecting on a quote. Right: A collage of a museum visit.
There were some days when I was up against five or more readings with supporting questions that had to be recorded in my diary. Although the work felt daunting at times, the thing that got me excited to sit down and do it was that I could pull out those colored markers, take notes, and doodle, and it made me more engaged with the content I was reading.
It gave me a purpose as I was learning about the difference in affect and emotion in fashion from Seely and Dr. Sampson because I knew I would draw a chart with cute colors to explain the difference. I was excited to read about the new ways to do beauty by Dabiri because I could make a tiny doodle to accompany each of the tips. I found myself doodling visual examples from the 'Black Fashion Designers' exhibition, which made the concepts come alive. I’m also a sucker for a quote, so if I found an excerpt from a text particularly compelling, I wrote it out in rainbow colors with a thought bubble around it.
My professor suggested something special happens when you take notes by hand, even with a regular pen and paper. Long-form note-taking allows the thoughts to flow on the paper as they come. You can’t go back and constantly edit yourself––unless you have a ton of white-out, in which case you have to wait for it to dry. Do they even make white-out anymore? Plus, while I can't speak to the science of it, and I’m not about to look it up, I'm pretty sure our brains retain info better when we physically write things.
My reading & thinking dairy at a quick glance.
One of my classmates noticed my colorful markers and pulled me aside during the second class to show that she’d bought her own set. She told me that my creativity had inspired her to do the same. That was a small moment, but it meant a lot to me. Something I love is bringing creativity to these kinds of academic projects, and if that inspires somebody, it will have been worth it. And if this blog inspired you to start taking your notes in crayons, glittery gel pens, oil paint, watercolor, or the blood of your enemies, then that makes my heart smile :)
A creative mind and design professional, Julia is an Art Director, Senior Graphic Designer, Beauty Enthusiast, and a Master's Student in Global Communications. This blog is an extension of her multi-faceted journey, offering a space to explore the intersections of design, beauty, culture, and lifestyle