#tehcblr

[whatislifebesidesrehearsal]

Stage Hand: Uhh, [Stage Manager], you okay?

Stage Manager, absolutely sobbing: No, I’m not, you fool! I just watched The Notebook musical!

Stage Hand, nodding: Happens to the best of us.

[that-sound-guy]

Design Journal Tips

I made a post about keeping a journal for design purposes and I thought I’d follow up!

Now obviously you can (and should) fill the journal with design ideas and sketches and daily thoughts. But I thought id make a list of a few other ideas that might get you started journaling or create a new avenue for formulating ideas and designs.

1. Number the Pages:

This seems super simple but its super important. First and foremost this will help you break past the journal block of not wanting to tarnish a perfectly new journal. It will also help you keep track of your idea process. For instance if you start an idea and want to come back to it you can list the pages that that idea take place on with each successive entry on that topic. i.e. (idea cont. on page 46)

2. Productivity:

This can either be a daily planner or something a little more simple. Personally I start each morning by writing down a list of things I want to accomplish that day. For instance that might be reading a chapter of a book or playing playing keyboard for an hour. Not necessarily thing I need to get done that day. but things I would like to accomplish. Make sure to check them off as the day goes! 

3. Venue Sketches:

Especially for designers this can be super helpful. Whenever I go to see a show or movie I’ll take that seating time or commercial time to do a sketch of the space. Whether thats the architecture or the speaker/lighting layout or even the set. This gives me a good visualization of how those designers chose to model the space for their purposes. It can be handy to look back at these for inspiration or ideas when you are in the process of designing.

4. Reflections:

This follows up on the previous point. After a show I find it useful to quickly write down my own reflection on the show whether that be on designs or performances or anything. It can help flesh out what you experienced and also help you to better comprehend why certain design choices were made. Its a good stream of consciousness to get you thinking deeper about design and how it can affect you as an audience member. 

5. Research/Idea/Music Lists:

This is just a list I keep at the back of the journal. Essentially anytime I hear about an interesting topic, concept, or even a music recommendation I’ll quickly jot it down to come back to later. I try go back and look at/research one of these things a day to stay on top of the list and keep my mind active on ideas (see #2). 

These are just a few thoughts but feel free to let me know other things you guys do! I’m always interested in seeing how other designers work and how we might be able to build new outlets for ourselves and others!