Visual Sketchnoting - an interview with Eva Lotta Lamm
Anyone who delves into the topic of visual sketchnoting will inevitably come across one name: Eva-Lotta Lamm.
Born and raised in Germany, the young designer was soon drawn to explore the world. She worked for Skype as a Design Lead in the business customer division and for Yahoo in the area of interaction design. Before moving to London, she made a stopover as a web and interface designer at Kahn + Associates in Paris. She recently joined Google's Android Design Team as an interaction designer. She meticulously records the conferences she attends in her sketchbook – which has grown so extensive that she has published it as a book: "Sketchnotes 2009 & 2010" – sketchy summaries of 100 speeches and discussions.
Since when have you been creating these visual recordings of conference speeches and discussion events? Really only since 2009, or did you start earlier?
Eva-Lotta Lamm:
I've always drawn. During my school days, I made my notes more interesting with small sketches and decorated headings to motivate myself to review the material, and during my design studies, my sketchbook was a constant and indispensable companion. When I started attending lectures and conferences after graduation, I continued my sketchy note-taking style. Around 2007 or 2008, I discovered Mike Rohde's conference notes on Flickr. He called this type of note-taking "sketchnotes," and that perfectly described my own. From that point on, I consciously focused on my sketchnotes at lectures and conferences and began publishing them on Flickr.
Guido Neuland:
Did you take your notes like this when you were in school? There are studies in the US that show drawing as a skill has been undervalued in the past and should be considered just as important as writing, reading, and arithmetic in the future. What's your opinion on this? How important is it for people to be able to express themselves visually?
Eva-Lotta Lamm:
Since I'm not a scientist, I can only speak from my own experience. I'm a very visually oriented person and I have a rather poor memory for words and numbers. Visualizing things helps me understand concepts, think them through, and retain them longer. There's a study from the University of Plymouth that shows that doodling can improve concentration and help the memory retain information better. I can definitely confirm this effect for myself and can only encourage everyone to try it out and see if it works for them too.
Guido Neuland:
When you delve into the topic of visualization in general, you'll find parallels between visual sketchnoting and graphic recording. The latter is always created in a large format for the group – essentially as a graphic memory. Is that different with visual sketchnoting? Do you only do it for yourself, or do you always share it with others? If so, how, since you're working in a handy "pocket-sized" format?
Eva-Lotta Lamm:
I only discovered the discipline of graphic recording about two years ago, when I started to delve deeper into the theory of sketchnoting and sketching in general. There are indeed many parallels, and the results are very similar. For me, the name given to it is less important. Graphic recording comes more from the business and facilitation fields, while sketchnoting developed more from the design scene. It's interesting to see what commonalities exist and what we can learn from each other. The sketchnotes I create at conferences are primarily for myself, to help me remember interesting details from the presentations. They don't claim to be complete summaries; rather, they are a personal interpretation, a kind of digest of the presentation. I post all my sketchnotes on Flickr. What others read into them or take away from them is entirely up to them.
A few weeks ago, we tried something new at Typo London. During one of the talks, we filmed my drawings live and showed them in a web live stream alongside the presentation. I'd like to try things like this more often. I personally always find it fascinating to watch others draw and see how the final product comes together piece by piece.
Guido Neuland:
What's striking about your work is that it's never overly colorful. I could only identify a maximum of four colors used in a single sketchnote. What criteria do you use to choose your colors?
Eva-Lotta Lamm:
I experimented with different colors and pens for a while and concluded that black, one color, and a light gray marker for shading and depth work best for me. It's not necessary to use many colors. Sketchnoting isn't about creating the most colorful illustrations possible, but about visualizing ideas and thoughts. Color serves to create a visual hierarchy and direct the eye to specific content. For this purpose, a limited color palette is ideal. I have a set of colors that I like and that have proven effective. I usually choose a color before the presentation, sometimes simply on a whim, sometimes to match the conference design.
Guido Neuland:
What kind of materials do you work with? Felt-tip pens, ballpoint pens, pencils, or colored pencils? What format is your sketchbook – portrait or landscape? What tips would you give to people who want to try their hand at this?
Eva-Lotta Lamm:
My favorite drawing pen is the Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.4. I love the precise, super-thin lines. It's perfect for details and small handwriting. The colored pens I use most often are from MUJI. They're not quite as fine as the Pilot, but great for writing and drawing with a pleasantly smooth flow. For shading and depth, I use TOMBOW ABT Dual Brush Pens in several shades of gray. The pens have two tips, but I only use the brush tip. My sketchbook is a square ring binder with nice, thick paper. I like ring binders because you can fold the pages completely back, creating a nice, compact pad that's easy to draw on, even in your lap.
Guido Neuland:
Thank you so much for taking the time for this conversation. I would be delighted if we could collaborate on something in the future. Perhaps you'd be interested in publishing your next book with us.
Eva-Lotta Lamm:
Thank you very much.