Did you know? I'm a SketchNoter - that is to say that I love markers and take notes graphically all over a page of unlined paper in ways that make sense to me (and possibly others.)
I like and am comfortable with just about every aspect of it - writing large, using many colors, occasional doodling, lack of lines, and trusting that I'm putting information in the right place.
I'm not sure that I really knew that I was a s until I attended PeersConf this year - April 13-15 in St. Petersburg, FL. In a world of many tech conferences and events, this one stands out as one where Peers really connect and commune - and in between ExpressionEngine development chats and learning about Craft CMS, we come to learn about one another, ask "How are you?" and really mean it, and expect a true and authentic answer in return.
For the talks I attended, I sketch noted. This just started out as an idea of a way to take better notes for myself. Many pens! Big gestures! Practice drawing! Many happy! Retain more! Keep knowledge closer, the list goes on..
But here's the happy thing - other people really enjoyed them too.
And me? Well I had an experience, in a place where vulnerability is completely acceptable, of total success on a peripheral topic.
Can you tell that these topics were amazing?
I used a 22" sketch pad, so, naturally, with my current equipment these are unscanable. It's nearly tempting to acquire a new scanner just to make this happen.
I'm offering up an incentive for you if you are able to help me make this a bigger part of my life:
- You get a free original sketch note of a 1 hour conversation that we have, in return for getting me to your event to Sketch Note.
I've always loved markers. I've always loved doodles. And for the longest time, I believed everyone who said these were non-skills, distractions, juvenile, or a waste of time. They are not. They are me. They are true me. True me is making a comeback. This is not news. True me has been making a comeback now for 10 years since my first diagnosis. (yeah I've had others LOL. *ahem none serious.) True me has been taking steps, like Jennifer Connely in Labyrinth, to get around this crazy onion skin that's been built up to normalize me and dull my shine. It's really been very much like Labyrinth - the occasional "never go that way,"s, solid friends, extreme derailments, and facade after facade to crumble. True me is near the center of this thing, or the end. And when true me is back, true me will grow..
True me is also your web developer. Hello.