Yes, I stole the 7 lessons from Stephen Covey’s classic book and applied them to sketchnoting. They don’t fit neatly in some cases, but it’s a bit of fun and a creative exercise.

Enjoy.

1. Be proactive

Don’t try to think of how to sketch in the moment.

Build a bank of ideas (a visual library) which you can draw upon (pun intended) when you need them.

If you know a topic, learn the key concepts and practice them.

2. Begin with the end in mind

Before you start your sketchnote, listen for clues to the structure.

If you know this talk has 3 main points, you can plan a layout with 3 sections.

If you know it will be a 1hr talk, don’t take up 90% of your space in the first 10 minutes.

3. Put first things first

You don’t have to get every detail down in the moment.

Capture the main point or a reminder and you can add details later.

4. Think win/win

Highly effective sketchnoters are community members.

They know there are plenty of great ideas and job opportunities. We can all share and help each other without harming ourselves.

5. Seek first to understand then to be understood

Sketchnoting is more about understanding than art skills.

Make sure you’ve understood the speaker before putting pen to paper.

And focus on clear, easy to understand images.

6. Synergies

A synergy is the combination of two things to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

This can happen when we combine both text and words as elements in sketchnotes.

We gain clear words that evoke stronger feelings.

7. Sharpen the saw

The best sketchnoters are constantly developing, growing and learning.

The goal isn’t to be perfect, but to be always learning.

• Try different styles,
• Set limits,
• Use new tools

But above all, have fun.

Recap – 7 habits of highly effective sketchnoters

1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first things first
4. Think win/win
5. Seek first to understand then to be understood
6. Synergies
7. Sharpen the saw

Which did you find the most interesting? 

Banners are a great way to show what is a header without learning a fancy font and they work with those too. In this short post, I’ll go through the simplest way to create a banner for a header in your sketchnotes and then share a few variations you can try.

Step one: write the header

You could make the banner first, but for beginners it’s far better to start with the text. It takes time to develop an instinctive knowledge of how much space text will take up and even then, things can go wrong.

By writing the heading first, you know how much space your banner will need to take up.

Step two: draw a rectangle around the text

In theory, you could stop at this step. That really would be the simplest banner! But we’re going to add a couple more steps to create something a bit more interesting.

Step three: Draw some offset parallel Lines

If you have a dot grid notebook or paper, you can offset your banner exactly. In a plain notebook, you’ll need to go with your eye. Try to keep them the same height and more or less even.

Step four: connect the lines diagonally

Now, add diagonal lines from the front part of the banner to the background elements. This should form small triangles which are the fold in the banner.
With this step, you’re basically done.

Step five: finish it off!

At this point, all you need to do is close of your banner and add any final touches you want. This can include filling in the “folded” section to add some depth, or adding some shadow below the banner to make it appear like it is floating.
If you are a using a digital tool, it’s easy to add multiple shades of colour with the front of the banner the lightest, the back layer slightly darker and the fold the darkest.

More simple sketchnote headers and upgrades

While this is a very simple way to create banners for sketchnotes, there are some alternatives and small upgrades that can enhance your headlines.

1. The wavey banner

Instead of a straight rectangle, create a wavey banner that looks like it is blowing in the wind.

A couple of points to note:

1. Make sure the waves are in parallel
2. If you can, make the text warp to the banner coming closer or further away.

2. The sign

This headline uses a rectangle as well, but instead of making it look like a ribbon, we add posts to make it look like a sign. For smaller text, you can add one pillar, or you can use multiple for larger one.

You might want to change the signs shape to match the message such as pointing in a direction.

3. The cork board

This time, we’re putting paper on a cork board. Start with an outline that represents a piece of paper with the information. This “paper” can be flat and even, or it can bend and flex as it comes of the board — it’s your choice.

Next, add pins to each corner (and optionally, the middle) of the paper before finally adding the cork board behind the “paper”.

Time to apply!

There are hundreds more styles of banners, some subtle variations and some more complicated styles. The most important thing to do is to practice them. Once you’ve nailed these, see if you can emulate the styles of other sketchnoter, or create your own stock sketchnote header template.

In Procreate 5.2 they introduced Brush Size memory, a new feature where you can save multiple sizes for the same brush. Here’s why Brush size memory is great for sketchnoters.

Procreate is great for sketchnotes…except

I love procreate for making sketchnotes. While it can be a bit feature heavy and cumbersome when you first start, the beautiful brushes, multiple layers and powerful export options help me create sketchnotes I like.

The only issue with Procreate is that it gives you TOO many options. There are so many brushes and colours that they can get in the way for people who prefer a simpler app like Paper by WeTransfer.

One of my ways around this was to use a single set of “sketchnoting” brushes with about five pens for normal text, headlines, brush lettering, filling, stippling and airbrush effects. This worked well but if I ever adjusted the size of a brush (to move between headline text and subheading, or to add more detail in an icon) it would be near impossible to return to my previous brush size.

My solution was to duplicate brushes but that made the interface more cumbersome and wasn’t perfect either. I could still adjust these brushes and then not be able to return to my previous state.

This new feature from Procreate has solved that challenge.

How Brush size memory works

The brush size slider has been around for a long time and allows you to increase and decrease the size of your current brush.

Now you just tap the plus icon that appears in the top right corner of the brush size preview and it will add a marker.

This marker has some “magnetism” to it, so as you move up and down the slider in the future and get close to your saved point, the slider will stick there.

Why the brush size memory feature is great for sketchnotes

Let’s say you have a good brush to use for a headline and subheadline, you might want to keep your sub headlines roughly the same size but lose it when you change between canvases.

Not an issue anymore, now you just put two markers down and you can just between the headline and subheadline size.

This can work for sketching and having different size details or to have a tool to fill in large sections or colour in details.

Thank you procreate!

Honestly, this has removed one of my biggest frustrations with procreate and removed the need for my old duplicate brushes. Now I can have fewer brushes in my sketchnote set, more size variety, more consistency of style and jump to the option I want faster.

Thank you procreate.

Sketchnoting under pressure can be a real challenge. Having ready to go ideas and templates can help you make something good, quickly, without thinking. You can use templates for the whole sketchnote, but you can also use templates for part of the sketchnote. Recently I came up with a simple stock sketchnote header template that has helped take decisions out of my sketchnoting process and raise the quality of sketchnotes I can create under time pressure.

What should you include in your sketchnote’s header area?

Depending on the topic you are sketchnoting, you may want to include or exclude certain elements. For example, a date may be important to include for a sketchnote on a talk, but not as useful for a sketchnote on a book.

• Title or topic
• A picture of the speaker(s) or author(s)
• The name of the speaker(s) or author(s)
• The title of what the topic is connected to. (The event, a sermon series, book)
• A logo (of the event, or the speaker,

What header text should you use?

There are lots of different types of text you can use for your header.

The simplest is to use a “heavier” font, or bold text. This will make it stand out and be clearly legible.

However, depending on the topic, you might want to use a font that is

• more elegant
• more futuristic
• more formal
• more causal

There is a simple trick you can use if you aren’t sure. By simply placing a basic single line of your text, you can then embellish it later.

Should you always add a portrait?

A portrait can really had character to a sketchnote. But adding a drawing adds pressure for those of us who are less confident with drawing. One option is to add a simple outline in the moment, and you can add details later.

When it comes to actually drawing the portrait, focus on the key details and characteristic attributes of the person you are drawing.

How should you arrange the elements in your header

I recommend setting keeping your title text as the largest element, with a portrait or logo to the left of the text. You can then place any other smaller or less important elements under their respective parts.

So you can place the name of the speaker or author under the authors picture, and the date of the event under the title.

Ready to use a stock sketchnote header template?

You don’t have to stick ridgedly to your sketchnote header template, and you can even create one before the event if you are live sketchnoting, or afterwards to help you avoid time pressures.

Do you use a different sketchnote header template? Let me know in the comments.