Video summary

Sketchnote Handbook: Cover Design and Chapter One: A Guided Walkthrough Video

Main summary

Key takeaways

Art and Creativity

Overview (what the video shows)

Mike Brody walks through the cover design and early interior design decisions for The Sketchnote Handbook (published in 2012). He explains the creative rationale and shows manuscripts, thumbnail sketches, layout templates, and final design elements.

The overall process focuses on making the book visual, tactile, and story-like—not text-heavy.

Artistic/creative techniques and design concepts shown

1) Cover design based on real sketch-noting tools (Moleskine inspiration)

Brody designed the cover to feel like the small pocket notebooks he used for sketch noting.

Key physical/visual references include:

  • Rounded corners to match the Moleskine feel (noted as costing extra)
  • A middle strip to echo the plastic-wrapped notebook band
  • A hand-drawn title on a black “Moleskin-like” cover
  • A specific orange color:
    • Dark enough to support reversed-out lettering (white text appears where the ink doesn’t cover)
    • Readable for printed text on lighter backgrounds inside the book

2) Iconography that reflects the “sketchnoting workflow”

The cover symbols are built around the emphasis that sketch noting is less about “drawing” and more about a sequence:

Hearing → Seeing → Processing → Drawing

The icons are presented in this exact order to communicate the concept.

3) Material/finish experimentation for a tactile feel

The cover uses coated stock and a texture/finish described as close to velvet or satin. Brody notes they also considered linen, but chose the option that felt closer to the intended experience.

He ties the tactile goal directly to how the book should be handled “in real life.”

4) Iterative development: script → thumbnails → production artwork

Brody describes a pipeline for building the book:

  • Write the full script/text first
  • Draft layout/thought notes in the manuscript
  • Create thumbnail sketches to plan where ideas and visuals go
  • Use printed templates and sketch in a cafe environment to iterate
  • Convert sketches into final illustrations, then move into production layout

5) Page layout as visual storytelling (use of whitespace + “comic-like” pacing)

Interior layout decisions include:

  • Dedicated pages for major sketch-note segments (sometimes splitting what started as a spread)
  • Heavy use of white space for quick scanning and immediate try-it-yourself action
  • Simple, bold messaging on many pages to prevent paragraph overload—similar to comics and paced like a presentation rather than a lecture

6) Reverse/negative-space typography for emphasis

He highlights repeated reverse-style pages:

  • White text on black backgrounds
  • Designed to “pop” as you flip through the book

7) Hybrid lettering: hand-drawn look + printed type flexibility

A central technique is combining hand-drawn aesthetics with professional typesetting.

Highlights:

  • Collaboration with type designer Dell Witherington to build fonts:
    • A bold headline font (“sketch note square”)
    • Body text that starts as Brody’s drawn forms but becomes a usable font
  • The font system supports multiple variants per character, enabling subtle randomization (e.g., rotating through 4–6 letter versions) to avoid repetitive handwriting.

8) Inclusion of “easter eggs” and personality-driven details

The design includes small hidden motifs and playful references, such as:

  • A small “18” symbol
  • A “let’s go” page
  • Other subtle tidbits, including “Han Solo MBA” as an Easter egg

Visual motifs like squirrels and playful details reinforce that the book is meant to feel fun and personal.

9) Chapter-ending recap concept

Each chapter is planned to end with a one-page recap:

  • Helps readers scan what they covered
  • Shows what’s coming next

10) Community-forward creative direction

Brody emphasizes that the book isn’t only about one elite drawing style. It’s meant to showcase sketch noting as a practice for many kinds of people, contrasting different sketch-noting contributors and styles to demonstrate accessibility and variety.

Steps / workflow explicitly described

  • Draft the manuscript script first
  • Add personal notes for design details inside the draft
  • Create thumbnail sketches to map the script into page-by-page layout
  • Bring the layout plan into practice using:
    • Pencil
    • Printed templates
    • Sketching/iterating in real settings (e.g., a cafe)
  • Decide on final page treatments, including:
    • dedicated pages vs spreads
    • reverse typography
    • strong whitespace and visual emphasis
  • Develop typography strategy:
    • use a font designed to mimic handwritten variation
    • collaborate with a type designer to reduce manual lettering changes
  • Produce finished artwork
  • Move into production/layout, leveraging creative control

Creators or contributors mentioned (at end)

  • Mike Brody (host; writer/illustrator/designer/curator of artwork)
  • Nikki McDonald (editor)
  • Peach Pit (publisher)
  • Dell Witherington (type designer)
  • Austin Clean (featured blurbs on the back cover)
  • Dave Gray (featured blurbs on the back cover)
  • Benbi (sketch noter example)
  • Kraton Burman (sketch noter example)

Original video