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Sketchbooks are something I consistently carry and draw in, almost daily. I have many. Over the years I have tried all kinds of sketch book. Small, large, bound, lined, textured the list goes on and on. However a few years back my wife got me some mini sketchbooks from Ugmonk. If you don’t know Ugmonk, you should. It is owned and run by Jeff Sheldon, a designer with a love for the simple elevated aesthetic. I’ve been buying tees and other stuff from Ugmonk since their launch in 2008. I was the Creative Director at Design By Humans and we featured some of Jeff’s art on a few tees. When he launched his own label I was instantly hooked.

Anyway, history a side the three pack of sketchbook my wife gifted me became part of my daily doodling. They are the perfect size and I can fill a page relatively quickly. I’ve doodled a double page over a lunch break before! That’s how handy they are. They are small, lightweight and easy to store or travel with. The quality is great and although they are scattered around my work space they never fall apart or tear up. The sketchbooks are on their 4th version now, I had 1-3 and I am almost done with them. The interior pages have a dotted grid on the 4th version, which i like the idea of.

I doodle constantly so these are very much a part of my process. Why? Why doodle so much? Well many of my doodles make up final designs for clients. If I ever hit a creative block on a project, I can leaf through these mini sketchbooks and remember a little character or piece of line art. That find might end up being relevant to my current project. It also provides a way to de-clutter my brain creatively. I find there is something cathartic about drawing without purpose or paycheck. Just raw ideas spilling onto a page. Try it, in a mini sketch book. Finally, I get asked a lot about the markers/pens that I use. I like the Zig writer pen and Marvy Le Plume markers.I also use random pens I find around my house or my kids pens.

To see my daily doodles and sketchbook art you can follow my instagram account here.