About two years ago, a friend of mine had a neon yellow backpack. I couldn’t stop looking at the color. I’ve always been drawn to things that are unusually bright, but something about that particular… 

I’m a digital strategist. Naturally, I spent years trying to build the perfect digital system for managing my work. It did not go particularly well. I’ve built systems in Trello, Akiflow, TeamGantt and plenty of… 

I’ve found that some of my best creative work starts with a new notebook. Not a notebook intended to contain everything. Almost the opposite. I like a fresh notebook that’s appropriately sized for one project:… 

Traveler’s Notebook is one of the clearest examples I’ve encountered of a notebook becoming a system. The basic architecture is remarkably simple: a durable cover holds replaceable inserts using elastic bands. Different inserts can contain… 

Lochby starts with an interesting premise: instead of committing to one notebook, carry several notebooks together. Products like the Field Journal use a reusable outer cover to hold replaceable notebook inserts. One insert can serve… 

I have tried a lot of ways of organizing tasks. The recurring problem with digital task systems is that they make adding another task almost frictionless. The list gets longer. Projects acquire subtasks. Subtasks acquire… 

For a lot of people, Moleskine is almost synonymous with “nice notebook.” The core object is familiar: a black cover, rounded corners, elastic closure, ribbon bookmark and relatively restrained branding. It has become a kind… 

There is something useful about a notebook that doesn’t ask to be treated too carefully. That’s one of the things that interests me about Uglybooks. Where much of the stationery world emphasizes refinement—beautiful binding, perfect… 

Field Notes might be the clearest example of how much can be done with an extremely simple notebook. The basic Field Notes memo book is small, softcover, staple-bound, and intentionally uncomplicated. The standard format—roughly 3½… 

I first encountered loop staples at LX Factory in Lisbon. An artist’s shop had a small publication bound with staples unlike any I’d seen before. Instead of disappearing into the fold, each staple extended outward…