The Dot Grid Book

I am not a paper or pen expert by any means, but I know what I like. I’ve got several different pads of graph paper and plain paper, but the Dot Grid Book (Figure 1) has quickly turned into my favorite day-to-day interface sketch pad. I’ve been using it now for a month or so and can comfortably recommend it.

Figure 1 The Behance Dot Grid Book

It’s made from high quality materials, but it’s the dots that make it special. Even with the lightest graph paper, there’s a significant amount of noise and unnecessary lines on a page. With the Dot Grid Book you only see the vertexes. (Figure 2) This makes it equally easy to maintain consistent spacing and proportions, but cuts down on the clutter.

Figure 2 A close-up of the Dot Grid Book.

Figure 3 Uni-ball Vision Pens

Of course, the paper isn’t any good without pens. My only real requirement was that I had to have different colors. I ended up with a set of fine point Uni-ball Vision pens. (Figure 3) They’re vivid, write smoothly, and are affordable as well.

Drawing Is Our Friend

It’s not a particularly fancy setup, but it’s helped me spend more productive time drawing and sketching. It’s too easy to become so boxed in by our computers and their limitations. Investing a few extra dollars in good materials helps create a more liberating environment for letting the ideas out.

Not surprisingly, outside of the computer world, most designers lean heavily on sketchbooks or note pads. Unfortunately, many web designers, myself included, learned about design while leaning heavily on computers. Sketching is faster, easier, and more flexible. The end result is more ideas, and more ideas almost invariably lead to coming up with that one really good idea.