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<textarea name="lala" id="" cols="30" rows="10" style="margin: auto; position:absolute"> HOW TO MAKE A NOTEBOOK THAT...
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from industrial model to tool of expression
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by Emma Prato
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“How to Make a Notebook that... - From Industrial Model to Tool of Expression” is an ongoing research project that explores how the structure, shape, and functionality of a paper notebook can impact our note-taking habits. The research takes the form of a kick-starter kit, designed to encourage individuals to create personalized DIY notebooks. It aims to help others examine their own note-taking practices, fostering an interactive and hands-on approach.
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HOW TO USE:
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Dear soon-to-be-maker,
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This unique object in your hands is more than just a book; it’s a game, toolkit, diary, notebook, and photo-gallery, all into one. Its purpose is to inspire and guide you in creating your own notebooks while offering insights of my research, questions, and discoveries.
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Before you dive in, here are a few key points about using this “(note-)book”. The content, consisting of texts, images, and notes from my research, is spread across 128 cards connected by a spine. While they can be read as a continuous flow, each card is designed to stand alone. You have the flexibility to read them separately or organize them into categories based on your interests. To help you navigate the publication, find below an overview of colors and quantities of cards per section.
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If you’re curious to learn more about the research and the production choices, additional information can be found in the spreads at the back.
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Enjoy the journey in the world of personalised notebooks and start experimenting!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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26 NOTES ON PROTOTYPES:an insight into my thoughts while making notebooks’ prototypes
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21 NOTES ON PROCESS:on-the-way discoveries and thoughts from my Wiki page
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17 QUESTIONS:questions I gathered on my Wiki page, mine and from others
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11 CONVERSATIONS ON NOTEBOOKS:throughout the research, I discussed about and made notebooks with other people
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17 THESIS EXCERPTS
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54 GAME “MAKE A NOTEBOOK THAT..”:the game is split into 4 sections that corresponds to the 4 rows: situation ( ), type of bindings(▲), paper formats (■), add-ons (●). How to play: pick 1, 2, 3 or 4 features at your choice and start making notebooks!
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10 STEPS TO MAKE YOUR OWN NOTEBOOK:
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a step-by-step guide to question and make your own notebooks!
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4 TOOLS TO MAKE NOTEBOOKS
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43 PICTURES OF PROTOTYPES:a series of experiments, made by me and others during the sessions
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53 SCANS FROM MY NOTEBOOKS:trying to make my notebooks public, sharing thoughts
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A SORT OF INTRO LETTER
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Dear soon-to-be-maker,
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I welcome you into the world of notebooks. The object you are now holding in your hands is the final result of a yearlong research. I am Emma, a student of the Experimental Publishing Master course at Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam. During the second year of our studies, we are asked to work on a research project and produce some kind of accessible entry point for a public to get into contact with all our readings and discoveries.
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The result of my research is a kick-starter kit, or a game, or a (note-)book, to start questioning and experimenting with the creation of notebooks.
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My aim was to create an object that could be used, and not only consumed. Thus, I would like you, my reader, my user, to become a maker through the use of these cards. I hope you will enjoy the journey through my texts, my prototypes, my questions and my answers. I hope you will find your way in the practice of making notebooks and you will explore the feelings of creating your own tool.
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I made many different choices in the creation of this work, and I would like to share them with you. Therefore, if you are interested in knowing more, go on reading!
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How the (note-)book is made
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Initially, the goal was to create a kit for making notebooks, that could be read but also used to make notebooks. To do so I used my existing collection of texts, conversations, images, thoughts. Making a multitude of prototypes throughout the research process helped shape the material concept of this (note-)book, intertwining practical prompts and inspirations with theoretical texts. I made these prototypes to be able to analyse them and write about it; on the other side, I needed the right notebooks to take notes and develop this project, supporting my thinking and learning needs.
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The first prototype worth mentioning is “the first notebook kit: An adjustable and editable notebook with included tape and papers for continuation” (find the analysis in the cards!). This notebook is directly inspired by the concept of index cards: they are cards used to store a small amount of content. Reading about them in history, I discovered that they are mainly used for two reasons: as a memory aid and to create new connections. I divided the texts into smaller cards, making editing choices and ensuring each card can stand alone. This prevents overwhelming the reader and allows for creating connections between the cards. At that point, the concept of modularity found me and grasped my interest. Following this concept, I created another prototype: the triad notebook. This prototype is composed by 3 rows (as the one you’re holding has 4), that can be browsed in different ways, helping to recreate connections between the different sections.
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Next to modularity, customizability was another essential aspect, as the core concept of the entire project. I want to acknowledge our individuality and the desire to interact with objects in our own way. To achieve this, the chosen spine lets you, the user, to take possession of the object and participate in its use and creation. The spine allows a 360 degrees rotation so that all the content in the rows can reconnect to the other rows. In addition, it enables experimenting with different notebooks structures; you can mix your own pages with the provided ones; you could get rid of all the pages I provided, and fill it in with yours. You could mix mines with yours. In addition, the pages can become cards and be used without the spine. Would they still be a (note-)book then?
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Defining when a notebook ceases to be a notebook has been a question throughout this process. While this publication is printed, I hope that through these different considerations, for some, this could still be defined as a notebook.
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The content originates from my reflections and the notes I took, both digital and handwritten. The latter were notes and now, after printing them out I wonder, are they still?
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Last but not least, to minimize paper waste the publication is printed on an A4 layout. Further information about paper size is provided below.
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How the (note-)book is designed
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Through these last two years in the course, one of the main things we have been taught is to use alternative ways and tools to produce our publications. This is one of the reasons why I chose to develop a Python script for the purpose. But it doesn’t stop here.
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The script generates a different positioning for each card every time it is run. This deliberate randomness in the placement of the cards allows for a user-centric experience, where the order and arrangement are not predetermined. The script enables the generation of different PDFs for printing with each reload, ensuring that users encounter a distinct arrangement of cards every time the content is printed.
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This approach embraces modularity again, as the connections between cards can vary based on their specific positions. Whether one reads card A next to card B or card A next to card C, the experience will differ. The intention behind this is to offer an individualised experience to each user, encouraging them to create their own unique connections based on the given card positions.
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Why a material printed publication is important?
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Apart from everything described above, for example the possibility to edit the order of the cards, or to manipulate the spine and transform the basic structure of the object, there are other reasons why a printed publication is necessary at this point.
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First, the choice() method, one of the Python functions used in the main script, selects a random element from a list. What happens in the back, it’s not given to us. You know that it will choose from the list, but what happens when you mirror digital interactions into a physical movement? When this concept is applied to the (note-)book in your hands, you become the one determining how you navigate through the rows of cards. You have control over the changes, appearances, and disappearances of content. While the specific content behind each card remains unknown, you can physically perceive the anticipation and surprise.
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Secondly, the act of turning the pages, the feeling of the paper are essential features that add a lot to the experience. Through this research, I have discovered the significance of reading and taking notes in physical form. What I found the most interesting is the impact and importance of the physical act of turning pages and the spatial layout of text: readers engage more, understand and remember more; in addition, the “spatiality” facilitates a deeper interaction and comprehension of the materials. For further insights, refer to the excerpts from my thesis.
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How to transform anxieties into features: making notebooks public
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In some cards and pictures of notes in my notebooks, I talked about making a notebook public. And how. But you are now reading it. It means that in some way I did manage to make it public. Is it? And why is it? Why does it work? How does it work?
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The main editorial choice has been to choose, from the scanned notebooks, the sentences that could fit the work or give more information on the research. The limitation of the small cards, obliged me to select specific sentences from the notes, discarding all the rest around it.
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THE METHODS USED
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The methods I used to feed this publication are multiple experiments and approaches I worked with between March 2022 and April 2023. The first one is my personal notebook process that consists in the creation of different prototypes to analyse and question my use of notebooks and to discover how to modify them to adjust them to my needs. The second method is discussion groups to collect opinions through conversation and questions. The third one involves gathering and analysing the work of other users to understand how they approach the same process. The last method is the Collaborative Explorative Sessions (C.E.S.): the C.E.S. are a collaborative playground to experiment with a collection of exercises together with the workshop participants. I created the C.E.S. through the knowledge acquired in the process and specifically thanks to the first three methods included in the research, as well as inspired by Generative Design Research, which includes the end user in the design process (Sanders and Stappers, 2014). All these methods will not be discussed inside this publication, but related thoughts and opinions will be presented in some of the cards. In addition, the results of the research are published in my thesis, “Paper Notebooks: From an Industrial Model to a Tool of Expression” (2023), produced in the context of the graduation research from the Experimental Publishing (XPUB) Master course at the Piet Zwart Institute, Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences.
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WHY DID I DO THIS?
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One of the main urgencies I have to talk about this topic is that both from my personal experience and the experiences of others during growth: standardisation of abilities, of desires, ways of living.
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We are supposed to satisfy standards and generalisations throughout our entire lives, structures in which some people feel comfortable in and some others not at all, especially if we talk about young humans that are still building up on their personality and still discovering their abilities and strategies.
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I don’t like that we are expected or used to be all the same, that expressing who we are is not part of daily life but many times it’s a shaming process that has a lot of impact on growth and development of self. I feel like that with the spread of consumerism we got more and more used to the idea that we can just buy objects and it doesn’t really matter if they’re made for us in the same way they are made for everyone else in the world.
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I would like this research to be a sort of manifesto for a general context but using the notebook as a “metaphor”: who are you? how does your brain work? how do your ideas come along? what are your needs from a tool that society provided in a standardised form?
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It is not only about making a notebook, it is how making a notebook will put us in the position of questioning who we are and the objects we use, why we use them and how something made for us from us could look like.
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HOW TO MAKE A NOTEBOOK WITH RECYCLED REUSED RESTORED LEFTOVER MATERIALS?
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There are a lot of locations in almost every city that gather paper that cannot be used anymore. Luckily, nowadays, most of these locations, such as printing spaces, stationery shops, book makers, separate and recycle the materials they cannot use.
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Most of the times, these leftovers are in a very long rectangular shape, do you know why? When you print, but the shape of your print doesn’t 100% fit the paper sheet you are printing on, this produces a lot of leftovers, mainly on one side or two of the sheets.
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These locations do not only offer small rectangular sheets, but sometimes they get rid of stocks they can’t use anymore. When you walk around a city, and pass by a stationery, get in and have a look. You might be surprised!
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FACT: Paper sheets follow national or international regulations. For example, the typical A4 used for office prints, is part of the international system ISO 216. This is also important to consider when you are making a notebook. If you decide to go for an unusual shape that does not fit in an already existing size, you’ll need to think about what to do with the leftovers of your cut. There are many ways to solve this problem but the main is to prevent it before you need to solve it. Could you make the same notebook you had in mind but in some way be able not to cut the paper? For example, I often use folds. If you really can’t, try to cut out in a size that could be reused for something else. Make a super vertical notebook for fast thoughts or for grocery lists.
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Cardboards from packages are quite common to have in a house. They become the perfect cover for notebooks. Sometimes their shape becomes an invitation for a shape you did not think of before, or helps to imagine an add-on that can become essential in your notebook practice.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS (EXPLAINED):
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NOTES FROM WIKI
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The notes in light purple come from my wiki page: https://pzwiki.wdka.nl/mediadesign/User:FLEM. The wiki is a digital space where to take notes. I used different categories through the project and decided which to share with you.
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- Notes on the process: I kept a daily diary on my thoughts about the project and it describes everything that happened in the last year.
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- Notes on prototypes: a day-by-day overview of my personal notebook process. The pictures of the prototypes are spread around the book, but to help you find them, I put a little title on them.
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- Conversations on notebooks: As explained in the “methods” section, I have been having a lot of conversations, sessions, or CES, with others and while talking I took notes on their needs from notebooks. I find them very inspiring, especially because they help in noticing how much we are different from each other.
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- Questions on notebooks: in between of prototypes, conversations, ideas, concepts, I gathered a series of questions that I would like to share with you. Some are mine, some are from others I talked with.
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A GAME
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make a notebook that
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four different features to invite the act of making a notebook and reason on the properties of all the features. The features are divided into categories: situation, binding, paper format, or add-ons.
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read and imagine the connections that you create while browsing the cards. Think about them more as a story, could that happen to you? what would you need in that specific situation?: e.g. “I go in different locations to take notes so I need a notebook that is transportable (A); it does not have a binding (B); it needs a lot of space (C) for writing and sketching; it can have an additional feature if I find leaflets or information sheets around that I need to save (D) in this notebook”.
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Feel free to use the cards in your way: pick 1, 2, 3 or 4 of the features in the different rows, make notebooks!
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If some matches feel contradictory, for example, one asks for a lot of space for writing and the other says small, imagine how could that work. If you are obliged to use a certain type of paper that doesn’t satisfy other requests, why does it happen? Explaining yourself things while playing helps to understand how different materials and structures influence us.
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THESIS EXCERPTS
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The thesis excerpts try to give a short overview of the theoretical research that happened in parallel with the practical work. The excerpts contain both text I wrote but also quotes from others I used in the thesis. Find the references in the bibliography. If you want to know more about this topic, find the thesis at {insert address}, or get your copy in the shop during the exhibition.
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TOOLS TO MAKE NOTEBOOKS
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how to fold, cut, bind and make holes when you have nothing.
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You do not have any of the materials or tools they always advertise as “essential” if you want to make your own notebooks? Let’s see what you can use that you already have at home, without the need to spend money or loose the interest because you need too much stuff... find the yellow cards!
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THINGS AND PEOPLE THAT GET MENTIONED IN THE TEXTS: °
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XPUB classmates and tutors: Supi, Chae, Erica, Kim, Clara, Manetta, Aymeric,
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M&Ms = means Monday Mornings Sessions, a sort of workshop we organise together with our XPUB classmates, as a first attempt to make our thoughts on the project interact with others and hear opinions. It happened at the very beginning of the academic year.
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CES = Collaborative Explorative Sessions: a space to experiment with notebooks together with others.
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