Sometimes, it’s essential to step away from the computer or phone and its various applications. Although they’ve brought us many innovative ideas and features, there’s something special about paper, notebooks, and journals. Perhaps it’s the scent of the paper or its texture, or just the feeling of holding a product in your hands.
Whether you’re a designer, artist, or even an app developer, you’ll need a notebook to carry with you or keep nearby while you work. In this post, I share three fantastic stores I’ve tried that offer unique products for designers, mostly related to work, jotting down ideas, or sketching.
Note: This post is not an advertisement and doesn’t contain affiliate links.
01 – Moleskine Products
Moleskine offers a variety of products, from notebooks and sketchbooks to annual planners. Some are aimed at musicians, others at writers, and some focus on specific aspects of life like sports and fitness. All of their products are high quality and unique, but I’ll specifically talk about:
Moleskine Evernote
A fantastic notebook resulting from a collaboration between Moleskine and Evernote. What makes this notebook special, beyond its beautiful design, is its compatibility with the Evernote app and the inclusion of smart stickers. By placing one of these stickers on a section or important note in the notebook and then photographing the page with your phone, Evernote will sync it, recognize the stickers, and organize them within the app. You can read more about it in this blog post on Evernote’s blog and purchase it from Moleskine’s website or eBay if shipping to your country isn’t available.
02 – Behance Action Products
A store associated with Behance that offers notebooks for task organization or sketching. It includes several editions to suit your needs, and most support Dot Grid, meaning the notebook pages contain dots that help you sketch and organize your ideas. Some also provide space to organize your task lists. The store occasionally offers limited edition products, so it’s worth checking back regularly.
Recently, the store was integrated into the products of the ghostly store, and this is the link to the Behance section.
Personally, I use the Action Cahier, as its small size and the presence of a page for sketching ideas and another for writing notes and task lists help me greatly when I’m away from my workspace or during long commutes.
03 – dribbble Store Products
The dribbble store also offers a notebook for sketching ideas based on the Dot Grid concept. It’s simple and unique, and the store also features clothing and t-shirts designed by the site’s founders, aimed at its fans, featuring its logo or illustrations of its elements.
In general, the store regularly adds new products, swapping them out or releasing limited edition products and then discontinuing them. So it’s worth keeping an eye on if you’re looking for something unique. The best part is that if you’re a site subscriber, you’ll receive stickers, a cool pin, and some small memorabilia with every purchase. Here’s the dribbble equipment store page.
