If you’re like me, you like to select “the best” gear for everything. Sketchnoters and graphic recorders, in particular, seem to revel in comparing kit with each other. Whether you go to an international IFVP conference or to a local NLSGRVT meetup, you’ll likely be asked about the markers you use, the notebooks you prefer, and the software you recommend. This page is a collection of my answers to those questions. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. These are all things that I currently use or have used before and I am recommending them because they are helpful and are companies that I trust, not because of the commissions that I may earn from you using these products and services.
Personal Productivity
- Dropbox: A file hosting service that anyone can use.
- Evernote: A note-taking app that does it all. I use it every day.
- Scrivener: A wonderful writing app that I would love to use more were it not for the fact that between Evernote and Sublime Text, I’m usually done writing before I even have to touch it. Just like Final Draft, it’s good to know it’s there when I need it.
- Sublime Text: After years of using Vim and UltraEdit, I switched to this text editor. Haven’t looked back.
- Trello: Even though it’s much simpler than my beloved OmniFocus, it has one feature that made me switch to it. You can collaborate with others.
- Calendly: Say goodbye to email tag for scheduling appointments, interviews, calls, demos, and much more. I use this to schedule podcast interviews and free consultations.
- Descript.com: Whenever I need to transcribe something, this is where I start. It's fast, pretty reliable, and extremely affordable.
Sketchnoting
- Sakura Pigma Micron: The best fine-liners I’ve found so far. A tip from Sean McCabe.
- Pentel Energel: The pen I use most. A tip from Mike Rohde.
- Neuland fineOne: The pens I tend to forget to bring with me to events, forcing me to use a normal highlighter as a substitute.
- Leuchtturm1917 Whitelines Link: My favorite notebooks that make it easy to transfer sketchnotes to my iPhone or iPad in crisp black and white by adjusting the white balance to turn the gray background white.
Graphic Recording
- Neuland BigOne: If I could have only one marker to write on wall charts, it would be this one. The ink doesn't bleed when you draw through it with other markers and or pastels.
- PanPastel: Even though I usually just get some big colored Neuland BigOnes, when I really want to create something beautiful, nothing beats these pastels.
- Plotter Paper: 164 feet of ready-to-use white paper on a roll for a very reasonable price.
- Neuland LW-X GraphicWall: Don't have one yet, but I'm getting one as soon as I can afford it!
VideoScribing
- Adobe Illustrator: After years of resistance, I caved in. For raster images, I use Pixelmator. For vector images, even though there are good alternatives to Adobe’s products like Sketch, nothing beats Illustrator.
- Astute Graphics: A sweet set of Illustrator plugins that max out the awesome so much, I couldn't live without them. Well, maybe I could. It's just that I don't want to.
- Sparkol VideoScribe: I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with this software. It’s awesome, and arguably the fastest way to render beautifully animated videoscribes based on vector images. But it’s also a memory hog that makes the fans on my laptop spin like mad.
- Wacom Intuos Pro: The tablet I use to hand-trace my sketchnotes and graphic recordings for digital post-production and videoscribing.
WordPress
- WPEngine: This website is hosted there. I considered the Rainmaker platform at first, because of its ease of use and feature set. In the end, I decided to go with WPEngine, because I wanted to run some of the plugins mentioned below.
- Libsyn: The podcast is hosted there. I considered self-hosting as we do for the Xebia KnowledgeCast, but that could become really costly, real quick if more people start listening to it.
- Appendipity: This website is created using Appendipity’s Engine theme. I loved it so much, I totally forgot to claim my New Media Europe discount when buying it!
- Akismet: Came preconfigured with my WPEngine website. I took the hint and got a license before installing any other plugin.
- LeadPages: When you sign up for my newsletter or any of my other offers, chances are you’re going through LeadPages.
- ConvertKit: Email marketing for professional bloggers. And for me.
- PrettyLink Pro: An aptly named plugin that helps to create pretty links.
- Simple Podcast Press: An extremely feature-complete plugin for podcasts. It even includes a widget for podcast reviews that makes my subscription to My Podcast Reviews superfluous.
- WordPress Editorial Calendar: For scheduling my blog posts.
Software
- Airstory: To write great content. Fast.
- Slidebean: To create awesome presentations without succumbing to fidgeting with the tool.
- Mentimeter: To add some interactivity to my Slidebean presentations. Even when presenting to large and/or distributed audiences.
- Webinar Ninja: To deliver my Slidebean presentations to distributed audiences.
- Paperform: To create online surveys. Similar to Typeform.
- Vimeo: The videos I create professionally are hosted there. It’s very cost-effective and does everything I currently need. Of course, there's also a Youtube channel.
- Wistia: Where I would like to host my videos if money was no object. I’m on the free plan at Wistia, because I love their service and want to remind myself that one day I'll host my videos there.
- Visme: The fastest way to design consistently stunning graphics. I use it for almost every graphic I create. Similar to Canva.
- Piktochart: An easy-to-use infographic maker. I don't use this as much as Visme or Canva, but it comes in handy every now and then.
Books & Whitepapers
- The Sketchnote Handbook by Mike Rohde.
- The Sketchnote Workbook by Mike Rohde.
- Visual Meetings by David Sibbet.
- Visual Teams by David Sibbet.
- Visual Leaders by David Sibbet.
- The Graphic Facilitator's Guide by Brandy Agerbeck.
- The Idea Shapers by Brandy Agerbeck.
Courses
- Rockstar Scribe by Alphachimp.
- Learn Lettering by Sean McCabe.
- The Sketchnote Handbook by Mike Rohde.
- The Sketchnote Workbook by Mike Rohde.
- Verbal To Visual Classroom by Doug Neill.
