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Behance Dot Grid Notebooks

Filed Under graphic design, kahunna.net

There’s something about a nice notebook that gives inspiration to its user. The perfect notebook for me is one where thoughts and ideas seem to flow fluidly and easily onto the page as if the nine sister’s of Zeus themselves have made residence within its covers. Yeah, you could say I’m a bit finicky when it comes to notebooks – but in today’s market, I can be.

For five years, I’ve been using Moleskine journals to sketch out web designs, plan work projects, and chronicle adventures in foreign countries. Handmade in Italy, these little faux leather notebooks are extremely durable.

But move over Moleskine, there’s a new cat in town. Behance has created an elegant notebook that might just shelve my unused Moleskines. Called the Dot Grid book, these graph-like paper spiral notebooks were created by the New York-based company as “an alternative to traditional lines and boxes. The light geometric dot matrix serves as a subtle guide for your notations and sketches.”

After reading about this notebook on The Geniant Blog, I had to get one. Unfortunately, the only place I could find to purchase it – online or otherwise – was directly from Behance, and they were sold out. I checked the site a couple times a week for a month until they became available. Two arrived in the mail a few weeks ago and it was love at first sight. The covers felt like velvet. The paper was sturdy and much larger than I had imagined. One would say that $14 for a 50-page book is fairly expensive, but measuring at 9 inches x 10.5 inches, these notebooks are about twice the size of a large Moleskine. With the spiral spine, I feel I have a lot more freedom to explore the page with my pen whereas it can be difficult to write/draw in the gutter of a Moleskine pocket-sized Plain Notebook.

Of course, Moleskine will always have a place in my heart… and pocket. They have proven their worth on many rugged backpacking trips through deserts and jungles. I don’t see myself ever toting around a Dot Grid on my travels. However, if I think of a website idea or design that I need to jot down or sketch, I’ll be reaching for the Behance’s Dot Grid.

After my first two arrived, I returned to Bahance’s website and ordered four more, just in case they sell out again. (Tip: do a google seach for Behance + coupon before you order.)