Brand Identity Designer Mark McCorkell

Evernote: Design Inspiration Scrapbook… accessible anywhere

At long last, I have finally started making good use of my Evernote account. For those of you unaware of it, Evernote is a service that helps you remember everything. Users can upload audio clips, text notes, photos and other graphic files for storage and easy safe keeping. Initially, I started to engage with Evernote using it as a tool to help me remember stuff, but once I started to use Things app, there was no longer a need for Evernote because Things is the best for that.

However, lately I have started to really engage with Evernote as a Design Inspiration scrapbook. Many other designers also use Evernote this way, because it is actually the best way to use it. If I were a design student again, I would most definitely use Evernote as a project scrapbook to catalog my research. Some designers currently use Evernote to show clients ideas they are brainstorming, and collective research for an ongoing project.

One of the things I really like about Evernote is that you can download any of the images from your scrapbook in the original quality you uploaded them, so it’s like having a virtual folder of beautiful graphics you like. And if you set your scrapbook to be public then you can share it with anyone on the web, which is exactly what I do because I like people being able to see where some of my inspirations come from.

I remember when I was at University I would buy black Daler Rowney scrapbooks and have to sit and cut out my research clippings and glue them into the big black scrapbook, and it really became such a chore after a while (I didn’t revel in it anyway, but some did). Evernote is the easy new digital solution for keeping a scrapbook of things you like, and I use it for things that inspire my designs.

It couldn’t be easier to add to Evernote

Adding new visual goodies to Evernote is easy. There is a web clipper plugin available for both Firefox and Safari, which enables easy clipping of graphics straight into evernote. All you have to do is right click, or CTRL + click (mac) and Add to Evernote, and that’s it. Name it, Tag it, and send it over.

Evernote’s handy desktop app for mac

Once you get the hang of using Evernote you will start to add, tag, and upload more and more graphics, so the desktop app is the best way to manage your media. You can create multiple scrapbooks, and easily move graphics about from one scrapbook to the next by just dragging and dropping.

And in the palm of your hand, Evernote for iPhone

Evernote for iPhone is a very handy little app for viewing your scrapbooks in the palm of your hand. The app does enable users to record audio messages, and take photos to upload straight to Evernote, but I don’t use it for that. I only really use the iPhone app for easy access to all those beautiful pieces of artwork I have stored online. If I want to show something to someone I’m with, then I just open my Evernote app, view my notes, tap on the note, and there you go… full access to a design scrapbook on the go, anywhere.

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