Detour is a look at Moleskine notebooks by an international collection of artists, designers, architects, illustrators, and writers. This video shows designer Paula Scher’s notebook, which is filled with funky fonts:
More of the notebooks online at these sites: London Detour and New York Detour.
Related: Picasso, Paula Scher, and the lifetime behind every second [SvN]
Justin Reese
on 15 Aug 07That may be the most ingratiating background music and sound effects I’ve ever heard.
Do Moleskines lay flat when opened in the middle?
Bob
on 15 Aug 07I would love to see a version of this project with idea written down using PaperMate® pens… or maybe thought of while under the influence of Makers Mark® whiskey.
ML
on 15 Aug 07Ideas thought of while under the influence of Makers Mark® whiskey.
Not a bad idea, actually. ; )
Moleskin does do a great job of branding and elevating ordinary notebooks in the eyes of aspiring Hemingways:
brad
on 15 Aug 07The branding and romanticism is exactly why I don’t buy Moleskines anymore. I first read about Moleskines when reading Bruce Chatwin in the 1980s and they were almost impossible to find back then. But the company that started manufacturing them again has created an unbearable mystique about them that has caused them to become very popular among the kind of wannabe artists and writers who feel like buying a special pen and notepad will somehow make them better at their craft. I wouldn’t be seen dead with a Moleskine now; it would be like wearing a Tilley hat or a Duluth Trading Post blazer, or sitting in a cafe running Tinderbox on a 17-inch MacBook Pro.
Paul
on 15 Aug 07I wouldn’t be seen dead with a Moleskine now.
That’s fine and dandy, but it’s problematic when people assume others are buying Moleskines simply to be seen with Moleskines (or Apples, or SUVs, or iPhones, or 37signals T-shirts.) It’s a big assumption to make; what if I think the Moleskine is the best tool for what I want to do? Does that mean I’m simply brainwashed by marketing?
Danny
on 15 Aug 07Brad, I bought my first Moleskine recently. It had nothing in the world to do with mysticism or branding. It was simply the best made tool that I was aware of for what I needed (a small, pocket sized pad with grid paper that wouldn’t fall apart in a week).
I’ll be sure to hide it though if I’m ever writing on it in a coffee shop.
Mary-Ann
on 15 Aug 07Justin: yes they do lay flat
Luis
on 15 Aug 07Moleskines are great notebooks and they make writing a pleasure. I’ve used all the electronic gadgets you can think of for keeping notes, todos and such, but a notebook and pen can’t be beat.
Plus, the “unbearable mystique” drew my attention to them. I’m glad it did, cause now I own good quality notebooks that make writing enjoyable.
brad
on 15 Aug 07Sorry, I was feeling a bit heated when I wrote that comment…let me clarify that I love Moleskines and do own a few but I feel like popularity has spoiled them because they now have this “image” about them. It’s the same kind of phenomenon that you see over and over again: tattoos and body piercings were once a sign of rebellion and individualism; now they’re a sign of conformity, they’ve become a sort of uniform worn by a certain kind of person. The Moleskine (in all its various incarnations) now carries a similar sort of baggage with it, and I just think that’s a shame, that’s all. It’s a great product, well designed and well made.
Ryan
on 15 Aug 07Like motocycles!
Or, at least, that’s how I’ve seen it. Owning and riding a motorcycle used to be something a “biker” would do; now it’s “trendy” and “cool” to own one.
Bleh.
Brian
on 15 Aug 07I hear what you’re saying Brad, and I can be that way at times too. I think we all can relate.
There was this music store my friends and I used to go to back in the mid 80’s. We made friends with some of the people that worked there, and they would turn us on to new music. There was this one band in particular called Guns N Roses that we really liked, but no one outside of the LA area had really heard of them (certainly no one in West Michigan). We listened to that CD (or was it a cassette?) a lot that summer, but once they were all over MTV and the radio about a year later, a lot of the magic was lost.
There’s a Miller Lite commercial out right now that plays on that same emotion. Wanting to feel like an individualist that doesn’t run with the pack.
As for Moleskines, yeah I own a few. I feel like they’re the best of breed right now. And I’ve always been particular about the pens I use. I’m not a wanna-be writer or artist (sorry Brad … couldn’t resist) but I use them to jot down business and marketing ideas or other bits of information I think might be useful in the future.
A couple notebook/Moleskine links to check out:
Moleskinerie
Notebokkism
Matt
on 15 Aug 07It’s really strange that I stumbled upon this just an hour or so after buying my first Moleskine! I bought it simply because if I’m writing in something great, I’ll probably put more effort into writing great things.
I hate carrying around steno pads that it looks like I picked up in the office supply room just before heading out of the office.
AB
on 15 Aug 07Moleskines are well designed, but unfortunately the paper is very low quality.
Todd
on 15 Aug 07I wouldn’t be seen dead with a Moleskine now.
Owning and riding a motorcycle used to be something a “biker” would do; now it’s “trendy” and “cool” to own one.
...once they were all over MTV and the radio about a year later, a lot of the magic was lost.
“You are not a beautiful, unique snowflake.” — Chuck Palahniuk
That said, I like the Moleskine—it has the right form factor and the right materials. A bit pricey though! Add a Pilot G2 to complete the package.
mike
on 15 Aug 07I want to be cool and different, and I want others to be cool and different too (like me, but different). But not too many of you, because then I wouldn’t be all that cool and different anymore.
Damned industrial production capitalist pigs! You take a perfectly good idea and bring it to millions of people and look what you get! Consumerism! Where motorcycles, software, tattoos, and clothing are available everywhere, to anyone with the currency to but them! Hurray for the little guy with the cool idea who made it big! Piss on the little guy that ‘sold out’.
Gary
on 16 Aug 07OMG, that background music, sound effects and the damn visual trails make this thing totally unwatchable! Yikes! And I was just about to submit my super cool Moleskin with the coolest drawings and coolest concept sketches for the coolest apps and inventions ever… thankfully I didn’t ‘cause it just wouldn’t be that cool with such uncool music and uncool trails… and you’d all just run off and build the coolest apps and inventions ever.
Gary R Boodhoo
on 16 Aug 07I find the best notebook for ideas is the one where I don’t care if it exists or not – prevents things from getting too precious. The moleskin is a great notebook. Precious, in fact. Enough so that I’d want to save it for only the best & coolest ideas. Not a good mindset when starting out, but I suppose useful for posturing as this video clearly demonstrates.
Jack
on 16 Aug 07“I wouldn’t be seen dead with a Moleskine now; it would be like wearing a Tilley hat or a Duluth Trading Post blazer, or sitting in a cafe running Tinderbox on a 17-inch MacBook Pro.”
...
“I feel like popularity has spoiled them because they now have this ‘image’ about them.”
It appears your enjoyment of a product is directly (or, I guess in this case, inversely) related to how many other people are using said product.
A Moleskine notebook is just as good whether 10 people use it or 10,000,000. The number of people using it doesn’t change the quality of the paper, or the nice weight it has when held, or the sturdiness of the cover, or any of its other characteristics.
Things don’t become uncool just because a lot of people are into them. If you want a tattoo, get one. If you want a motorcycle, ride one. If you want a Moleskine, use one. Who cares how many other people do the same thing?
If you don’t want another Moleskine, fine. But you’re not helping anyone by indirectly belittling people on an Internet comments thread based on some arbitrary coolness factor that you just made up.
someone
on 16 Aug 07I use a 100-page college ruled thing I picked up in bulk for $0.50 cents each during last year’s back to school sale at the local drug store. It’s great for math problems where sometimes you wind up taking the wrong approach so you cross out what you did and start over. You don’t want to feel like you’re vandalizing a work of art when you’re writing in a notebook, dude.
And I don’t care who used some fancy notebook. Do you know how many brilliant calculations have literally been made on the back of an envelope?
Just because a successful, talented person does something a certain way doesn’t mean that imitating them will bring success – don’t engage in that kind of cargo cult thinking.
brad
on 16 Aug 07Naw, you missed it: it has nothing to do with how popular it is, it has everything to do with the image said product projects once it becomes popular. Here’s another example: When I was a kid in the 1960s, jeans were called “dungarees” and were used for work: I wore them when cutting firewood, doing chores in the yard, cleaning the toilets etc., and occasionally wore them to school because I liked them and they were comfortable. But then jeans became a counter-culture uniform and were worn by kids who hadn’t done an hour of manual labor in their lives. I stopped wearing jeans to school because they now projected an image that I didn’t respect or identify with. Now I wear jeans again because they’ve lost all their symbolism, they’re simply seen as comfortable trousers. Maybe I’m just too image-conscious; if someone prejudges me based on the clothes I wear or the notebook I use, I suppose it’s their problem not mine. But image does play a role in our purchasing decisions. How many guys drive Toyota RAV4s or other vehicles that are seen as “women’s cars?” Like it or not, the things we buy and wear project an image and if we reject that image or don’t want to be identified with it we’re not likely to buy the product no matter how good it is.
Eduardo
on 16 Aug 07When you say “funky fonts” you actually mean funky letters. A font is just a product used to compose some text in a certain typeface. A typeface can be made available in different fonts.
Anonymous Coward
on 16 Aug 07“You are not a beautiful, unique snowflake.” — Chuck Palahniuk
No kidding AB? I’m not unique? Damn!
I use a pigment pen (Micron 02, 005) with my Moleskine, I’ve tried the G2 but found they skip a little too much, and my trusty Sharpie Ultra Fines bleed through the paper. Yes, I think the paper quality has declined since I first started using Moleskines.
When I first start using the Moleskine I had to get over the idea that I couldn’t scratch stuff out, making everything look just so. Now I regard it as a tool, not a show piece. It’s much more valuable to me with that mindset.
Darrel
on 16 Aug 07I think I see moleskins the same way some Dell users see Mac owners.
I own some moleskins, but can’t figure out why they cost as much as they do. I wanted some grid paper notebooks the other day to start sketching out some typeface ideas. I went to the art store and they had REALLY nice moleskin grid paper notepads for $15. And then they had not so fancy store-brand ones for $.69. I had to go with the cheap ones. But, yea, I suppose the Moleskins have a better interface. They are nice.
PSolus
on 16 Aug 07If you’re too self conscious, cool, or individualistic to use a Moleskine, try to find some of the BLUELINE memo books.
They were the state of the art in notebooks until Modo & Modo started manufacturing the Moleskine.
MATTHEW ROSE
on 18 Aug 07Not quite sure why the moleskin books are the subject of comments when the font work/ art work in this one is really the star. These are great alphabets; Roz Chast typefaces produced in a diner for font foundary.
As for books, I make many of them, but rarely with moleskin. Mine tend to be caked-on paint and glue and collage, like my BOYS LIFE or MAN SLUT or fresh. See them here: http://homepage.mac.com/mistahcoughdrop/PhotoAlbum5.html
Great site, by the way. I found my way here from Coudal which is a daily drug for me.
Matthew Rose / Paris, France
This discussion is closed.