Here’s a couple of new notebook concepts I’m not too sure about:
The Sorta Is a Flexible Notebook with Removable, Rearrangeable Pages.
Sorta. The Adaptive Notebinder. from YoonCo on Vimeo.
As others have pointed out, there was already a solution to this problem– the 3-ring binder. I guess you could argue that the Sorta is thinner, but there are other types of notebook binders that are also fairly thin, so I don’t find this totally revolutionary.
Then there’s the Wipebook, which is a spiral notebook containing 25 double-side pages with the wipe-clean surface of a whiteboard:
Wipebook turns an old-fashioned notebook into a portable whiteboard (VIDEO)..
I’m not totally seeing the big benefit here either– if you want to erase what you write, you could just use pencil or erasable ink, or you could use an iPad or other tablet if you want a combination of saved and erasable notes.
I may just not be the audience for either of these products, but perhaps others will love them? In any case, it’s nice to see people experimenting with ways to re-envision what a notebook can be.
If you can’t count book binding among your skills, I can see the Sorta being a boon for people wanting to make their own sketchbooks (I’d pop in lots of different toned paper, as toned paper sketchbooks are pretty expensive) but you could mix up any combination of watercolour papers, cartridge paper, even a few lined pages for notes.
The whiteboard book is a harder sell, but I guess you could take it along to meetings where there isn’t a whiteboard in the room.
Interesting how these things come around again. I have a notebook/binder very much like this (but not as pretty or classy) from 1975, with very thick and stiff covers (like an old-fashioned book cover). It appears to be thicker, and I was able to stuff a stack of papers into it up to about 3/4 inch thick. It was very useful, but I never used it as a notebook with blank pages, only as a stiff protective cover of printed (on a typewriter!) pages.
The first one is a little iffy to me, however, as a student I would love to get my hands on the Wipebook. I spend so much money every semester on notebooks that I end up throwing away after the semester is over. With this notebooks I can just re-use the same book over and over with no waste. I love that concept.
I think the first one looks cool. You can customize it with whatever paper you like and don’t have to worry about trying to write in a 3-ring binder (which I have always found tedious, and I imagine it’s especially a pain if you’re left-handed). What’s not to love?
I have a dry erase book I put together. Why? Well, check out Thomas Jefferson’s ivory notebook and you’ll get the idea. :-)
Also I like the feeling that I can quickly transform what I’ve written into something better with just a quick flick of my hand to erase, and then drawing in the better option. Dry erase is my way of dynamic thinking.