Help design a ruler made just for sketchnoting!

Hi there!

Quick disclaimer: this ISN'T purely a graphic facilitation method, so if that's the #1 reason you subscribed to Think With Ink, no need to read further. But, this IS a chance to practice design thinking, paper prototyping, and crowd-sourcing feedback, not to mention a chance to design a tool that you may end up using yourself.

The quick story thus far: at an innovation workshop, I met Victor, a guy who machines small metal tools as a hobby. Who knew that was a thing? After seeing me sketchnote and graphic facilitate, we brainstormed the idea of a ruler made specifically for sketchnoting. I floated the idea past a few folks (including Mike Rohde!), got feedback, and have been testing and iterating on a paper prototype since then. Here's the current design:

Little Metal Ruler v02 Callouts.png

Want to be part of designing it? Here's how!

  1. Download this AI or PDF version of the ruler.
  2. Print and transfer it to chipboard, thick card stock, or even a file folder. I think the easiest way to do it is to print the ruler on a label, then stick the label on to something more rigid.
  3. Cut out the ruler and the finger pivot. Punch the holes along the center line with a pin. Except for the finger pivot, you don't have to cut out the other shapes unless you really want to.
  4. Try it out for a while!
  5. Provide your feedback on features on this Google Sheet. 

We'll post updates to the design and the project in the Google Sheet.

Thanks for participating!

Brian TaralloComment