Why I Love Messy Sketchbooks
Real talk:
My sketchbook is a disaster.
Pages half-filled with thumbnail layouts, scribbled notes in the margins, moodboard scraps taped sideways… and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Here’s the thing about creative messes:
They’re where the real work begins. Not the polished, portfolio-perfect stuff. The process. Sketchbooks are the last space we have that doesn’t ask for perfection. They don’t need likes or client approval. They’re just for thinking out loud—with a pencil.
And when you let yourself think messy, the good ideas show up.
For me, sketchbooks are:
- A pressure-free space to explore
- A way to remember ideas before they slip away
- A reminder that creativity isn’t always linear
Sometimes I’ll flip back and see a half-baked idea from a month ago that suddenly clicks. Other times, I’m just dumping stuff out so my brain has room to breathe.
In an industry that worships the final product…
We don’t talk enough about the middle. The weird, scribbly, maybe-this-is-something stage. But that middle? That’s the realest part of the work. That’s where your voice shows up. That’s where your point of view starts to take shape.
So yeah—my sketchbook is messy. But it’s honest. It’s alive. It’s mine. And in a world full of polished feeds and templated design, that mess feels like a superpower.