How do you like to take notes in the studio? What do you use? What do you hate about taking notes??

[Lou_847]

Hi everyone! I am a potter and UX Design student looking into the process of taking more efficient studio notes. I made this survey to get other ceramic artist's perspectives on the matter. I want to know how you keep notes, what you use, what you wish was easier, etc. If you've got a minute, could you please take the survey below? This forum always has the best insights from expert potters!

https://forms.gle/2EHmGpSHrgYUqz8s5

[oldlady]

you are assuming the term UX Design is something so commonly known by EVERYBODY that you do not have to define what you are talking about.  

[Lou_847]

Oops! Haha it's true, I didn't know what UX Design was until about 6 months ago! It stands for User Experience and it generally means that we create designs based on user needs rather than what some business guy thinks is best. Kinda. 

[Callie Beller Diesel]

Currently I use a big pad of newsprint and some chalk. If my hands are dirty, they’ll wreck devices, and markers dry out. 

[oldlady]

lou, does that mean that you would never have put tiny silver letters on black backgrounds on tv sets or remotes that had symbols that did not mean anything before they arrived on the remote?  will you be one of those "designers"?

[GEP]

Notebook and pen for some things. White board with dry erase markers for others. Agree with Callie that touching electronic devices in the studio  is not something I want to do, when my hands are covered in gunk. 

[Pres]

I use plain white printer paper. If the notes are to be used often as in glaze formulas or sketches of ideas I put them in to notebook sleeves in a 3 ring binder. When measuring out glazes a grease pencil will allow me to mark the sleeve and not the paper-easily wipes off.

 

best,

Pres

[Mark C.]

scratch paper and pencil-no electronics

[Roberta12]

3 ring binder for glaze notes.  When mixing glazes I slide the recipe in a plastic sleeve and mark on it with a dry erase marker.  In my studio space I use a notebook and a white board.  I would like to improve on the photo part of glaze testing.   I should print out a photo of the glaze results and tape into the 3 ring binder or something like that.  

 

[Hulk]

I'm keeping:

two spiral bound notebooks - had a stack of 5x8", a handy size - for
a) firing notes, times, temperatures, stacking/loading, observations, cones, etc. and
b) glaze notes - specific gravity, application notes, results

a folder with glaze recipes, one per sheet, with notes on the sheet, including batch counts

another folder for stencils

there's a material inventory tacked up in the cabinet, however, it's not up to date :]

images, saved to subdirectories under .../Ceramics/aa Pot Pictures/ in the format MMMYY, e.g. APR22

I'm not sketching designs aforehand, maybe I should ...a new shape/form evolves over several makings, like a stop action amoeba.

Interface design, hrrm.
My experience has been that the designer (or design "team") spend time in the field, with actual users, for there is no substitute.
Learn the process, what the ui (User Interface) users are actually doing - see it, feel it, do it, all of "it" - long hours of observation, add interaction, trust building, in the pulpit/shop/office - the actual setting, in it. From there, same on the data consumption end, the management end, the IT side.
Among the many users, find those that have the expertise, skill, knowledge, and, AND the insight to what the tool (software) does and could do.
It's not always the boss, heh, or the extrovert, or label goes here ...gotta find them, the insightful users.
Then you got something.

Ooops, what do I "hate" about notes: where there's something important, critical, or even interesting that wasn't captured or clear, aaarrrg.

Added: glaze recipes copied to GlazeMaster for analysis, tweaking, etc. 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Hulk
forgot the hate part, forgot about GlazeMaster

[kswan]

@Roberta12 I like the dry erase on the glaze recipe protector method! I have been doing a pencil tick mark and then erase after I finish adding ingredients. 

I already filled out the survey, but I'll post here too that I use a white board and 3 different notebooks. 1 notebook for clay sketches, designs, ideas, measurements. 1 notebook for glaze recipes, information and tests. 1 notebook for kiln firing logs.

I use pencils because I like them, I can erase what I need to, I have a bunch laying around everywhere I need them, and it won't get ruined by getting clay on it. Also, most people spend so much time typing (like now) that it honestly feels great to put a real writing utensil in my hand and use it.  I use colored pencils to draw some of my designs too. 

I take photos of each shelf in the kiln as I unload, along with cones if used. It's easy to look back at photos that correspond to the date fired in my log if I need to.

Whiteboard has drawings, clay weight and dimensions of things that I make regularly.

Goopy hands and electronics: I have a waterproof speaker that I listen to audiobooks on. I can pause it and don't have to touch my phone except when I first open up the book. Any clay wipes off easily. I don't use any other devices while I work. 

[Callie Beller Diesel]

5 hours ago, Roberta12 said:

I should print out a photo of the glaze results

The part of me that likes nifty toys thinks that one of those little cell phone printers would be good for that, but I don’t know what paper/cartridge requirements are for those, or how far they go.

[Roberta12]

3 minutes ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

The part of me that likes nifty toys thinks that one of those little cell phone printers would be good for that, but I don’t know what paper/cartridge requirements are for those, or how far they go.

like @kswan mentioned, I do try to get photos of most loads.  Or hang on to some of the testers.  (which can be an S cracked sipper) But then I go through a purge cycle and throw things away.  But yes, a way to get pictures and put in a glaze notebook.  

Sounds like most of us are still using ol' fashioned pencil and paper.  

[Lou_847]

19 hours ago, oldlady said:

lou, does that mean that you would never have put tiny silver letters on black backgrounds on tv sets or remotes that had symbols that did not mean anything before they arrived on the remote?  will you be one of those "designers"?

Haha exactly!! Well I suppose those would be the mistakes of a product designer, but we don't need to get into the nitty gritty of design titles. What I'm excited about is that companies are starting to catch on to the fact that if they're going to be offering products, they should probably check in with the user's desires. Good design is invisible design! 

[Lou_847]

Loving this discussion! I too am a fan of paper and pencil... or using my fancy chalkboard walls I painted in the studio. That is, until I lose my papers or someone accidentally erases my measurements...

Thanks so much to those that have chimed in or filled out my survey! If you didn't happen to fill out the survey but wouldn't mind being interviewed, feel free to let me know and I'll schedule a Zoom or Google Meet meeting with you. 

[LeeU]

I responded to your survey but some of my specifics were not included due to the limitations of forced choice queries and lack of comment fields. I use white boards, paper logs in binders,   spreadsheet inventory records & files of photos organized by item category & also whether electric/raku/woodfire.

[Bill Kielb]

9 minutes ago, LeeU said:

my specifics were not included due to the limitations of forced choice queries and lack of comment fields

I think there was an “ [ ] other” checkbox with room for a sentence or two comment in each section to add your specifics.

[Callie Beller Diesel]

I think Lee’s point about the lack of comment fields is a good one. Making quick ephemeral notes in the studio is different than preserving information elsewhere for future use. 

Things like glaze notes I still use a sketchbook for observations or working out ideas. If I need to do calculations, I’ve used both Insight and Glazy. This system isn’t ideal, because its in too many places, and I worry about data loss. For keeping track of projects/special orders/production lists, I’ve  switched to a Kanban style board on Trello.

 

[Jeanetta]

oooh Great conversation topic!

I have three notebooks:

1- a Throwing notes notebook for scribblings about things I’ve learned (shapes,sizes,techniques,timing)

2- A detailed firing kiln notebook, near the kiln

3-And a glaze notebook , with recipes at the front and notes and trials in the back

The glaze and clay books have pretty dirty pages from my hands.

The throwing book I’ve noticed can be hard to find the specific note I want to reference through all the pages, So recently I’ve taken to making a master list of the most important info all in one place (i.e. ESPRESSO MUG: x lb of clay, x inches tall by x inches wide)

I’ve even gone so far as to put each particular pots’ details onto a que card which I’ve laminated and put a little hole in. Then when I’m working on that particular item (i.e. dessert bowls), I’ll pull out the “dessert bowls” que card, hook it on a nail in front of the wheel & chug away for the afternoon glancing at it as needed.
At the end I can wipe it clean and put it back in the stack with the others and pull out the next project’s specs card. 
i find this works well for me

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Jeanetta