SXSW Interactive 2008 Sketchnotes

Welcome BoingBoing readers! Be sure to check out my follow-up post called Lessons Learned from my SXSW Sketchnotes too!

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SXSW Interactive 2008 Sketchnotes are up!
I've just completed scanning, tuning and uploading 34 pages of sketchnotes I captured in my pocket Moleskine sketchbook at SXSW Interactive earlier this week.

I think the sketchnotes turned out well, and it was no problem for me to continuously create them for nearly every session I attended. I certainly went through ink in my G2 mini pens — I'm glad I brought several along.

With the SEED Conference sketchnotes being pretty popular, I'm curious to see how these SXSW sketchnotes are received. While sketchnotes capture concentrated concepts for each session well, I think they're even better at awakening ideas stored in the minds of session attendees.

Speakers Featured
Here are the speakers featured in the SXSW Interactive Sketchnotes: Naz Hamid, Veronica Belmont, Casey McKinnon, Ryan King, Glenda Bautista, Ariel Waldman, John Gruber, Michael Lopp, Jim Coudal, Dan Rubin, Didier Hilhorst, Eris Stassi, Lea Alcantara (sorry for the Leah misspell in the notes!), Ben Brown and Frank Warren.

Finally, here's the FlickrSlidr Slideshow set:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I did creating them! :-)

Stats on Flickr — Wow!

Check out Shaun Swick's very cool SXSW Sketchnotes 08 Flickr Set for another perspective.

Dave Gray does his style of sketchnotes on 3x5 notecards, check out his set from VizThink08.

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Comments

[Brian Artka]

Very nice Mike. I didnt take extensive notes from the panels, and besides.. I really wanted to see your sketches. thanks for posting these, they rock.

[Dustin Senos]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing these. They are as pleasing to look at as they are valuable to read.

[L.Vazquez]

Thank you for sharing this. It's a great way to share the experience, especially to those who can't attend.

So, what IS your secret? I'm curious about that last page... is there more info on that talk?

[paul merrill]

Great great way to capture the event!!

Congrats on the Daring Fireball link.

[Tim Letscher]

Great stuff. My hand-written notes are not nearly as decipherable as yours. SXSW was so good on so many fronts. Cheers.

[Shama Hyder]

Great sketchnotes! It was wonderful meeting you on the party bus!

-Shama

[j. brotherlove]

Sweet!

[Dustin Askins]

These are great, thanks so much for sharing. We were in a lot of the same panels and when I provide a summary of what I attended your notes supplementing mine are going to be a big help, not to mention inspiration.

[Mike Rundle]

Beautiful as always!!! Wish I could have been there this year but these notes are probably equally as interesting as the panels :)

[Matt Bumgardner]

Very creative. This approach is probably more memorable and effective than typical outline notes.

[Jeremy Greenawalt]

Hey, I love these notes... btw, thanks for linking to my mention of your notes, but I'm not Chris Merritt. :)

[Joe]

Amazing and inspirational work. I have the same sketchbook and have been sketching and writing more lately for some reason.

BTW: I recently switched to a Pilot Precise V5 RT Retractable Rolling Ball (needle point) pen and really like it. I kinda miss the gel ink, but not too much.

[Honoria]

Hi Mike. It's great to see a fellow Live Art Blogger from SXSW Interactive. I went armed with heavy paper, watercolors and oil pastels to the panels and did full color drawings and sometimes let haiku emerge from the speaker's words. I visually covered a whole different set of presentations than you, although I did REALLY enjoy Battledecks II as you did. In fact some of us in Austin are going to do a local competition. Want to design the decks so no one will see them?

I hope you will visit my 38 watercolor notes of SXSW Interactive 2008 at praxis101.com/blog.

I'd love to discuss this way of processing our experiences with you.

[tony herrera]

Those are some impressive sketches Mike. Thanks for sharing them, these are just as impressive as that catchy loop on your Podcasts.

Nice work on both fronts. Thanks again!

[alex harris]

When I saw the sketches in person I was very impressed now it is great to be able to look through them and read your thoughts. Was very nice meeting you! Really enjoyed the conversation.

[Mike Rohde]

Wow, thanks everyone for your kind words on the sketchnotes! I am especially happy that they are bringing back good memories to SXSW Interactive attendees and non-attendees alike. That makes me feel very good.

@Jeremy, sorry for calling you Chris Merritt! I had tons of Twitter tweets I was tracking and happened to see one on your site. It has since been fixed. :-)

@Honoria I saw your work on one of David Seah's videos I believe. I love that there were others at SXSW doing alternative capture of the events, because I think that adds such a great depth and diversity to the experience. I love your stuff!

Ping me directly about the Battledecks stuff. If I can fit it in I would love to help out (maybe our local tech group Web414 can do this as a group project).

You guys have made my year! :-)

[Fubiz]

A very good idea !

[communicatrix]

What a wonderful project! Thank you for sharing it (although really, I won't be satisfied until I can TOUCH THE PAGES!!!)

How funny that we were probably staked out mere feet from each other over the course of several days in Austin, and it took a random Flickr upload and blog post to bring us together.

Then again, that's what's wonderful about it all: SXSW, the Internet, life...you know!

Oh�and I loved your Apple-hiring story. Reminds me of a similar (although way less spectacular) process I went through: Indiana, writing job, major life overhaul. Sometimes, it's about knowing things can happen a certain way, even if we decide we don't want them to.

[Mike Rohde]

@communicatrix Thanks for the kind words! If you come near Milwaukee, give me a call and let's have a coffee. I'l bring the Sketchnotes for you to see in person. :-)

I found it very fascinating that so many people who mentioned my work may have been a few feet away that week at SXSW. I think this is a great way to have a list of people to contact for next year's SXSW 2009.

Thanks for the note about Apple's inquiry. I love Apple and for someone that position will be a great opportunity, but for me at the time it just wasn't a fit. Location, family and work opportunities all factored into the decision.

Thanks for the comment! :-)