After finishing my Paperchase notebook at the end of August I needed something to replace it. I am quite picky when it comes to notebooks. I use them as a planner/ blogging notebook/ commonplace book so prefer them to have a high page count as I go through them pretty quick. It also has to be pretty robust as I would be taking it to college with me every day. After hours of research I came across the Dot Grid notebook from dotgrid.co.

A5 DOTGRID NOTEBOOK REVIEW

These wirebound notebooks are made in the UK, they feature 96 sheets (192 pages) of 104gsm paper, with a 350gsm matt laminated cover. The dot grid matrix is printed on both sides with a Pantone Warm Grey 4 ink. These notebooks are popular with designers, the grid layout being especially good for user interface design (you can now buy notebooks with the iphone layout printed on them).

I’m no UI designer but I love the dot grid layout, I’ve always preferred writing on blank paper but I hate how uneven my writing can become when I don’t have any lines on the page (in the past I would write on a blank page with a ruled page underneath so I stayed in the lines). Now it’s almost like I’m writing on a blank page but the dots help me write straight.

I’ve been using this to take notes for my Graphic Design course and have had no problems using various medias on it. The Copic markers bleed through the paper but that is to be expected. The paper handles watercolours remarkably well. You won’t be able to do a full watercolour painting but for light washes its fine (see below). The paper does wrinkle a bit from the watercolour but not so much that the back of the page becomes unuseable.

If you’re looking for a notebook I would highly recommend this. At £10 for an A5 size it is a little expensive but it’s really well made and should last a while. In fact if I didn’t have another notebook waiting to be used I would seriously consider buying another when I have finished with this one.

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