Sketchnotes UK

by Mandy Johnson in St. Albans, England, United Kingdom

We did it
On 2nd April 2020 we successfully raised £8,853 with 163 supporters in 30 days

In a noisy world, Sketchnotes UK uses creativity and colour to make complex information, reports, and conferences more engaging.

by Mandy Johnson in St. Albans, England, United Kingdom

 New stretch target

Thanks to you we smashed our £5,000 target - this will enable us to create an online course to teach people to sketchnote from the comfort of their own home.

We are now hoping to raise £5,919. If we reach this stretch target we will be able to purchase the latest iPad pro. This will enable us to offer professional standard, digitally created sketchnotes and animations.

We have until 1pm on 30th March to reach our final target.


At Sketchnotes UK, we are experts at sifting through information, pulling out the important bits and translating them in a creative way. We combine carefully selected words with simple, hand-drawn pictures to ensure that the best bits of your work, information and events get the attention they deserve.

 

Now you can join the fight towards bringing more creativity into every workplace, support independent business and treat yo’-self – what more could you ask for?

Reporting, training and communicating effectively is important. But too many words can make your documents inaccessible and (if we're being really honest) a little bit BORING!

What we don’t understand is why, in a world when it’s harder than ever to get (and keep) people’s attention, more organisations aren’t turning to the beautiful world of sketchnoting. 

If you haven’t heard of sketchnoting, read the next paragraph, otherwise you get to skip to the one below it – you lucky thing!

Sketchnoting is a form of capturing, or sharing, information that combines words and images. Here’s an example below...

Meet Mandy. She is 34 years old, mother of two young children, with a full-time job as a charity CEO. She gets over 100 emails a day, manages a team, and is constantly reading reports, articles, and staying on top of the news. Getting new messages to cut-through and stick is no easy task.

Spoiler alert, that was our founder just two years ago. There was always more - more to read, more to watch, more to write. It was a never ending, thankless task of trying to keep up. She tried apps, but every time she looked at her phone, she could see yet another email that needed urgent attention.

Mandy said, "I became overloaded, stressed and I ended up having a mental breakdown."

"My break down was a breakthrough. Through two years of introspection and compassion (thanks y’all) I rediscovered the creative guru that lives inside me. Doodling with my family, helped me relax, and enjoy myself again. It was my life line."

When the work started coming again (this time on freelance basis) she found herself driven by an irresistible urge to bring doodling into the workplace. Rather than facilitating workshops with PowerPoint (yawn!), Ishe created drawings that others could contribute to. Instead of sending a long, written report at the end of a project, she would share sketchnotes that brought everything to life...and my clients loved it! Happy days.

 

She started sharing sketchnotes of articles she read, podcasts she listened to, and conferences she attended. They not only helped her concentrate, made her happy, and ensured the information stuck but the most exciting part was other people felt the same! 

Her sketchnotes were helping people engage with complex information, disseminate information and bring people together through a creative process.

 At the start of 2020, she was contacted by a conference organiser that wants to pay her to sketchnote their event. She's also received enquiries from organisations who want a unique way to bring their content to life. So it seems there is the commercial appetite for this to become a full-time business.

Once launched, Sketchnotes UK will take commissions for sketchnotes. This will include:

       •           Capturing live events

       •           Turning long reports into engaging one-pagers

       •           Creating “how to” guides

       •           Explaining complex information or processes

       •           Comms and marketing

       •           ...and anything else that an organisation wants to gain traction!

To do this properly, we need to purchase some specialist equipment and pay a few freelancers to help set the business up and get the word out . In short, we'll need a cash injection to get it off the ground. Thankfully, our founder has been onto a scheme by Natwest bank where they have pledged to match some of the donations we receive.

That’s where you come in. We'd be SO grateful if you could support this business because let’s face it, don’t we all want a world with less reports, and more creativity and colour? 

If you need any further incentive , please take a look through the rewards that we're offering – please note that some rewards only have limited availability. 

Happy pledging!

There are lots more rewards available - please do take a look.

Thank you!

 

Rewards

This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.

£15 or more

10 of 20 claimed

£15 Reward - online course access

If you want to learn how to sketchnote from the comfort of your own home this is the reward for you. As soon as my online sketchnoting course is live you will have FULL ACCESS at this heavily discounted rate. Please note that there are only 20 of these available!!!

£2 or more

£2 Reward - Feminist postcard

Choose from a selection of my feminist illustrations and a postcard-sized print of your choice will be sent to you as a perfectly sized THANK YOU for supporting this feminist to start her dream business.

£3 or more

£3 Reward - a greeting card

Thank you - we couldn't make Sketchnotes UK a reality without your support. We will send you a greetings card featuring one of Mandy's doodles. Scroll to the bottom of the project page to see the options available.

£5 or more

£5 donation

For those who want to support the campaign "just because" this is the option for you. No reward, just the lovely, warm feeling inside that you're helping make the world more colourful and creative. Thank you!!

£10 or more

£10 Reward - Pack of 5 greeting cards

Thank you - we couldn't make Sketchnotes UK a reality without your support. For £10, we will send you a pack of five greeting cards featuring Mandy's illustrations. You can choose five copies of the same design or a "lucky dip" - which will be a randomly selected mix of the cards available. ...all to show our gratitude.

£15 or more

9 of 12 claimed

£15 Reward - Hand Decorated Notebook

Thank you - we couldn't make 'Sketchnotes UK' a reality without your support. We'll send you an A5 notebook with lined pages. The cover will be hand-decorated, by our founder - Mandy Johnson. As they're decorated by hand, each one will be absolutely unique. You choose the colour, the design will be a lucky dip - see project page for examples. If you'd like a personalised design, please check out the £25 reward.

£20 or more

£20 Reward - Sketchnoting starter pack

If you are interested in getting started with sketchnoting yourself, but aren't ready to take part in a workshop, this pack will provide everything you need to get started. The pack will include: - Drawing utensils (a black sharpie, two highligher pens, a fine tip pen and a pencil) - 10 pieces of white card for you to practice on - a "beginners guide to sketchnoting" - authored and illustrated by Mandy Johnson

£20 or more

£20 donation - A big thank you!

This is for people who would like to make a donation towards my business but don't want anything more than a thank you in return. You will be thanked across all of our social media channels, including a thank you by @MsMandyJ on Twitter!

£30 or more

1 of 100 claimed

International Women’s Day A4 Print

Inspired by this year’s International Women’s Day, our founder, Mandy Johnson has produced some feminist illustrations. If you pledge £30 to support this feminist’s new business then you will be able to choose one of them to be sent to you as an A4 print, hand signed by Mandy Johnson as a sign of our gratitude.

£50 or more

8 of 10 claimed

£50 Reward - all the swag!

Thank you - we couldn't make 'Sketchnotes UK' a reality without your support. For £50, we will send you: - a hand-decorated A5 notebook - a greeting card featuring one of our bespoke designs - a sketchnoting starter pack ...all to show our gratitude.

£60 or more

2 of 50 claimed

£60 Reward - Limited edition print

An A3, hand-signed and limited edition print of one of Mandy Johnson's sketchnotes or illustrations. Choose from the selection that we will be publishing throughout this campaign, or select a sketchnote or illustration that you have seen on Mandy's social media.

£75 or more

£75 Reward - Sketchnoting workshop voucher

For £75 you will be sent a voucher code that can be used to purchase one place at a future sketchnoting workshop in a location of your choice. The voucher will last for twelve months from the date of issue.

£150 or more

9 of 10 claimed

£150 Reward - personalised sketchnote

As a thank you for a £150 pledge towards making 'Sketchnotes UK' a reality, our Founder, Mandy Johnson, will create a one-page sketchnote (or an illustration) based on a topic of your choice.

£200 or more

0 of 10 claimed

£200 Reward - 2.5hour private tutorial

If you are interested in learning to sketchnote yourself, but would prefer private tuition (rather than a workshop) then this is the reward for you. You will receive 2.5hours of private tuition to help you get started with sketchnoting, or help you get even better if you're already on your way.

£500 or more

0 of 8 claimed

£500 Reward - a day of live sketchnoting

Do you have an event, meeting, conference, or workshop that you would like to make memorable for attendees and shareable on social media? As a thank you for a £500 pledge towards making 'Sketchnotes UK’ a reality, our founder, Mandy Johnson, will attend your event/meeting/conference/workshop for a full day and sketchnote the entire thing live. This is a great way to bring a little something extra to your day.

£600 or more

0 of 5 claimed

£600 Reward - a team sketchnoting workshop

As a thank you for a £600 pledge towards making 'Sketchnotes UK' a reality, a group of up to 12 people will receive a full day's workshop on sketchnoting. You will also receive a one-hour consultation prior to the workshop so that we can ensure that it is fully tailored to your needs.

£25 or more

10 of 10 claimed

£25 Reward - Personalised Notebook

Thank you - we couldn't make 'Sketchnotes UK' a reality without your support. For £25, we'll send you an A5 notebook with lined pages. The cover will be hand-decorated, by our founder - Mandy Johnson. As they're decorated by hand, each one will be absolutely unique. You choose the colour and the type of design you'd like based on the examples shown on the project page OR anything you have seen on our social media - just let us know.

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