ABOUT THE BOOK
Q&A with Leeza Hernandez, creator of think.jot.draw

WHAT IS IT?
Basically, it’s a sketchbook, notebook and thumbnail/dummy book rolled into one. The 104-page book is a handy 6 x 9 inch paperback — perfect to carry in your handbag or backpack.  The book contains lined pages, blank pages, pages which are half-lined/half-blank and there are 96 thumbnail boxes to work in.

WHY, WHAT'S IT FOR?
I am terrible at filing my sketches and ideas, you know, the spontaneous thoughts you have in the middle of the night or when stuck in traffic. I scribble notes or doodle on any scrap of surface I can find in my bag or my car and then promptly loose them. My office is littered with loose layout pages that I either throw out by mistake or can’t find when I need them. When I’ve needed to go back to the scraps to develop the idea, they seem lost forever. It got terribly frustrating. I went on a search in bookstores and art supplies stores for something that could serve all my needs in one book and had zero success.
So, that's when I decided to create my own.

WHO ELSE CAN BENEFIT FROM think.jot.draw?
Anyone, really, who likes to be somewhat organized. Certainly anyone creative who prefers to keep track of their thoughts in one location. Let’s see: illustrators, designers, writers, event planners, students and even children who love to write stories and draw. I think it's a lovely way to encourage creativity to children rather than see them glued to the television — they can create their very own book!

WHAT OTHER COOL FEATURES ARE IN think.jot.draw?
There is space on the spine so you can write the name of your project and date it, which makes it very accessible on a shelf filed with other books. I like to think that’s a cool feature. Plus, the cover is blank so you can doodle on that, too. For me, it’s a great way to plan a cover illustration or design — especially if my project is for a children’s book. Permanent markers work really well on the cover stock. That’s cool, too, right? Oh, and the thumbnails are exactly 25 percent of an 8.5 x 11 double page spread. So for example, if I sketch out a dummy idea for say, a 32-page picture book or magazine design, I can slap the thumbs on a photocopier and enlarge them proportionately to the actual size of the book/mag.

TELL US MORE ABOUT THE LAUNCH OF THE BOOK
Well, I’m really excited about the launch for lots of reasons:
••• I’ll be able to finally organize my ideas, thoughts and doodles in one spot for each of my projects.
••• People who buy the book from this Web site will receive a free Sharpie pen
••• Anyone who buys the book can enter the “Design a think.jot.draw Cover” contest.
••• The winning design will be printed as a limited edition cover on the real think.jot.draw book; Sharpie has kindly donated fabulous pens as runner-up prizes and all of the entries will appear in an online gallery for the world to see!

WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONTEST?
Oh that’s easy,  just click here.

WHERE CAN I BUY THE BOOK?
Oh that’s easy too,  just click here.

 ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO TELL US ABOUT ?
I really hope other people will love it and find it as useful as I do. The book costs a mere $8.95, too, which makes it a fantastic — and practical — gift for anyone who enjoys being creative and organized. Perfect for giving on the holidays, birthdays, graduation or even to yourself. I’m just happy to see the book come to life, the idea has been in my head for a long time, so now it’s finally on paper — literally!