Creative Professionals on How Field Notes Help Them Create and Unplug

Posted inDesign Inspiration

In honor of their 40th Anniversary, VSA Partners created an insightful, playful video series exploring the power of design in all its forms. They asked their team to share brief videos of products, places, brands, and experiences that have inspired their creativity and careers. The PRINT staff is celebrating with them by sharing some of these moments that remind us that real, lasting impact starts with putting people at the center of design.


For my semester abroad in Florence a zillion years ago, we were required to keep a notebook to document our time in Italia. I bought a leather-bound, marble paper-cover notebook where I sketched people at the market and the architecture that moved me, where I wrote about painting at the Ponte Vecchio, lingering in Santa Croce, and discovering gelato— a lot of gelato. From that early experience, I think I got pretty addicted (as many of us are) to organizing my life around lists and exploring ideas by writing them down in notebooks. That’s why VSA Creative Director Matt Ganser’s video resonated for me. I love the way he talks about how he unplugs and can explore his creativity in his Field Notes. He has some cool doodles too! I hope you’re inspired by his video and those of the rest of the team. Happy 40th VSA— you don’t look a day over 30!