Vanguard by Baron Fig — A Softcover Notebook Designed for Greatness, Now Available in Three Sizes
7 years ago from Max Lind, sometimes Maxwell
7 years ago from Max Lind, sometimes Maxwell
Things I want to know when I buy notebooks:
1) Does it open flat? I hate fighting with my notebook. 2) What patterns are available? I prefer dot. 3) How big is it? I like a big notebook. 4) What's the paper weight? I like a heavier weight.
It's amazing how many notebooks providers don't or make it difficult to answer these questions. This site answers most of these questions, so thanks.
+1 — these notebooks are great and the company is wonderful. I have ordered quite a few of their Confidant's, as well as the smaller set and the pen.
I combine them with Field Notes and always have a notebook with me.
I recommend trying them..
Do you have any advice for designers who might have a good notebook design, but are a little lost when it comes to choosing a printer/binder/notebook-maker-person? What lessons did you takeaway that might be useful to others?
The notebooks look awesome.
My only concern is that they used brandon grotesque and proxima nova on the website.
I got one a while ago and it's a good quality notebook and a good value for the money. Nothing special about it though.
Does anyone know how the paper is? I frequently use Letraset Pro Markers for my mockups / sketching and they leak through a lot of paper. so it takes something really tough to prevent leakage.
My experience has been positive. BUT I've heard from others that use thick nibbed pens with water based inks are seeing leakage.
My experience is the same — paper is solid, but heavy ink pens will bleed. Most pens work fine, however.
Even with the bleeding, however, the back-side of pages are still useful.
If you're filling in UI sketches, you'll have some more trouble on the other side.
My only problem with this notebook was the cover and how easy it was to mark by accidental scruffing. I marked the cover within the first 3 days of having it and it looks really unpleasant to keep holding and carrying around so I went back to my moleskine.
They do sell a nice cover for it, but I understand that shouldn't be required to keep them clean. I'm personally a BIG fan of Baron Fig, and I like the marks, scuffs, and general wear on them. It's like a pair of nicely worn jeans.
I also appreciate the "well loved" look they get over time
I fail to see any difference to Moleskine or any other similar notebook.
If you feel like listening to a podcast about it, this one explains the differences pretty well.
https://soundcloud.com/the-journal/who-makes-the-best-paper-journal-geek-out-with-paper-guru
The biggest difference for me is that they are built to lay open. And aren't a spiral design which is nice.
But so are Moleskines and even some knock-offs.
Baron Fig is the first one I came across that did it well. It's all a matter of our personal preference. I appreciate that Baron Fig is an indie company, and that they are constantly putting real effort into working with customers, and making their experience good. Moleskine has never responded to an email, or a tweet from me. I've had private conversations with several Baron Fig employees. That personal touch matters more to me than anything else, since I know any issues I may have with their product will be listened to, and addressed.
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