🗂️ zettels + satire + execution
ISSUE #161
MAKING
A Zettelkasten for Artists
I’m stealing a notetaking method from writers called Zettelkasten (German for “slip box”). The premise is simple: one idea per note, a unique number, and links to related notes. Over time, your thoughts stop languishing in piles and start behaving like a network.
And I wondered… could that same “linked notes” logic work for the physical stuff in my studio – sketches, studies, scraps, reference images, test prints – everything I want to keep and actually be able to find again?
So I’m building a physical knowledge + project system out of basic office supplies (binders, tabs, sleeves, envelopes, boxes) with one rule: number = home address. Not by topic. Not alphabetical. Not by date. Just: give it an address.
Example: 52 — gelli printing
52 started as a numbered tab in my master binder (see below) with class notes, a DIY gel plate recipe, and print samples in clear binder sleeves.
When it got bigger, it moved into its own binder – still 52 (see above).
A Google Sheet is the map: what 52 is, where it lives now, and what else it connects to (like 29 — Carla Sonheim).
Containers can change. The address doesn’t. That’s the magic.
My organizing brain loves the puzzle of blending physical materials with digital indexing in a way that works for both recall (searching) and connection (linking).
But I find myself thinking: am I making a system… or avoiding the making? Is this infrastructure in service of the work? Is it productive procrastination? Or is this the actual work?
If you’ve got a studio organizing system that works for you (or an indexing tool you swear by), hit reply. I’m collecting good ideas, and I’d love to hear yours.
LOVING
If you need a quick creative laugh, check out Mirella-Fabiënne. She has a series on Instagram called If every other job was treated like a designer. They’re all hilarious, but this one is my favorite.
She also does other recurring bits like How to spot a graphic designer in the wild, Designer pick-up lines, and The client translator cheat sheet.
THINKING
“IDEAS ARE CHEAP… EVERYBODY HAS IDEAS. IDEAS ARE HIGHLY, HIGHLY OVERVALUED. EXECUTION IS ALL THAT MATTERS.”
— CASEY NEISTAT