Design Notebook by AYY and TOKYO is now available. Designer Janne Gammelin talks about the versatile features of the notebook.

Design Notebook by AYY and TOKYO continues the long traditions of the TOKYO design calendar. The redesigned product is versatile and suitable for Aalto students in various fields at a time when fewer and fewer students are using pen and paper to take calendar notes.

“The transition from the traditional, annually published design calendar to a notebook of several years feels a bit sad, but at the same time, this is a needed change for users and the environment. The notebook can be used until the last page and possibly even further”, says Janne Gammelin, the designer of the notebook.

Gammelin is a master’s student in Aalto ARTS Visual Communication Design and the designer of Design Notebook. The jury unanimously selected Gammelin as the designer of the notebook from among the many great participants of the design contest in the spring of 2021. The classically stylish notebook design by Gammelin is versatile and serves different user groups well.

Design Notebook consists of a note section, multi-year calendars (regular and project calendar), AYY’s information pages and various extras. The notebook section is divided into twelve sections, each with its own page template. The templates include blank pages and pages with lines, grids and dots. For those interested in type designing, there are also pages with guidelines for sketching.

“At best, different templates may open up new possibilities for creating notes, sketches or ideas”, says Gammelin.

The calendar section includes monthly calendar pages and project calendar pages for a few years. The extra pages include both traditional notebook additions (unit conversions, time zone map) and other interesting sections (paper sizes, Cyrillic alphabet, Japanese alphabet). The buckram cover of the notebook is durable and the bookmark makes the notebook easy to use.

The designer sends his greetings to users: “Pick up your notebook, take a pen, observe your environment, be open and make the most of your notebook”.

The brand-new notebook can now be collected by showing your student card in Kipsari Väre starting from 18.8., AYY’s Service Point if you visit the office in other matters, AYY’s year tag service desk starting from 23.8. and Studio Kipsari starting from 30.8. The notebook will be available in Mikkeli campus too. The product is a member service, and it is free for AYY & TOKYO members.

Text: Julia Wihuri
Picture: Hilla Mäkelä