MOO Custom Notebooks are here. Be noteworthy.
Looking for a way to get your brand noticed? Our new MOO Custom Notebooks will take your brand from cover to cover.
Looking for a way to get your brand noticed? Our new MOO Custom Notebooks will take your brand from cover to cover.
Loved our Hardcover Notebooks? We’ve made them even better. Now, for the first time, you can order Notebooks with custom options that will make them unmistakably yours.
Upgrading the upgraded
After the launch of the Hardcover Notebook, the MOO Product Design team got to work on adding custom options. “We’ve taken the best features of the Hardcover Notebook and combined them with a printable cover,” Senior Product Designer Felix Ackermann says. “Now, you can easily add your brand colors and designs onto the Notebook covers.”
Brand consistency on your to-do list? Custom Notebooks will make your brand shine. The flexibility of printing covers will allow you to match your MOO notepads with your other stationery designs. “Matching stationery, what’s not to love?!” Couldn’t agree more, Felix.
Design from cover to cover
The Custom Notebooks have all the unique features of the Hardcover Notebooks—like the lay-flat Swiss binding and premium quality paper—with some added customized perks. If you’re looking for a custom notebook manufacturer that ticks all the boxes, look no further. Whether you want to add your brand color, logo, or photo, MOO Custom Notebooks will take your brand to the next level, with cover-to-cover design from a low minimum order of just 50.
The covers are finished with a Super Soft Touch laminate, giving them a velvety feel that makes them hard to put down. You can even customize the topsheet and make it unmistakably yours. So whether you’re displaying them at trade shows or adding them to your company’s onboarding kits for new employees, your brand will get noticed.
How to design your Notebooks
1. Fill out the Custom Notebook form
- Quick and easy, we promise!
2. Talk with a dedicated Account Manager
- We’ll chat about the specifics of your project to make sure we get it right.
3. Send over your designs
- Our artworkers will add your designs to MOO’s custom Notebook templates.
4. Get a digital proof
- You’ll always be able to double-check to make sure everything looks good to you.
5. Order away!
- With a low minimum order of just 50 custom lay-flat Notebooks. Write on.
Get started
Interested in making Custom Notebooks? We have a dedicated team of MOO Designers ready to take your artwork and add it from cover to cover. Just fill out the form here, and one of our friendly Account Managers will reach out to you with the next steps.
Flipboard – the content curation platform – has created something both print enthusiasts and design lovers can get behind.
Let’s be honest. Most people are reading articles on a screen these days. Yet at the same time, they wish those beautiful print layouts existed online. Flipboard has solved this problem. The company compiles all the digital content that people love, and reshapes it for the mobile world in a visually appealing way.
We were lucky enough to speak with Flipboard’s Amie Green about the company’s roots, her thoughts on the future of online content, and how a design culture runs through the company’s global offices.
Old-school inspiration, new-school style
While Flipboard draws inspiration from print publications, the mobile experience is always at the forefront of its design. “We’re still very mobile-first. We work across Android and iOS,” Green said. “The design is the hallmark of our curation platform. We always want to make sure that we fulfill our mission to inform and inspire the world.”
Flipboard’s goal is to help their audiences find quality news that’s relevant to them, without wasting time scrolling through articles that don’t connect with their interests. “We apply journalistic principles to our curation,” Green said. “In a feed-based world, Flipboard distills down information through a journalistic lens.”
Flipboard selects content for its readers based on machine-learning, as well as another key ingredient. “When a user sets up their Flipboard, the first thing they’re asked is, ‘What is your passion?’” Green said. The entire platform is centered around these interests. “We have curators—everyday people as well as professional editors—who curate magazines with everything from destination and adventure travel to photography.” Flipboard users get content that’s catered to them, all because their audience has a shared perspective.
An evolving landscape
Many social platforms are a place for users to share anything that’s on their mind. But Flipboard is not like that. “Our platform has never been a place for me to share what I had for breakfast,” Green said. “The social aspect of Flipboard is around people who share passions.” For example, one of their users curates their magazine called The Shot. He was a photo editor for Sports Illustrated, and loves sharing what photography inspires him from fellow Flipboard users.
“We cultivate places where people can find their tribe,” Green said. “Flipboard helps you find yourself and your passions. We like to say: “You’re not a voyeur, you’re a voyager.”
Getting the team onboard
The corporate culture at Flipboard is just as inspiring. Their original co-founder, Mike McCue, is also the company’s CEO. “Mike has always been a visionary in his field,” Green said. “He is great at uniting us around our mission.”
It’s true. Everyone at Flipboard seems to share one common belief: that they can support great journalism in the digital age. “We rally around the idea of helping the great publishers and media organizations of the world thrive,” Green said. “That’s what draws a lot of people here and keeps us fulfilled.”
Even though the company has offices all over the world, everyone is part of one global team. This can be attributed to weekly huddles with the CEO, as well as a strong connection to the company’s values. When you walk into their office, you‘ll see the words “Inform and Inspire the World” on their walls.
The company believes in this mission so strongly that they even created a campaign, called “It’s Your Time,” for everyone to learn what the brand stands for.
As the Flipboard website says:
“What we love about ‘It’s Your Time,’ as a slogan, is that it has many important meanings. It harkens to “our” time, as a generation. The news stories you read on Flipboard are a view into the time we live in and help us connect with what’s happening at this time in history, documenting our “life and time.” The unique curation on Flipboard helps people understand our time and find stories worth your time.”
Customization as a core value
Flipboard encourages people to think about what sparks their imagination––from written content to beautiful photography. That’s why when it was time to create their corporate Business Cards, the Flipboard team used their MOO Business Services platform so each employee can order their own customized cards. “Every one of us personalizes Flipboard differently, and that is reflected in our Business Cards,” Green said. Each card highlights a different category that the company covers using Printfinity—from space exploration to photography to food. “Our MOO Business Cards bring forward the personalization aspect of our product, as well as our global lens.”
Tell your brand story with MOO Business Services
At MOO, we’ve been helping people make their mark in the world with amazing quality print products for over a decade. And as our customers have grown, so has our service offering. That’s why for bigger businesses—with 10+ employees—we now offer MOO Business Services. It’s MOO + benefits. MOO Business Services combines dedicated account management with an easy online ordering platform and expert design services. It’s a complete package for businesses to give you more brand control and consistency—while saving you time, stress, and money in the process.
Fill out the form here and a friendly Account Manager will reach out to you.
Use this hand-picked list of fine fonts to spark your imagination, for design and illustration, or just to add some typographical loveliness to your day…
Akzidenz Grotesk
Despite the unflattering name (‘grotesque’ just means sans serif in font language), this is an elegant, clean and tidy font with an impressive reputation as the first-ever sans serif. It creates a mood of calm and clarity with just a hint of softness.
Aksidenz Grotesk comes in a myriad of weights and widths, thanks to its trail-blazing popularity – it was created in Berlin in 1896 and sparked a wave of sans serif styles that spread from Germany across the world. Today, it’s the official font of the American Red Cross, and has also popped up in the branding of various US sports teams like the Brooklyn Nets.
Basic Commercial
It’s been around since 1900, but this hero of a font still looks as fresh as a daisy. A true classic, it was created by Linotype, one of the leaders in early ‘hot type’ printing, and influenced by the fonts of that era. Since its turn-of-the-century days, it has gone from strength to strength, inspiring other sans serif fonts and appearing in iconic places. (The signage for the New York City subway system, to name one.) Versatile, flexible, timeless – what’s not to love?
Black Slabbath
Who could resist a pun like that? Dubbed ‘the heaviest font in the world’, Black Slabbath belongs to the slab serif group of fonts, and is suited to gigantic, impact-making slogans and headlines. The white space in between the hulking letters is delicate by comparison, helping to balance out their impact. Not to be confused with the curlicued font used by the 1970s metal band, this one is much newer, designed in 2008.
Cormorant
Another open-source favorite, Cormorant is a Google Font that was created as a tribute to the classic Garamond, which dates back to the 16th century. It’s a serif style with a thick-and-thin feel that suggests delicate calligraphy, although it’s clean and uncluttered enough to work well in paragraph text as well as display headings.
With Cormorant, Garamond’s sophisticated yet homely feel was given a revamp, with greater contrast between the light and heavy. Crisper, sharper points and thinner lines have a pixel-perfect precision that wasn’t possible in the old days of analog metal typesetting.
Inkwell
A handwriting font that isn’t *that* handwriting font, Inkwell has many variants that range from glossy and professional to fun and a little bit goofy. Each of its incarnations offers the warmth and personality of handwriting, whether it’s dressed up formally to tell stories in text form, or twisted into runic shapes and doodle-like decoratives for headings and illustrations. Buying the whole 48-piece set of fonts doesn’t come cheap, but the vendor offers them sliced and diced in various smaller, more affordable packages depending on the style you’re after.
Thinking about creating a brand identity for your business? Get inspired by these awesome designs and hear first-hand tips from the studios that created them.
For some designers, location can be the influence they need to create a successful brand. We spoke with 3 design studios that have drawn inspiration from their surroundings to take their branding projects to the next level.
Sagrado Studio
Sagrado Studio is a branding design studio run by husband-wife duo Janet and Carlos Monserratte. Starting a business together was the logical step for them—Carlos was working as a brand strategist, while Janet had been an art director and graphic designer for most of her career. One day, it clicked; they had complementary skills, so why not put those skills to good use? And like that, they started Sagrado Studio.
Carlos and Janet take a holistic approach to each client’s project. “One of things about branding is that you need to understand the client’s industry,” Carlos explains. For each client, they immerse themselves in the specific industry to get a sense of the current branding trends and best practices. As a result, they’ve become well versed in industries like shoemaking, skateboarding, and even office furniture. The approach pays off: “It’s easier to design for people when you understand their purpose. We then have to connect the dots in terms of branding.”
For a recent branding project with a Miami-based video production company, Sagrado looked at location to start. Taking inspiration from the client’s vibrant city, Sagrado developed a colorful brand that’s impossible to overlook. “The colorful gradient backgrounds remind us of the art-deco and brightly colored South Beach scenes,” Carlos explains. The team chose Super Soft Touch Business Cards with Spot Gloss finishes to give the branding a more luxurious feel. “Working with gradients can be a big challenge, but the color integrity on these cards is simply outstanding. The result is shiny, bold, and confident.”
Make your brand shine with Spot Gloss
Pouvelle
Pouvelle is multidisciplinary design studio based in Allariz, Spain. The studio was formed by three friends—Blanca, David and Javi—who come from backgrounds ranging in journalism, design, animation, and videography. Together, as Pouvelle, the team joins creative forces to produce bold and playful work that is bound to catch your eye, inspired in part by the rich color palettes of the streets of Allariz.
Every project is different, depending on the client. For Pouvelle, a successful project comes from striking a balance. “We try to leave our personal mark in our commissioned works as much as possible,” Blanca explains. “Normally we start creating something very ‘Pouvelle’ and mold the project until we find a balance between our style and the client’s needs.”
For their own branding, Pouvelle chose to make their Business Cards into an interactive experience. Using Printfinity, the team designed a set of Business Cards with different patterns on the backs that can be assembled in countless different ways. “We chose a design for our cards that could represent our style and personality as a studio.”
Make your brand interactive with Printfinity
LIL Something
LIL Something is the custom lettering and design project of Saori Kasai. Inspired by her life in London (or “LIL,” for short), Saori designs encouraging print products that promote more analog ways of human interaction. “Living in London, I was impressed by all of the print I saw—from people reading books on the their morning commute, to the variety of card shops in all of the neighborhoods,” Saori tells us.
Drawing from her love of handwriting and calligraphy, Saori began work on designing cards that are as positive as they are frame-worthy. This was her first project where she was designing lettering for others, not just for herself. She kept that at the forefront of her creative process: “LIL Something is all about the hope of making someone’s day a little bit brighter through hand-made lettering,” Saori says.
Saori printed a round of Postcards using Printfinity to put a different positive affirmation on the back of each one. “I love how the colors turned out!” Saori tells us. “The quality is great, so it definitely feels like a product that you can sell.” She even uses the Postcards when networking at design workshops. “I’ve been giving the cards away in the hope that it conveys a positive, memorable message – and so the people I meet can take a piece of my work home with them.”
Share your designs on Postcards
All businesses need a plan…or do they? We spoke to marketing entrepreneur Ian Sanders about the value of ripping up the rulebook.
First things first… you need to get your long-term business plan sorted before launching your idea. That’s the typical approach, but according to Ian, it doesn’t have to be that way. He recommends the ‘unplanning’ method as a way to take your business idea to market quickly and effectively.
What is unplanning?
“It’s a mindset that encourages entrepreneurs to launch and test their ideas in the market, rather than getting stuck in over-analysis, planning and forecasting,” says Ian. “It’s about Business Doing vs. Business Planning.”
Unplanning doesn’t mean getting rid of goals and objectives, but recognizing that things change, and fast. As technology develops, opportunities and challenges pop up from many sources both online and offline. Which means that a linear plan might not be the best way to reach those targets.
“How can you plot on a business plan those random opportunities you spotted on Twitter or that new client you accidentally met in the coffee shop?” Ian explains. “And who can predict how things will look in five months, let alone five years?”
To embrace unplanning, you need to be prepared for continual change, always ready to rethink and reinvent what you do and how you do it.
5 ways to get in the unplanning state of mind:
1. Act fast
Speed to market can give you that competitive edge, so don’t waste time poring over spreadsheets. Instead, make it happen, and focus on getting your business out there.
2. Test out your ideas in the real world
Prototype your idea: launch it, test it and tweak it ‘live’ in the marketplace. If you have a web-based business, it’s possible to monitor it, get feedback and then adapt your offering in a short space of time – maybe even overnight.
3. Embrace random opportunities
Be flexible and open to change: when a new direction emerges, be prepared to take it and see where you end up.
4. Use technological (and other) tools
We live in a world of easy-to-access data, so use it to your advantage. Use ready-made media platforms to promote yourself, such as LinkedIn and Medium, and use social media to ask questions and pick up sentiments around your sector and business. Plus there’s a whole world of free and paid-for analytics tools, such as Buzzsumo, Hootsuite and good old Google Analytics, to track the success of your business activities.
Offline connections are powerful too, especially when the majority of your competitors are focusing on digital. Use a tangible marketing tool like Postcards or Flyers to make an impression on new contacts. In the online retail market? Quirky touches like Stickers on your packaging can make you stand out from the crowd.
5. Trust your gut
“Trust your instinct and not a spreadsheet in making decisions; it might be the best tool you’ve got,” says Ian.
For the “I have an idea” generation, unplanning can be liberating.
“In researching my e-book, I spoke to entrepreneurs and CEOs, and many confessed that ‘planning is actually guessing.’ They shared the belief that success is about trying out ideas in the market, not building theoretical models,” Ian recalls.
“Your instinct has been developed and formed from real experience in business. Sometimes careful analysis is helpful, but often you’re just trying to justify what your instinct is already telling you. Why not follow that straight from the get go?”
Is unplanning for you?
If you’re struggling with how to progress your business idea or paralysed by spreadsheets, business plans and projections, maybe it’s time to give unplanning a try. You can plot elaborate theoretical models all day long, or you can grab your Business Cards, take your business out into the real world, and see what opportunities are waiting.Ian Sanders is a business coach, marketing expert and author, with twenty years’ experience in business. He’s helped both big brands and small enterprises with the launch of new ventures and taking ideas to market. You can find more about Ian on his website.
Planning to try unplanning? Use your tools of the trade, like Business Cards, to cement new connections.
There are only so many hours in a day. And with a growing to-do list, it’s time to put those weekly meetings to the side.
Studies show that 67% of time spent in meetings is deemed “unproductive.” Think about all the meetings in your calendar. That’s a lot of time. Un-engaging meetings take employees away from work that can actually help your bottom line.
Our challenge to you: Skip one of your regular meetings this month, and encourage employees to try one of these productivity-boosting tasks instead. Here are 4 worthwhile meeting substitutes.
Listen to your inner list-lover
Do you like saving time? Make a detailed to-do list for your team, and send it out via email. Boom. You just eliminated a meeting. No more sitting around, listening to action items that only apply to a couple people.
For those app-lovers out there, try collaboration apps to help you conquer your team’s to-do lists, like Trello and Basecamp. This format works extra well for people who love crossing action items off lists. AKA everyone.
Send a message to stakeholders
Instead of an all-hands meeting, set up a time to communicate directly with the people who are working on a particular project. (In business speak, the stakeholders.) If you really want to update the entire team, wait until you’ve got the finer details out of the way. Then––and only then––should you tell everyone about your next steps and the ways that they can help.
Not only will this method free up meeting time, but it will also help everyone refine their to-do lists. No more scrolling through long email threads, desperately trying to figure out what action you should take. Instead you get one gorgeously short message, filled only with a brief update and how specific people can contribute.
What was that? The sound of saved time.
Expect the unexpected
Most people work on a few projects simultaneously. That can often lead to an overwhelming feeling. Relieve your employees by giving them some extra time to complete a task. One way to achieve this is to run a “sprint” of sorts. Here’s how it works:
Step one: Have everyone announce the project that they’re working on, what percentage they’ve completed, and what they can do in the next hour
Step two: Set two thirty minute timers, with a five minute stretch break in between
Step three: When you’re done, have everyone go around and say how much work they got done.
We promise, people will be surprised by how much they can achieve without distractions. Plus, they’ll have a little extra wiggle room for that moment when they need to extinguish an unexpected work fire. Curveballs are coming–– so you might as well be prepared.
Create space for creativity
Get ready for some real talk: Meetings kill creativity. We believe this so strongly that we even got designer Timothy Goodman to write it on our Notebooks:
Corporate routines can crush the imagination–– but you have the power to change that.
Next week, be the “cool boss” and replace a 30-minute meeting with time to work on a creative project. Give everyone free reign to draw, work on their screenplay, or whatever else scratches their creative itch.
For example, did you know that doodling improves people’s focus and memory? As Sunni Brown, the author of The Doodle Revolution says in The Wall Street Journal, “It’s a thinking tool. It can affect how we process information and solve problems.”
In other words, when people give their brain permission to switch gears, they create space for new ideas to come and hang out.
An added bonus
We want you to lead the most creative and meeting-free lives possible. That’s why we developed a “Meetings Kill Creativity” Chrome plugin, so you’ll never get stuck in an unwanted meeting again. Just click here to download and you’ll not be in your next meeting in no time.