Free app aims to redefine the sketchbook

Typical. You wait ages for an app to reinvent the sketchbook for the digital age, then two come along at once.

We told you last week about Mischief (opens in new tab), an app from The Foundry that promises an “infinite sketching environment”.

Now comes Journal (opens in new tab) from Morpholio, an app that “redefines the sketchbook as a mixing chamber where your photos can inspire drawings, and your drawings can inspire thoughts. Now, designers can write, draw, sketch, collage, paint, or colour on anything, anywhere, with a sketchbook of infinite possibility at their fingertips.”

Journal aims to redefines the sketchbook “as a mixing chamber”

In setting out its stall, Morpholio identifies five key things Journal can offer to help you express and store your design concepts…

01. Sketch on anything, anywhere.

Journal lets you design over an image, get creative with a photo, or make backgrounds of any type. You can sketch on top of any surface, and the sketch will move, twist and scale with the image it’s on.

02. Rapid fire viewing

In Journal you can flip through your infinite number of sketches, images, notes, photos and thoughts using “an ultra fast, highly optimized page-turn interface making your entire book accessible to discovery and review within seconds.”

03. High-end pens, pencils and palettes

Journal includes eight pens, brushes and pencils including chisel markers, charcoal, and other rendering tools. These are carefully calibrated, not just for artists, but for designers who need to sketch in fine detail and diagram with precision. Plus 16 color palettes have been specially created by award wining graphic designers at New York’s MTWTF.

04. Collage tool

Journal’s collage tool lets you layer your everyday findings and thoughts in one place. Build mixed media artwork or layouts, photo albums, mood boards, material boards, scrapbooks, or rich archives of your discoveries, ideas and creations.

05. Super Notes

Journal lets you add notes anywhere on or off a page and write anything from paragraphs to simple tabs to mark your place. Morpholio has also curated calendar, notebook, grid and task list templates to help organize your life.

You can learn more about the app on the Journal website (opens in new tab) or download it from iTunes (opens in new tab).

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