Dot Ruled development story
The notebooks of students admitted to the University of Tokyo are beautiful...they clearly define what the notebooks are for.
- How did the development of "Dot Ruled" notebooks begin?
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Bungeishunju Co., Ltd. and writer Aya Ota noticed that the notebooks of students admitted to the University of Tokyo were beautiful and were conducting research on them. Therefore, we conducted joint research with the aim of developing "the best notebook for studying" based on the note-taking methods of students admitted to the University of Tokyo.
- Did you make any discoveries during your research?
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Planning and development of “Dot Ruled” notebook
Yukitoki TabataThe students admitted to the University of Tokyo clearly defined the meaning behind taking notes: ``What are the notes for?'' ``What are notebooks for?'' In other words, notebooks that can be used to efficiently memorize things when reviewing what has been learned. And in order to achieve this, there was a ``rule to make a notebook look beautiful''. For example, ``aligning the beginnings of sentences'' and ``determining where to write according to content'', I realized that the beauty came not from mere formal beauty, but from the meaning it gave.
For more information, please see ``The notes of students admitted to the University of Tokyo are always beautiful''!
Dotted borders support the ability to take beautiful notes.
- Are there any other necessary elements for a notebook other than the rules for making it look beautiful?
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In addition to text, notebooks can also be used to write figures and tables, and are also used for things other than writing, such as pasting prints on notebooks. Additionally, since the way people take notes varies greatly from person to person, and also from subject to subject, we realized that we needed a design that did not compromise the versatility of the standard horizontal ruled line.
- Is there a reason why you started paying attention to "dots"?
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As I continued my research, I made many discoveries, but that's when I started to worry. I was wondering how I could create a design that would support orderly note-taking like students admitted to the University of Tokyo, but would not get in the way. We compared the notes of the students admitted to the University of Tokyo with the notes of 100 high school students we had collected in the past, and desperately tried to think of ways we could improve the results. As a result of repeated research, I came up with ` Dot Ruled with small dots.
The notebooks of students admitted to the University of Tokyo are beautiful...they clearly define what the notebooks are for.
- What is the point of the two types of cover designs?
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We paid particular attention to the cover design.
Borders are an element that is very difficult to convey to customers. Therefore, we decided to design the inside border on the entire cover so that its features could be seen at a glance. Furthermore, we paid particular attention to the color to make it different from the standard Campus Notebook.
On the other hand, for ring notebooks, we focused on design. In order to visualize the message of collaboration with Mr. Ota's book, the design is based on a Tokyo route map. If you look closely at the cover, you'll see a university campus marked on it, and it's fun just to look at it.
- A word about the thoughts you put into your notebook!
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Left: Campus Notebook Right: Ring notebook
“How can I learn effectively?” “How can I learn effectively?” I don't think there is anything better than finding your own way of taking notes. I'm sure this will be a great asset to you even after you become a member of society.
I hope that this Dot Ruled notebook will be of some use to you.
The notebooks of students admitted to the University of Tokyo are always beautiful.
At the same time as the release of Dot Ruled series, a book that follows the study methods of students who passed the University of Tokyo.
“The notebooks of students admitted to the University of Tokyo are always beautiful” is now on sale!
“The notebooks of students admitted to the University of Tokyo are always beautiful.” Bungeishunju
The author, Mr. Ota, has collected over 200 notebooks from high school students who have passed the entrance exam to the University of Tokyo, analyzed the commonalities, and discovered seven rules. A large number of University of Tokyo students' notes were published in full size to thoroughly dissect class note-taking techniques. This is a completely new reference book that introduces and explains the "note-taking techniques" of students admitted to the University of Tokyo by subject and gender.
The story behind the development of a notebook with Dot Ruled that makes it easier to realize the 7 rules is also published in collaboration with Bungeishunju.
- “The notebooks of students admitted to the University of Tokyo are always beautiful” now on sale!
- Special site “Why are the notebooks of students admitted to the University of Tokyo so beautiful?” (Bungei Shunju)
Author introduction
Aya Ota
Freelance writer. After working as an editor for Shinkenzemi at Benesse Corporation, he became a freelance writer. Since then, he has been writing and giving lectures mainly in the field of education. His books include ``Notes of Tokyo University Admitted Students Are Always Beautiful'' (Bungei Shunju) and ``Parenting from a Cat's Eye: The Best in Academic Abilities and Physical Strength in Japan!'' The secrets of Fukui Prefecture's education'' (Shogakukan) and ``Notes taken by Tokyo University admitted students when they were elementary school students: 6 promises that will make you want to write notes'' (Kodansha).
This happened at an editorial meeting during the production of ``The Notes of Successful Students of the University of Tokyo are Always Beautiful.'' A veteran editor said, ``Books and notebooks are made the same way in terms of binding the paper together.Since we're going to the trouble of making a book of notebooks, it would be great if we could do something with a notebook company.'' The young editors, designers, and others who were attending the meeting all said, "I like it! I like it!" and got excited, saying, "In that case, it would be great if we could create a notebook that would allow students to write beautiful notes like those admitted to the University of Tokyo." The idea that I had at that moment was a fun one, and things quickly progressed, and I ended up actually co-developing it with KOKUYO.
After sharing the research results of each other's notebooks, holding several meetings, and interviewing students admitted to the University of Tokyo, the ``Campus Dot Ruled Notebook'' was born. I still vividly remember the excitement I felt when I saw Dot Ruled Notebook for the first time. ``Easy to write! I wonder why I haven't had a notebook like this before'', and with this, I can write beautiful, organized notes like a University of Tokyo student! I felt that.
If you are worried about how to organize your notebook, we recommend this "Dot Ruled Notebook". At that time, please refer to the ``Tokyo University Notes'' series, such as ``The Notes of Successful Students of the University of Tokyo are Always Beautiful''!
"Tokyo University Notes" series
“The notebooks of students admitted to the University of Tokyo are always beautiful” (Bungei Shunju, 2008)
How can I write notes that are as beautiful as the University of Tokyo students and also improve my grades? It is packed with the basics of how to write notes.
“The secret “competition notes” of successful applicants to the University of Tokyo” (Bungei Shunju, 2015)
We researched and summarized how the ultimate "game notebook" that University of Tokyo students brought with them on the day of their entrance exams was created.
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