Show me your notebook

The good idea can arise in a sea of different ways, because brains and thought patterns are different, and so are our ways of seeing new possibilities and getting ideas. In this series, three different profiles tell what they do when they get a good idea - and how they develop it further. But they don't just tell. They give us a sneak peek into their most sacred idea apparatus; their notebooks. The place where ideas sometimes begin, form and end.

Karsten Lauritzen

Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party and former Minister of Taxation. Karsten Lauritzen has a BSc in politics and administration.

What do you do when you get a good idea - and how does it differ from your colleagues

When I get a good idea, I write it down. Partly so as not to forget it, but also because a good idea in the situation is not always a permanently good idea. Excellent ideas benefit from maturing a bit and being compared to other good ideas. It is about prioritizing the good ideas. Unlike my colleagues, I don't swear by iPads and iPhones, but paper. There is something special about writing something down by hand. The paper notebook may be old-fashioned, but it works in all kinds of weather and never runs out of power. And it's hard to hack!

How do you use your Notebook in the further development of a good idea

I catalogue the ideas – e.g. my campaign ideas and I look at them continuously. When I get a new idea, I look at the old ones and think about how good they are. I also use the notebook as a supplement to my memory - in a busy everyday life you tend to forget. However, I must also admit that in the past, at public meetings and lectures, I have threatened the audience that if they do not listen, they will be in the "minister of tax's black book". And not many want to.

Mia Stensgaard & Anja Vang

Owners of the art collaboration Vang Stensgaard. Mia Stensgaard is a trained costume designer, and Anja Vang is a fashion and costume designer. They have a common notebook.

What do you do when you get a good idea?

We always try to brainstorm the idea with each other, and we test whether the idea triggers something in the other person. We talk, sketch and find supporting images that can visualize the idea.

Often we also do association trips, where we investigate whether the idea gives birth to other ideas. We let an idea live for a very long time before we throw it in the trash. There must be an opportunity to chop, draw, paint and cut, and there must be time to look for the right idiom to evoke the vision behind the idea. We generally thrive on solving complex and intricate ideas, but if an idea becomes hopelessly tangled, we usually set it aside.

How do you use your notebook in the further development of a good idea?

We use our notebook as a communication tool, which means that we draw and talk in it. We use the drawings to tell what can be difficult to express in words. And then we also use the notebook to archive specific projects.

We often draw in different formats, which then end up in our notebook. Eg. is this notebook for a project we are solving for the ballet The Sylphide, which will be staged at the Royal Theater in 2020.

Ken Munk

Co-founder of the company En Hemmelig Klub, which works with and develops play as an art form. Kenn Munk is a trained graphic designer.

What do you do when you get a good idea?

Sometimes you just get an idea, and other times you try to get a good idea. But it's almost always the case that when I need a good idea or get a brief from a customer, I sit down with my sketchbook and try to investigate which directions the idea or the brief can go in. From there I just start sketching right away. They can consist of drawings, clippings and words.

I can't always use my sketches for something right away. But as thoughts, research and ideas have passed through my hands, something is happening. I remember it all better, and my brain continues to work on it - even when I'm not sitting with the sketchbook.

How do you use your notebook in the further development of a good idea?

The book is an extension of my brain and memory and a place for me to play and test. When I need to further develop an idea or concept, I use the book to investigate whether something works.

It is in the sketchbook that the idea is greatest and everything is possible. And there is something beautiful about that. Later, you start to cut directions to make the idea sharper. But the directions you cut from remain in the book. And you can always go back to them and perhaps use them in other ideas or projects.

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