I went to my local supermarket and bought 3 A4 note pads. One plain, one lined, and one of graph paper. Altogether they cost me about £4 (~$6). I am very happy with them.

Perhaps I'll get roasted for this but I don't "get" the notepad fanaticism. It's a piece of paper. Just buy something, whatever's fine.

I really like the feel of the DotGrid notebook line. I have an A5, A4 and A3 size. Brilliant books, awesome paper feeling. Great for wireframing.

I’ve used dotgrid.co books for a few years now, after trying all the usual brands. They’re a joy to sketch in, and are reasonably priced.

I use Rhodia dotpad, because i like dots better than grids.

Whatever is in the stationary cupboard at work.

every note book has it's own magic. So the favorable thing is actually the notebook AND it's story. Not the brand.

Muji Recycled Paper Note B5 notebooks. I've loved these since first finding them in Tokyo back in 2006, and they've been my favorite notebooks ever since.

http://www.muji.us/store/stationery/notebooks/recycled-paper-note-ruled-6mm-b5-30s.html

I usually just buy the cheapest notebooks I can find. I kind of feel like I have to sketch pretty stuff in an expensive notebook, to not "ruin" it. The cheap and low quality ones makes me sketch more because I don't feel like I need to take care of them the same way.

I tend to buy notebooks whenever I come across something cool. The one I've liked the most in the past 4-5 years is Action Methods Dot Grid Journal by behance. I still have a few from a purchase I did a couple years ago, I think they still make them... not sure.

I always have a Moleskine Kraft Paper Cahiers notebook in my pocket. the small one with grid paper. its perfect for notes on the go and ages really nicely. On my desk i have a custom notebook with a mix of square and isometric grids that i got printed.. when i don't have either of these, i have tonnes of tiny scraps of paper, which is less than ideal, but at least then its written/sketched somewhere, right?

Predictably a Moleskine hard cover with plain pages along with red, blue and black sharpies for work ideas. I like the quality feel of the hardcover and the paper so it makes me want to make my entries that bit better. When I've had normal notebooks my scribbles often end up illegible.

For personal jottings it's a blue soft cover Moleskine.

MUJI dot grid notebook. Because: I love the company’s "that’ll do" philosophy; They’re easy to open and stay flat while open; ~6×8" size is a great tradeoff between portable and large-enough to draw; They’re sturdy enough not to fall apart by the time I’ve filled them; The dot grid is equally good for note taking, diagramming, and drawing although they do sell plain, ruled, etc.; They’re not too expensive nor precious (I like the liberty of being careless with the amount and variety of note taking and mark making. Precious notebooks can stifle that).

I personally dislike ring bindings and always go with the thread bound ones.

A blank one because it's another chance at handwriting redemption. A chance I will fail, but will try again. With the next notebook.

(medium size (a bit bigger than A4) spiral bound sketch book; I don't know the brand but have bought over 50, I see them everywhere)

I can't believe no one mentioned Mod Notebooks. Digitized and syncs with Evernote, Dropbok or OneNote. Highly recommended.

Bienfang Take Me Along 8-1/2 by 11-Inch Sketch Pad

Thick paper that make Sharpies feel great. Good for sketching out flows, ideas, and UI without many constraints of grids or structure. Rip the pages out and post them on the wall.

I have a 1816 Field Notes cover, which I carry with me most places. It holds two Field Notes, so I usually have one for work and one for personal stuff. I use them for reference, notes, quick sketches, etc. They're super easy to get in and out of the cover too so if I need to just slip one into my pocket I can do that.

At home, I have a LEUCHTTURM1917 dot grid notebook for more fully-fleshed out sketches and mockups. The paper on this is a little thin (but it doesn't bleed), so I'll probably be trying something new when it's full.

When fountain pen bleed... then it's not good paper.

If anyone is interested in a notebook with good paper, check out Rhodia. Or look up Clairefontaine paper, they're more smoother while Rhodia paper is more absorbent.

Muji Double Ring A5 Dot together with their Gel-Ink Ballpoint Pens. Good price, nice lightly yellow-ish paper, amazing to write on.

i only use letter-size/A4 in the office printer because it's just easier to reorder the pages and i can also squash it and throw it at the wall all I want without hurting my wallet.

I honestly don't write that much, and for sketching I'm usually using whatever paper I have at the time. But generally, I have Field Notes with me.

Field Notes, they go everywhere with me since they fit in my pocket and it feels good supporting a fellow designer.

Ever since I discovered the dotted paper gridbooks I don't really use anything else. The size is perfect, it can lay flat, and the paper is lovely.

I used to not care about my notebooks. I would duct tape them as they fell apart and get a new one once it filled up.

But I finally gained an attachment to a notebook brand completely by accident - stumbled upon a blank 500 page grid miquelrius notebook in my dads old bookcase and have been using them ever since. Thick but flexible - I feel like I've found the bible of sketchbooks (they also have spiral bound and a ton of other sizes if you have different preferences) - http://www.shopmiquelrius.com/

I have tried so many. Both my work desk and my home office each have a 9x12 Strathmore pad - sketch paper with the perforated edges. While not technically a notebook, when I'm heads-down at the desk... it's my go-to.

As for a real "notebook" my favorite hands-down is the Moleskine "Art Plus" Sketchbooks. Size Large (5x8.25) is my fave. I like these books because it's the only one where the paper is a thicker stock compared to just about any other pad out there. I like the feel of that thick stock.

I have used Field Notes, normal Moleskine's, and generics... but some of the paper in these books are too thin/slippery feeling to me.

http://www.montblanc.com/en-nl/collection/writing-instruments/writing-accessories/113603-montblanc-fine-stationery-sketch-book-149-tobacco-blank.html

because it matches my pen #gotitspendit

I'm a huge fan of the Nuuna notebooks: http://www.nuuna.com/

Their formats are great for sketching, the dot grid ist amazing, the outside materials and prints are extremely cool. I have been using notebooks of them and Brandbook (the company behind it) for years now, probably the best ones I ever had.

I've been using Leuchtturm1917 notebooks for a few years and I love them. The A5 hardcovers are similar to Moleskine's but with some details that make them better: pages are number, there a couple of pages at the beginning of the notebook to be used as an index, the last few pages are micro-perforated to allow taking them apart and finally each notebook comes with a set of labels to be used at archival time.

And, the bonus point is that they make official Bullet Journal notebook, which besides all the niceties of standar Leuchtturm notebooks comes with 3 bookmarks, instructions for the Bullet Journal system and a few other details.

I love this notebook and system.

I write a lot of notes and I'm always on the move so I use a very small and very cheap Notepad. It fits perfectly in my back pocket and I can easily store them, type up whats important and then chuck it away!

Notepad

BTW: Can someone teach me how to embed images? #noob

I use these = look very cool and comes with premium evernote coupons

https://evernote.com/partner/moleskine/

It really depends on the use of the notebook and type of paper your writing tools require.

Fieldnotes are great for carrying around - they can take lot of beating in everyday use :)

For personal note taking at desk I currently prefer Baron Fig Confidant because of the paper quality (handles fountain pen ink quite well) but not a fan of the linen cover (tends to get dirty quick).

Second notepad I have at desk (for work notes) is Leuchtturm 1917 dotted - paper also great with heavy inks and the cover finish is more durable.

I'm in love with the Muji double rings notepad. It's affordable at $3 for 80 sheets. Easy to turn pages or remove sheets with the double rings. Good quality, so it's pleasant to draw on it, but it's not too expensive so you don't worry about wasting paper :-)

I don't get the Moleskine crazyness too, maybe it make sense when you're a skilled illustrator and you want to keep your creations. In my case, this is just quick icons drafts before vectorizing.