Notebook Sizes and Types: How to Choose One for Your Brand

In an Irish classroom, nobody says exercise book. It's your copy: thin, stapled down the middle, a different colour for every subject, with the teacher's red pen in the margin. Nobody ever forgot their copy at home, because everything was in it. That's what you want from a notebook with your logo on it. The right one goes to every meeting and gets filled to the last page, with your name in view the whole time. The wrong one ends up in a drawer. Before you design yours, it helps to know what the size, the binding and the paper really change.

Notebook or notepad?

Both carry your logo, but they do different jobs. A notebook is bound along the side and kept: meeting notes, ideas, a record of the year. That makes it the better gift for clients and new starters, because it stays with them for months. A notepad is bound at the top and torn page by page, so it sits on desks and counters and puts your brand in front of people every day.

If you want something people keep, choose custom notebooks. If you want something on every desk in the office, notepads are the better fit.

Notebook sizes: which one suits your plan?

Most notebooks follow the A sizes, and the right one depends on who will use it and where:

• A7 (7.4 x 10.5 cm) is the true pocket notebook. Small and light, it works well as a giveaway at events and trade fairs.
• A6 (10.5 x 14.8 cm) slips into a jacket or a handbag, which makes it a good match for sales teams and people on the road, like the Spectrum A6 notebook.
• A5 (14.8 x 21 cm) is the all-rounder: big enough for meeting notes, small enough to carry every day. It's the size most people expect in a welcome pack or a conference bag.
• A4 (21 x 29.7 cm) gives plenty of room for planning and long notes, but it mostly stays on the desk.

If you're unsure, A5 is the safe bet.

Which binding works best for a notebook?

The binding decides how a notebook feels in your hands, and it changes how your brand comes across. These are the types of notebooks you'll come across most:

• A stapled binding is the school copy: thin, light and folded in the middle. If you'd like your own pages inside, with a timetable, product tips or a short welcome from the team, stapled booklets let you print every page yourself.
• Wire-o binding, a double loop of wire, lets the pages lie flat and fold right back. It's practical and a little informal, a good fit for workshops and training days, like the Cobble A5 wire-o notebook with its recycled cardboard cover.
• A glued softcover gives you a slim, flexible notebook with a neat spine, light enough to post or hand out in large numbers, like the A5 softcover notebook.
• A hardcover feels solid and premium, gives you something firm to lean on and keeps its shape for years. The Spectrum A5 hardcover notebook is the one our customers order most, and it's the kind people keep on their desk.

Lined, dotted, squared or blank?

The paper decides whether people can actually use your notebook. Lined pages suit writers and note-takers, while squared pages, the ones from every maths copy, are handy for numbers and tables. Dotted pages have become a favourite with planners and bullet journal fans, because the dots guide your writing without getting in the way of a sketch. Blank pages are for drawings and mind maps.

For a notebook you're giving to a whole team or a room full of guests, lined or dotted is the safest choice, since most people will fill it with meeting notes.

Designing the cover

The cover is where your brand lives, and the best ones don't shout. A small logo on a strong colour often looks more stylish than a logo stretched across the whole front. If your brand has a photo or a pattern people recognise, a full-colour design can carry it from edge to edge. Recycled or kraft covers with a simple logo suit brands with a green story.

Ask yourself one question before you sign off the design: would you carry this notebook if it had someone else's logo on it? If the answer is yes, your clients will carry yours.

The details people notice

Small extras make a notebook feel thought through: an elastic band that keeps it closed in a bag, like the coloured strap on the Spectrum A5 white notebook, or a matching pen, like the one that comes with the Priestly recycled notebook. They're also what makes people pick your notebook over the free one they got last week. And for teams who scribble a lot, erasable notebooks let people wipe the pages clean and start again, so your logo stays on the desk for longer.

Before you choose

Think about where the notebook will be used. A new starter needs something for their first weeks of meetings, a client needs something nice enough to keep, and someone on the road needs a cover that survives the car. Match the size, binding, paper and cover to that moment, and your custom notebooks will be used until the last page, just like those copies. And if you're printing booklets or brochures too, our guide to booklet binding explains the options there.