If you’ve ever taken a look at the Cognitive Surplus website, you know there’s a lot going on in the notebook category. How can you find the perfect one for your needs? Our guide should help.
Beautiful covers are a given at Cognitive Surplus. However, it is important (in my opinion) to start by choosing the perfect notebook size, possibly focusing on the ruling, and only in the last step deciding on a specific (always wonderful) graphic on the cover. There are many variations here, we have notebooks with rubber band closures and colored page edges, there are also those with hardcovers, and some will stand out with their interior, either through unique ruling or the color of the pages.
Unless otherwise noted, these notebooks have 81 gsm paper. You can find my review here (in Polish, translates well). The pages are usually slightly gray due to the use of recycled paper. Everything is printed with soy ink.
Sizes at Cognitive Surplus
In terms of size, we have a really wide selection! From the tiny Observation model to really huge models like Lab or Engineer (the latter just recently showed up in Europe). A few notebooks will be in the typical A4 or A5 sizes, but the vast majority have their own whims. So let’s take a closer look at them.
In this graphic, you will find the sizes of all currently available Cognitive Surplus notebooks compared to the typical paper sizes like A6, B5, etc.
the Observation
Observation is the smallest Cognitive Surplus’ notebook. A bit larger than A7 (or half the size of A6), available in a soft matte cover. The special features of these tiny notebooks are the colored edges and the elastic band. Both will be in the same accent color.
Size: 80 x 115 mm (slightly larger than A7)
Available ruling: plain
Number of pages: 144
Price: €12.95
the Research
Research, on the other hand, is a set of pocket notebooks. In the four-pack, we will find one notebook in each of the available rulings, each will have a cardboard cover, edges sewn with colored thread, and 32 pages. Each of the notebooks will also have a different cover from a similar field of science – so you won’t find anatomy next to notebooks with chemical motifs, or forest creatures next to mathematical equations.
Size: 105 x 152 mm (a bit wider than A6)
Available ruling: dots, line, plain, square (one each)
Number of pages: 4 x 32
Price: €19.95
the Syllabus
This is one of my favorite Cognitive Surplus products. The paperback Syllabus stands out both in terms of its format and layout. You see, not only is it very vertical (120 x 200 mm, so when unfolded it is almost square), but it is also… an undated planner!
Inside we will find weekly spreads, where each day will have a few lines to write on, interlaced with a monthly layout with dates to fill in. At the end of the planner, we have several pages with dots for random notes.
Size: 120 x 203 mm (smaller than Traveler’s Notebook)
Available ruling: undated planner
Number of pages: 160
Price: €19.95
the Abstract
The abstract is a line of more subdued notebooks. We won’t find their characteristic collages here, and instead, the hard (canvas-like paper) one-color covers will be decorated with single symbols related to different fields of science. So amongst the available designs we have the moon on a black background, a heart on a red one, and the purple background will be decorated with a poisonous mushroom. Beautiful.
These notebooks will have an elastic band closure in the color of the cover.
Size: 148 x 210 mm (A5)
Available ruling: dots, 7 mm line
Number of pages: 192
Price: €27.95
the Analysis
These are such beautiful everyday notebooks! A5 format, plain or dotted interior, beautiful covers, embraced by elastic band closure and colored edges, both in the same accent color. The cover is a soft cardboard with a very nice, slightly rough texture. It reminds me a bit of business card paper.
This line also includes retro-style covers that are much more colorful than the original ones.
Size: 148 x 210 mm (A5)
Available ruling: plain, dots
Number of pages: 208
Price: €22.95
the Dark Analysis
Here comes one of the gems. The Dark Analysis is almost the same as its older brother. The difference between them is the color of the pages, because Dark Analysis comes in black! And with ruling too, so it’s not just blank black pages we won’t know what to do with, but a fully functional notebook with dots on the left side and lines on the other. They are printed in white and clearly visible.
My only wish is that the ruling was a bit more opaque, but we will see in the upcoming review how it actually works.
Size: 148 x 210 mm (A5)
Available ruling: black paper with white dots (5 mm) on one side, and lines (7 mm) on the other
Number of pages: 208
Price: €22.95
the Helix
Our next notebook, called the Helix, is available in A5 and A4 sizes and features a spiral binding, and a soft-to-touch hardcover. Again, we have classic cover designs with science-related collages in a huge variety of colors and topics. The spiral is made of metal, and the main advantage of this notebook are perforated pages, that are easy to tear out.
Size: 150 x 210 mm (A5) / 210 x 300 mm (A4)
Available ruling: 7 mm lines
Number of pages: 160
Price: €18.95 (A5) / €27.95 (A4)
the Experiment
This is one of the first models of Cognitive Surplus notebooks and two of them were in my first order, way back in 2018! These are quite classic notebooks, in a format slightly larger than A5, with only 112 pages in a soft cardboard cover with a sewn-on spine.
Size: 165 x 229 mm (between A5 and B5)
Available ruling: 7 mm lines, dots
Number of pages: 112
Price: €18.95
the Dark Matter
Another very unique product, Dark Matter, stands out with its black paper! The regular covers appeared among them only a few weeks ago, and until then we could enjoy them in “dark” and moody illustrations. The paper in them is also noticeably thicker (120 gsm, not the typical 81).
It has a hard cover with a slightly rough texture, but different from the Analysis.
And if you’re wondering what you can use to write on black paper, here’s our guide (in Polish for now).
Size: 178 x 229 mm (between A5 and B5)
Available ruling: plain black pages
Number of pages: 160
Price: €32.95
the Theory
How is Theory different from the rest? Hardcover and thicker paper (128 gsm). Again, classic covers with science-inspired collages and illustrations.
Size: 178 x 229 mm (between A5 and B5)
Available ruling: plain
Number of pages: 160
Price: €29.95
the Hypothesis
And here again, we have something more interesting, although not in every available version. The same size as the previous two and the same type of hardcover, although a bit more pages – almost 200. Here, however, we return to the typical (sufficient) paper thickness. The Hypothesis series notebooks are available in a dotted version and with mixed ruling. On one side of those we will have a grid (5 mm), and on the other – lines (7 mm).
I would love these notebooks much more if the lines and grids had the same spacing, but it’s still a pretty interesting option. My beautiful Hypothesis covered in veggies works as my cookbook!
Size: 178 x 229 mm (between A5 and B5)
Available ruling: plain, mixed (grid 5 mm + lines 7 mm)
Number of pages: 192
Price: €27.95
the Engineer
The Engineer is another of the highly-specialized notebooks, that will be super useful in certain areas, but probably won’t appeal to the general public. Although, the covers are tempting! Bound like a book, with a fabric-like (but paper) cover feels so premium and different. Minimalistic covers with just a silver foil stamp marking your discipline, are simply stunning. Each science will have its own cover color.
What’s worth mentioning are the silver foil markings on the spine (featuring the same icon and Bound Engineering Pad) and a unique grid inside, printed in green (soy) ink. The left side will feature that 5 mm grid, with each 5×5 block, outlined a bit heavier, while the right side remains blank, with dedicated areas for notes, a topic, date, or some other kinds of short pieces of information.
This notebook will also have slightly thinner paper than the rest of the range, with just 64 gsm, instead of the typical 81 gsm.
But don’t worry. I will prepare a proper review, so we can see how it handles different media.
Size: 216 x 279 mm
Available ruling: green engineering grid on one side, blank on the other
Number of pages: 192
Price: €32.95
the Laboratory
NOTHING can prepare you for the size of this notebook. It’s huge. And I’m not kidding. Anything larger than A4 is simply huge, so imagine my surprise when this notebook turned out to be larger than my full-size laptop! The pages inside are a tad shorter, but a few centimeters wider than standard A4. This gives you plenty of space to write on.
But that’s not the end of the surprises. This notebook has a very unique ruling, which will actually be useful mostly to scientists. Its main purpose is laboratory notes, so on individual pages, we will find dedicated frames for the title and project number. In addition to the header and footer of each page, we will have a neat grid at our disposal. At the very beginning of the notebook, there will also be a table of contents, allowing you to document what is on specific (numbered) pages.
This notebook has a hard cover, but is completely smooth, like the Helix.
Size: 234 x 286 mm
Available ruling: grid with table of contents
Number of pages: 192
Price: €39.95
That’s it for now. Although I have to admit that the multitude of covers, 14 different variants, and several unique prints make a fairly complete range. I think everyone will be able to find something for themselves here.
So, have you chosen your favorite size yet? Then head over to the Cognitive Surplus website and let me know what you got!