About Field Notes
Field Notes is a Chicago stationery brand founded in 2007 by designer Aaron Draplin, working with the Chicago design firm Coudal Partners, as a homage to the utilitarian pocket memo books once handed out at gas stations and farm-supply stores across the Midwest. What started as a small run Draplin printed and mailed to friends has grown into a company that has sold over 10 million notebooks and stocks more than 2,000 stores worldwide, built on the same kraft-brown, Futura-lettered pocket notebook design from day one.
The brand emphasizes U.S. printing and domestic paper sourcing, and has built its following through quarterly limited-edition releases sold on an annual subscription alongside its flagship Original Kraft line. Coverage in Fast Company, Chicago magazine, and Adweek, plus co-branded collaborations with Levi's, Starbucks, and USPS, have made Field Notes a recognizable name in the everyday-carry and design communities well beyond office-supply shelves.
Brand website: fieldnotesbrand.com
What Field Notes makes
Field Notes's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Original Kraft 3-Pack
pocket-size, graph ruled, triple-staple binding — the flagship product — featured on DeskRated
Quarterly limited editions
subscription-only releases with varying materials and printing techniques
Ruled and blank editions
same pocket format, alternate page rulings
Co-branded collaborations
limited runs with brands like Levi's, Starbucks, and USPS
Pens and desk accessories
clip carriers, pens, and everyday-carry extras
Why we recognized Field Notes
The DeskRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. Field Notes earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, used at a real desk, and judged on merit.
Field Notes products we rated highly
Field Notes Original Kraft 3-Pack, Pocket-Size 3.5 x 5.5, Graph Ruled, 48 Pages Each
A pocket size that actually gets carried, at 3.5 x 5.5 inches, small enough for a shirt pocket or back jeans pocket in a way larger A5 and letter-size notebooks never manage. Made in the USA on FSC-certified paper with a triple-staple binding that holds up through weeks of pocket carry, and the graph ruling on the Original Kraft edition handles mixed capture, from written notes to quick sketches, without forcing one format on the writer. The 3-pack means a fresh notebook is always on hand once the current one fills.
Read the 7 Best Notebooks of 2026 guide →What earned Field Notes the recognition
- Genuine everyday-carry pocket size, at 3.5 x 5.5 inches, purpose-built for capture on the move rather than as a shrunken primary notebook.
- Made in the USA on FSC-certified paper with a triple-staple binding that holds up through daily pocket carry.
- Graph ruling on the Original Kraft edition supports mixed capture, from notes to sketches to number tables, without a single fixed format.
- A design-world following that spans a 10-million-notebook sales history, 2,000+ retail stockists worldwide, and coverage in Fast Company, Chicago magazine, and Adweek.
- A recognizable, consistent design since 2007, the kraft-brown Futura cover, that has made Field Notes a reference point for pocket notebooks generally.