Last updated: May 2026 | A creative guide to layered notebook pages, bold layouts, collage, color, and expressive journaling
Minimalism had its moment.
Clean pages, perfect spacing, neutral palettes, and carefully planned layouts became the standard for what a “good” notebook page was supposed to look like. But in 2026, creativity is shifting in a different direction.
People want pages that feel more alive.
Across social media and design, there is a clear move toward bolder self-expression, layered visuals, imperfect process, and creativity that feels human rather than overly polished. TikTok’s 2026 trend report points to audiences wanting unfiltered stories and behind-the-scenes moments, with brands and creators moving toward real process over curated perfection. Adobe’s 2026 design trends also highlight collage, layered visual elements, freeform storytelling layouts, maximalist chaotic layouts, and organic imperfection as part of the year’s visual direction.
That is exactly where maximalist journaling fits.
A maximalist journal page is not about making a mess for the sake of it. It is about giving your thoughts, colors, scraps, sketches, lists, and memories permission to coexist on the page.
At Dingbats*, this style feels especially suited to the Pro Collection, where 160gsm mixed media paper gives you space to layer, sketch, collage, and experiment. The Wildlife Collection works well for expressive everyday notes, lists, observations, and personality-led writing. The Earth Collection brings structure to maximalist pages through trackers, headers, symbols, and layouts that can still feel bold.
Maximalist journaling is not about doing more perfectly. It is about making the page feel like yours.
Quick Overview: Maximalist Journaling and the Best Dingbats* Fit
| Maximalist Page Style | What It Looks Like | Best Dingbats* Fit |
|---|---|---|
| Collage pages | Tickets, scraps, stickers, packaging, photos | Pro Collection |
| Color-heavy pages | Swatches, markers, brush pens, bold palettes | Pro Collection |
| Messy brain dumps | Thoughts, lists, arrows, circles, underlines | Wildlife Collection |
| Expressive daily notes | Writing mixed with doodles, symbols, margins | Wildlife Collection |
| Bold planning spreads | Trackers, headers, tabs, color codes | Earth Collection |
| Moodboard pages | Textures, words, sketches, palette blocks | Pro Collection |
| Visual goal pages | Layered plans, diagrams, quotes, images | Earth or Pro Collection |
The best maximalist page is not the fullest one. It is the one that feels expressive without becoming unusable.
What Is Maximalist Journaling?
Maximalist journaling is a creative approach to notebook pages that embraces layering, color, texture, movement, and personality.
Instead of keeping the page clean and minimal, you allow it to hold more: more color, more words, more scraps, more symbols, more sketches, more emotion, more contrast.
A maximalist page might include a paragraph, a quote, a receipt, a sticker, a sketch, a color palette, a list, a border, and a question you want to come back to later. It might look busy, but it should still feel meaningful.
The goal is not chaos. The goal is expression.
A page can be maximalist because it is visually bold. It can also be maximalist because it captures a lot of thought. Sometimes a maximalist page is a full collage. Other times, it is simply a page where your ideas are allowed to take up space.
Minimalist vs Maximalist Journaling
Minimalist journaling and maximalist journaling are not opposites in quality. They simply support different moods and uses.
| Style | Best For | Page Feel |
|---|---|---|
| Minimalist journaling | Clarity, simplicity, focus, calm planning | Clean, spacious, restrained |
| Maximalist journaling | Expression, creativity, memory, experimentation | Layered, bold, textured |
| Hybrid journaling | People who want structure with personality | Organized but visually alive |
Minimalist pages are useful when you want calm and clarity. Maximalist pages are useful when you want energy, emotion, and creative release.
You do not have to choose one forever.
You might use a minimalist weekly plan in your Earth Collection and a maximalist collage page in your Pro Collection. You might keep your Wildlife notebook mostly simple, but let certain pages become messy, expressive, and full of personality.
The point is to let the notebook serve the moment.
Why Maximalist Journaling Is Trending
Maximalism is part of a wider reaction against sameness.
For years, many creative spaces were shaped by clean aesthetics, neutral colors, polished layouts, and content that looked almost too perfect to be real. But current visual trends are moving toward personality, imperfection, and a more collected, expressive look.
Canva’s 2026 design trends describe a rise in “Imperfect by Design,” where creators embrace personal, raw, and honest imperfections instead of polish for the algorithm. Better Homes & Gardens also recently highlighted the “eccentric aunt” aesthetic, defined by playful vintage pieces, layered patterns, vibrant palettes, comfort, and self-expression over picture-perfect styling.
Maximalist journaling brings that same feeling onto the page.
It says your notebook does not have to look like a template. It can look collected over time. It can hold evidence of your day, your mood, your ideas, and your eye for detail.
That makes it perfect for people who want their notebook to feel lived in rather than staged.
Why the Pro Collection Is Built for Maximalist Pages
The Dingbats* Pro Collection is the strongest fit for maximalist journaling because maximalist pages often ask more from the paper.
You may want to use brush pens, markers, fineliners, pencil, light washes, stickers, glue, scraps, color blocks, or layered elements. Standard notebook paper can feel limiting when the page becomes more creative.
The Pro Collection’s 160gsm mixed media paper gives the page more stability for experimentation. It supports sketching, layering, calligraphy, brush pens, and mixed media better than everyday writing paper.
This matters because maximalist journaling should feel freeing, not stressful. You do not want to worry about the page every time you add another layer.
The Pro Collection gives creative pages room to develop.
Where Wildlife and Earth Fit
Not every maximalist page needs to be full mixed media.
The Wildlife Collection works well for expressive writing, everyday notes, messy thoughts, and pages where words are the main feature. Its variety of designs, sizes, and rulings makes it easy to choose a format that matches your personality.
A lined Wildlife notebook can hold bold written reflections. A dotted Wildlife notebook can support mixed notes, small doodles, and flexible layouts. A plain Wildlife notebook gives more freedom for visual expression.
The Earth Collection works well if you like structure but still want personality. You can use its dotted pages, numbered pages, index pages, and planning features to create bold trackers, color-coded routines, monthly themes, visual goal pages, and expressive planning spreads.
In other words:
Pro is for layering.
Wildlife is for expressive everyday use.
Earth is for structured pages with personality.
15 Maximalist Journaling Ideas to Try
1. The “Everything From Today” Page
This page is exactly what it sounds like.
Instead of writing a polished daily entry, collect small pieces of the day: a receipt, a sentence, a color, a thought, a song, a tiny sketch, a phrase someone said, a place you went, or something you noticed.
The Pro Collection works best if you want to glue or layer materials. The Wildlife Collection works well if you want the page to stay mostly written.
Example:
Coffee receipt. One line from a conversation. Three things I noticed. A small sketch of the table. The color of the sky. One thought I want to keep.
This page turns an ordinary day into something textured.
2. Color Explosion Page
Choose one color, then build a page around it.
Use swatches, words, stickers, doodles, headings, and small notes. The page can be based on a mood, a season, an outfit, a city, a meal, or a memory.
The Pro Collection is ideal here because its 160gsm paper supports markers, brush pens, and color testing.
Example:
A green page could include olive, moss, lime, forest, and sage. Add notes like “green from the café tiles,” “green from the notebook cover,” and “green from the trees after rain.”
Maximalist journaling often begins with one color and lets the page grow from there.
3. Messy Brain Dump With Arrows
A brain dump does not need to be a clean list.
In maximalist journaling, it can be messy on purpose: thoughts in different sizes, arrows connecting ideas, circles around priorities, underlined phrases, and boxes around what matters.
The Wildlife Collection is perfect for this because it supports real, everyday thinking without needing a formal system.
Example:
Write everything on your mind, then use arrows to connect related thoughts. Circle what needs action. Underline what is emotional. Put a box around what can wait.
The page becomes a map of your mind instead of a list pretending to be organized.
4. Maximalist Weekly Spread
A weekly spread does not have to be minimal to be useful.
In the Earth Collection, you can create a structured weekly layout and make it bold with headers, icons, patterns, symbols, color blocks, and small reflection boxes.
Example layout:
| Section | What to Add |
|---|---|
| Top priorities | Three bold boxes |
| Weekly mood | Color or symbol |
| Notes | Free space for messy thoughts |
| Habit tracker | Icons or color dots |
| Memory of the week | One sentence or small sketch |
This gives you structure without removing personality.
5. Collage Memory Page
A collage memory page uses physical pieces from your life.
Tickets, tags, packaging, wrappers, receipts, notes, photos, paper scraps, and labels can all become part of the page.
The Pro Collection is the strongest fit because collage often involves glue, layering, and heavier page use.
Example:
Create a page for one outing. Add the receipt from lunch, a small piece of packaging, a color swatch from the place, one sentence about what happened, and a tiny sketch of something you saw.
It does not need to be neat. It needs to feel like the day.
6. Quote Chaos Page
Instead of writing one quote beautifully in the center of the page, fill the page with multiple quotes, words, phrases, and thoughts.
Use different sizes, angles, boxes, borders, and handwritten styles.
The Wildlife Collection works well for written quote pages, while the Pro Collection gives more freedom if you want to add color, lettering, or collage.
Example:
Write one main quote in large letters, then surround it with words it makes you think of. Add arrows, stars, underlines, and one note about why it stayed with you.
This page is especially useful when you want to process something you read, heard, or felt.
7. Visual Mood Page
A mood page is not the same as a mood tracker.
Instead of tracking your mood across days, you create one page that captures the feeling of a moment, week, or season.
The Pro Collection works beautifully for this because you can combine color, sketching, words, and texture.
Example:
For a “late summer” mood page, you might add warm colors, a sketch of fruit, a phrase from the week, a small weather note, and a pattern inspired by sunlight.
The page becomes less about documentation and more about atmosphere.
8. Maximalist Travel Page
A travel page is one of the easiest places to go maximalist.
Travel naturally gives you materials: tickets, maps, receipts, stickers, labels, restaurant cards, photos, and small scraps.
The Pro Collection is best for visual travel pages, while Wildlife works well for written observations.
Example:
Make a page titled “One Day in Lisbon” or “Train Ride Notes.” Add a ticket stub, three colors from the day, one food memory, one quote, and one thing you noticed from the window.
It becomes a page you can return to later, not just a caption for a photo.
9. Animal-Inspired Page
This is a natural fit for the Dingbats* Wildlife Collection.
Choose the animal on your notebook cover and create a page inspired by it. This could include facts, symbolic associations, colors, patterns, habitats, conservation notes, or personal reflections.
Example:
If you have the Elephant notebook, create a page around memory, strength, family, and presence. Add a small sketch, a few facts, a quote, and a reflection on what the animal represents to you.
This makes the notebook cover feel connected to the inside pages.
10. Texture Study Page
Maximalism is not only about color. It is also about texture.
Use the page to study patterns and surfaces: bark, stone, fabric, water, leaves, tiles, paper, or shadows.
The Pro Collection is ideal because it supports repeated sketching, shading, and layered marks.
Example:
Divide the page into six boxes. In each one, recreate a texture you noticed that week. Add a short note under each: where you saw it, what it reminded you of, and why it caught your attention.
This is a simple way to train visual observation.
11. “Things I’m Into Right Now” Page
This page is maximalist because it captures the full energy of a moment.
Add current songs, colors, meals, books, places, ideas, phrases, outfits, hobbies, or obsessions. It is like a snapshot of your current taste.
The Wildlife Collection works well for written lists, while Pro works well if you want the page to become a visual moodboard.
Example:
Currently into: pistachio green, long walks, messy pasta, old buildings, handwritten lists, dark wood, striped shirts, morning coffee, and the word “almost.”
This kind of page becomes surprisingly meaningful later.
12. Layered Goal Page
A goal page does not have to be clean and corporate.
It can be expressive. Start with the goal, then layer why it matters, what it feels like, what is blocking you, what you need, and what the next step is.
The Earth Collection works well if you want the goal to connect to a plan. The Pro Collection works well if you want the page to feel more visual.
Example:
Write the goal in the center. Around it, add:
“What I want,” “Why now,” “What scares me,” “What I need,” “First step,” and “How I’ll know I’m moving.”
A maximalist goal page can hold both ambition and uncertainty.
13. Pattern Border Page
If a blank page feels intimidating, start with the edges.
Create a bold border using patterns, symbols, flowers, stars, leaves, animal prints, waves, stripes, or abstract shapes. Then write inside the border.
The Wildlife Collection works well for this if you want to add personality to everyday writing. The Pro Collection works better if you want to use heavier pens or markers.
Example:
Make a leaf border around a nature reflection, or a checkerboard border around a weekly recap. The border changes the mood of the page without requiring a full design.
14. Maximalist List Page
Lists can be expressive too.
Instead of writing a plain list, turn it into a full page with categories, icons, colors, arrows, highlights, and notes in the margins.
The Earth Collection is useful for structured lists, while Wildlife works well for more spontaneous ones.
Example list ideas:
| List Theme | What to Include |
|---|---|
| Places I want to go | Cities, cafés, nature spots, museums |
| Things that made me smile | Small moments from the week |
| Ideas I don’t want to lose | Work, creative, personal thoughts |
| Things I’m learning | Skills, lessons, observations |
| Things I want more of | Feelings, habits, people, places |
A maximalist list is not just information. It becomes a visual record of what your mind is collecting.
15. “No Rules” Page
This is the most important maximalist page.
Give yourself one page with no theme, no structure, and no expectation. Write, draw, tape, circle, cross out, test pens, repeat words, make marks, and let the page become whatever it becomes.
The Pro Collection is ideal if you want to use multiple tools. The Wildlife Collection is perfect if the page is mostly written.
Example:
Start with the words: “This page does not need to make sense.” Then fill it.
Sometimes the best pages happen when you stop trying to make them useful.
How to Create Layered Pages Without Overthinking
Maximalist journaling can feel intimidating if you think the page needs to be full immediately.
It does not.
Start with one anchor element. That could be a word, photo, receipt, color, quote, or sketch. Then add around it slowly.
A simple layering formula:
| Layer | What to Add |
|---|---|
| Layer 1 | Main thought, quote, or object |
| Layer 2 | Color, border, or background |
| Layer 3 | Notes, arrows, labels |
| Layer 4 | Scrap, sticker, sketch, or texture |
| Layer 5 | Final reflection or date |
This keeps the page expressive without making it overwhelming.
The Pro Collection is best if you want to build heavier layers. The Wildlife Collection works for lighter layering with words and small sketches. The Earth Collection works when you want maximalist pages that still follow a structure.
Maximalist Journaling Prompts
When you do not know where to start, use prompts that invite more than one type of response.
| Prompt | How to Make It Maximalist |
|---|---|
| What did today feel like? | Use colors, words, sketches, and one object |
| What am I noticing lately? | Add lists, arrows, patterns, and observations |
| What am I collecting mentally? | Add phrases, ideas, songs, places, images |
| What feels unfinished? | Write fragments, questions, and next steps |
| What do I want more of? | Create a bold list with symbols and color |
| What does this season feel like? | Use textures, palettes, weather notes, and memories |
| What am I becoming interested in? | Make a “current obsessions” page |
| What do I need to get out of my head? | Create a messy brain dump page |
Maximalist journaling works best when the prompt allows the page to expand.
Which Dingbats* Notebook Is Best for Maximalist Journaling?
| If You Want To… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Collage, sketch, paint, layer, or use mixed media | Pro Collection | 160gsm paper supports heavier creative use |
| Write expressive daily notes and messy brain dumps | Wildlife Collection | Flexible formats, rulings, sizes, and designs |
| Build bold trackers, plans, and visual goal pages | Earth Collection | Structure supports organized maximalism |
| Create animal-inspired pages | Wildlife Collection | Animal covers create a natural theme |
| Make color and texture studies | Pro Collection | Better support for swatches and layered marks |
| Combine planning with personality | Earth Collection | Dotted pages and planning features help organize layouts |
If your maximalist journaling style is visual, start with Pro.
If it is written and reflective, start with Wildlife.
If it is structured but expressive, start with Earth.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is maximalist journaling?
Maximalist journaling is a creative journaling style that uses layering, color, collage, sketches, bold writing, textures, and expressive layouts. It is the opposite of overly minimal, perfectly clean pages.
Do maximalist journal pages have to be messy?
No. Maximalist pages can be messy, but they can also be intentional and organized. The key is expression, layering, and personality.
What notebook is best for maximalist journaling?
The Dingbats* Pro Collection is best for collage, mixed media, brush pens, markers, and visual pages because it uses 160gsm paper. The Wildlife Collection is best for expressive writing and everyday notes, while the Earth Collection is best for structured maximalist planning.
Can I do maximalist journaling without art skills?
Yes. Maximalist journaling does not require drawing ability. You can use words, lists, colors, receipts, stickers, borders, labels, and scraps to create expressive pages.
Is maximalist journaling good for beginners?
Yes, especially because there are no strict rules. Beginners can start with one anchor element, like a quote or receipt, then build around it slowly.
Our Verdict
Maximalist journaling is not about making your notebook look chaotic. It is about making your notebook feel alive.
In 2026, creativity is moving toward more personality, imperfection, layering, and real process. Maximalist journaling brings that energy to the page by giving your thoughts, colors, scraps, lists, sketches, and memories room to coexist.
Dingbats* notebooks support that in different ways. The Pro Collection gives bold, layered pages the strength they need. The Wildlife Collection supports expressive everyday writing and personality-led notes. The Earth Collection brings structure to colorful planning, trackers, and visual goal pages.
A maximalist page does not need to be perfect. It just needs to feel like something only you could have made.
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