I was expecting this book to have very similar prompts to other similar ones. But I was pleasantly surprised to find a variety of prompts that I hadn't seen before and that stimulated lots of creative ideas and exploration.

Confession time! I don't really keep a journal, or a diary, but I have done so in the past, so I know that you can get in kind of a rut, or find it hard to keep going.

So I certainly can see the point of a journal like this, filled with 150 prompts to drive your creative thinking. For me, the more disruptive the prompt, the better it is. These ask you to approach the journal in a different, sometimes destructive way. Other prompts are a bit more conventional, although it is of course a mistake to think you can't react in an interesting way to such prompts.

I also like the little illustrations making each prompt feel unique.

This feels like it would be a great little gift for someone in need of some new ideas.

Design & Destroy This Journal is an art diary/journal with creative prompts intended to get the reader to fully interact with and change the physical journal. Released 11th May 2021 from Quarto on their Chartwell imprint, it's 204 pages and is available in hardcover format.

This is, quite simply, a book of prompts with instructions like "sew a button onto this page", "practice your signature", "write your favorite song lyrics", and many more. There are some (ok, a fair number) which I didn't feel were engaging to me personally (smear food fingers on the page, smudge, draw inside the circle til the page tears, etc), but that's to be expected for a journal of this type. Quite probably de rigueur, honestly, since one of the benefits of creativity journals is to push readers outside their current comfort zones.

This would make a good choice for potentially bumping artists or writers out of a dry spot, for warming up before an art session, or for creative play with younger readers (possibly bound with some pencils, drawing and/or crafts materials). For obvious reasons, it wouldn't be appropriate for library or classroom use.

Three and a half stars, speaking of the prompts themselves. I was provided an electronic review copy, so I can't speak to the quality of the paper, binding, or physical aspects of the book itself. I can say that Chartwell books tend to use high quality paper and binding, so it should be fine.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Design & Destroy is an art journal full of prompts that encourage exploration and creativity. The journal was full of interesting prompts. Some you’ve seen before, some that were really creative and some that were a little odd. One just wanted you to crumple up the page. Another wanted you to bury the page, like in dirt?! Ok!? There were some awesome prompts like design a met gala dress and fill this page with song lyrics! All in all, if you’re looking for a fun journal that will help you get some creativity in your life, then this one's for you!

There are lots of similar books on the market. They suggest an creative idea and space for you to draw/paint it.
This book is a little bit different and suggests things like, paint your self portrait using nail polish, draw a landscape with melted crayons, press a flower here. It’s a bit more ‘out there’ as the title suggests. Would work well as a warm up exercise before embarking on a more conventional art project. Great ideas for getting the creative juices flowing.

Design and destroy is a art book that encourages its uses to explore art therapy in the most destructive and creative way. Having been a fan of art therapy books for a number of years, I was very excited to preview a newer version by a different author. I have found that this art theory book, although still containing the destructive activities that everyone has loved, this book is much more art focused and has more drawing and crafting activities than other books of similar styles, something which I personally would enjoy more. I have enjoyed the preview that much, that I was picturing in my head how I was going to layout each page and actually pre-ordered the book before writing the review. I would recommend this book to people of all ages, art therapy books are not just for children! There brilliant for combating stress and this book is one of the best examples of a art therapy book and I can see it quickly being a competitor of the best-selling books within the category.

These types of interactive journals are usually a lot of fun, so I was really curious when I started flipping through Design & Destroy. Most of the prompts are easy to fulfill which is a plus in my book, because you can do as many or as little in one go as you please. They are also very accessible; the materials aren’t elaborate and the few prompts that could involve other people aren’t weird, which is great for introverts. I also thought it had a great balance between activities where you paste or sew things vs actual drawing, because people don’t always feel like drawing. Overall, this book would be a great way to pass a few afternoons when you’re feeling like being a bit artistic and it would be perfect for a summer break.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for a fair review. This is a book that you need to have a hard copy of in order to do most of the journal exercises. I have always been intrigued by creative journals and there are a lot of great prompts in this one. I didn't really like the prompts that involved using food to create art such as a page to mark up with condiments. I live in an apartment so I wouldn't want to attract ants or anything. But, that is half of the fun because this is a design and "destroy" journal. There are plenty of pages that the activity involves ripping out page to complete the activity and I suppose I could rip out the gross food pages after doing those activities too. I liked the mixed media aspect of the book. There are a lot of different prompts that can spark you to use unconventional supplies to create art, break out your art box and use supplies you might have been ignoring, and even include some writing prompts. The only thing I'm curious about is the thickness of the pages. Some of the prompts involve pasting bulky items and I hope the actual pages are thick enough to handle those tasks.

This is a standard "wreck this page" journal with some creative new prompts and a lot that didn't do a lot for me. Expect to do more destroying than usual in ways that aren't really very creative (melt an ice cube on this page, run over this page, burn this page...) and some that struck me as kind of gross (wipe food fingers on this page). A few struck me as fun (test makeup, practice signatures, draw a mythical creature park, watercolor practice...). Some just didn't do much for me at all, like one just says "shark attack" and has a picture of a shark coming up. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to draw a mangled person or my own shark or it that was just random? A lot seem kind of meh (draw a clock and label when you finish this piece, draw your zombie survival kit, wash the page...) and some just didn't seem feasible to me (use all your art supplies on this page? um... I can't imagine how to make that happen). There is some fun inspiration though, especially if you like to make messes and ruin things.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

Are you feeling stuck or uninspired? Design and Destroy may be exactly what you need! A physical copy of this book is definitely needed, I'm reviewing a digital copy but was still able to follow some of the prompts in my own journal. A health dose of unique and fun idea's, though there were some mixed in that would be more enjoyable to a younger audience, most of the journal however is perfect for every age.

Design and Destroy would make a great gift for anyone, or treat yourself (you deserve it) Let off some steam and get creative with this one of a kind book

In general this book has a good mix of art ideas and general cathartic self help ones. This is definitely a you need the physical version of the book to really use it as they intend, I reviewed a digital copy. There are a wide variety of task from using unusual materials to make something to ripping out and burning pages. While some task that destroy pages are just white on the other side so you don't potentially destroy a different task there are some like closing this page with wet paint that does have a task on the back. So if you are doing a page / task a day without looking ahead you have the potential to lose one, instead of just randomly opening a page for inspiration. As with any book like this some things will stand out and give you ideas more than others and some just come off as "we were running out of ideas so put this here." Then others that may have sanitary concerns or may not be feasible like running a page over. But if you end up doing the whole book it has the potential to make an interesting journal or art piece, there are about 100 total pages with prompts some are one page others are a spread. Counting there are 152 prompts so yes technically over 150. As a designer I would probably use this book as inspiration for bigger projects or experiment outside of the book itself more and leave the book as a open for random prompt and make a separate sketch book around that prompt idea. How the book is bound would also play a role in whether I do things in the book or out of it. A more traditional paperback binding versus something like a spiral binding would probably lead me more to using the book as a prompt book rather than using the book itself.