Upload Your Own Style: Brand-Consistent AI Sketchnotes
The forty preset styles cover most aesthetics. They don't cover yours. The personal style reference feature lets you upload an image — a sketch, a slide, a brand mockup — and use it as the AI's visual reference. Your content. Your visual language.
What is a style reference, exactly
When you upload a personal style image, the AI treats it as a visual instruction — not as content to reproduce. It looks at the image and asks: what colors are used, how thick are the lines, what kind of icons are present, what's the layout language, what's the typography mood? Then it generates a new sketchnote with your text rendered in that visual language.
We tell the model explicitly: use the image attached as style reference, don't copy the text, only the style. No prompt engineering required from your end.
Step-by-step
Open the generate page
Paste your content or upload a PDF as usual. The style picker section is in the right-hand column.
Click 🎨 Upload your personal style
It's the yellow button at the top of the style picker, right above the category filters. PNG, JPG, or WebP — under 5MB.
Confirm the preview
The preview panel switches to show your uploaded image with a YOUR STYLE badge. That's the visual language the AI will mirror.
Generate
The Generate button now sends your text alongside your reference image. The result is a fresh sketchnote — your content, your aesthetic.
Replace or remove anytime
Use Replace to swap references mid-session, Remove to drop back to the preset styles. Picking a preset tile clears the personal style automatically.
What makes a good style reference
Pick a visual you'd happily ship as your own
If the reference looks rough, the output will look rough. Style references propagate. Choose something polished.
Single-page composition, not a collage
A single sketchnote, a single slide, a single illustration — works far better than a moodboard. Multiple competing styles confuse the model.
Visible color palette
Three to five recognizable colors. Solid backgrounds beat photographic textures. The model picks up the palette and uses it consistently.
Consistent line treatment
Hand-drawn references want hand-drawn outputs. Crisp vector references produce crisp visuals. The line work of your reference becomes the line work of every future visual.
Some visible structure
Sections, columns, callouts, arrows — give the model a layout language to copy, not just a vibe.
Reference images that work surprisingly well
- →A photo of a sketchnote you drew in your bullet journal — get the same hand on every digital visual
- →Your brand guidelines one-pager — color palette and typography rules carry through automatically
- →A designer's mockup or a Figma export — keep agency-quality consistency across your whole content calendar
- →A screenshot of a slide from your master deck — generate companion handouts that match the deck
- →A favorite poster, zine page, or magazine spread — recreate that editorial energy in every sketchnote
- →A sketchnote from a previous VisualNote generation you liked — lock in a recurring look across a series
Honest limits
- ⚠Style transfer is approximate — the model copies the *vibe*, not the exact font or stroke. Treat it as 'in the same family', not 'pixel-identical'.
- ⚠Photographic references (real-world photos, portraits) confuse the model — stick to illustrations, diagrams, slides, or sketches.
- ⚠Logos in the reference don't get reproduced; if you need an exact logo, drop it into the final PNG in your design tool.
- ⚠Very text-heavy references can leak words into the output. We instruct the model not to copy the text, but a busy reference is a busy signal — keep references clean.
Use cases by audience
Solo creators
Build a recognizable look across your weekly thread, newsletter, and LinkedIn carousel. One reference image keeps three channels visually coherent.
Brand teams
Upload your visual identity one-pager. Marketing, sales, and customer success all generate visuals in the same language without a designer in the loop.
Teachers and lecturers
Sketch one handout the way you want them all to look — then upload it as the reference for the rest of the semester.
Students with a notebook aesthetic
Photograph your favorite spread, set it as the reference, and every chapter summary now looks like an extension of your own notes.
Agencies
One reference per client. Client A gets the muted blueprint look; Client B gets the bold comic palette. Switch references between projects in one click.
Try with your own reference
Upload an image you love. Get the same vibe across every visual you make.