Pencil by 53 seems a nice way to while my morning away. I picture myself sitting at a quiet corner, with a cup of hot coffee and a freshly baked croissant on the table, and my wandering mind lost in thoughts.
Taking a bite of the pastry, an idea strikes. And I sketch freely. The feeling of not knowing what to expect and just having the freedom to write, sketch and draw.
We have all, at some point of time, held a pencil and scribbled our thoughts, doodle our ideas and sketch out our drawing on the paper. I presume we all feel comfortable allowing our wandering mind transcript those inspiring ideas into reality through the form of pencil and paper.
Every time I’m stuck (it happens often), I take a stroll around. It could be in the office, out in the park, head somewhere for dinner or go for a quick shower. I always return with a head full of ideas, and sketching with pencil or pen on a paper only encourages my thoughts to flow freely. There is something with pen and paper that is so inviting. It sits silently and patiently, awaiting our ideas to form. Because there is no structure to it, we are free to explore whichever our mind and hand deemed us to.
We have a special bond with pencil and paper, so it makes sense to explore this relationship farther in spite of the prevalence of digital format that threatens to diminish the existence of paper. As we seek to detach ourselves from this, we develop greater appreciation for the simple pleasure pencil and paper provides.
What if digital and analog can co-exist? What do we always have to choose between one or the other?
Like the Evernote Moleksine that’s harnessing the use of technology to permanently archive our notes and making them searchable via OCR. It makes our life easier and now we have the best of what analog and digital can offer to us.
We can learn to embrace what technology can offer and work together with the traditional inputs we like. What if there is a there’s an app on tablet called Paper that functions exactly like a paper. What if there’s a tool called Pencil that’s built to complement Paper and replicates what conventional pencil can offer.
Previously, using an external stylus or device to work on tablet never really took off. While the idea is simple, it didn’t really gain mainstream recognition. It always seem to me only a handful of niche audience would be using it frequently. Even most techies would prefer to pick up their field notes and scribble with their gel-ink pen.
The introduction of Pencil has kindle my interest in this aspect. It looks very promising. For one, aesthetically it has to be one of the most pleasing add-on to any tablet. It’s more than just as an ordinary pencil. Besides looking great, I can see it being used by in the cafe by the creatives and the chic crowd. Now we have something that is beautiful and functional at the same time.
Having said that, I don’t own a tablet. As much as my desire to really have one and the possibilities I dream up of using them is nearly infinite, the position I’m in now doesn’t afford me the option. It’s a luxury product in my financial state.
But, it doesn’t stop me from appreciating the fine products and services out there. It just means I don’t have to own everything I like.