“When it comes to the free flow of ideas, the pen remains mighter than both the keyboard and touchscreen” — David Sax in The Revenge of Analog
Start with Analog Tools
Analog Tools remain a key part of my creative process. Early on in my ideation, when the idea is still unclear and rough, Analog tools afford me a freer form of expression. Later as things become more clear, I switch to Digital Tools for higher fidelity, refinement, storage, and communication.
If I don’t have a general direction of where I want to go with an idea/design, then I don’t have any business in a high fidelity digital tool (Ex: Figma, Code).
This reminds me of a story from The Revenge of Analog where Antonio Marazza spoke about a design firm adopting Photoshop and their designs suffered until they forced their designers to ideate in Moleskine notebooks for the first week of a project before they were allowed to use Photoshop.
This also goes well with Curtis McHale’s thought: “…if a note or quote isn’t worth writing by hand it’s not worth keeping”
Link to original
My Notes & Thoughts
- How can we blur the line between digital and analog input? Analog is currently faster, but that’s largely due to failure in technology and building digital experiences.
- The eInk Digital Tablets space is blurring the lines between analog and digital that create for interesting hybrid workflows.