Analog vs Digital Tools
“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
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”
# 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.
# Concepts
The struggle to depict something gives you time to think into it.
Notebooks are not easily searchable
Digital tools are good when working with structure
Use analog tools when working with abstract ideas