In celebration of the pad and the pen
by Julian Gratton
The N50. Beautiful.
There’s a lovely quote by John Masefield from his poem ‘Sea Fever’ that I’m incredibly fond of. It goes ‘And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by’. Every time I hear it, it reminds me of my own thoughts with regards Creativity. In my case it’s ‘And all I ask for is a pad and a pen’. Or to be more specific… a Pentel N50 Marker and Goldline Layout Pad.
Computers are wonderful things. They have given the masses the power to be creative in ways that we never dreamed. Yet without an idea, all that technology simply goes to waste. And where does that idea start… for me it starts with that pad and a pen, locked in a room with my Creative Partner giving birth to seemingly endless ideas.
The power of the idea.
The pen and the pad represent the power of a pure idea. An idea born out of two minds locked in creative thought, battling through multiple directions and ways to communicate a brand, product or service to a defined target audience.
And as your mind races and thoughts pour out onto a blank sheet of layout paper that is then scarred by the black lines of a permanent marker… you realise why you love this industry so much and why you spend so many hours locked away concepting. Which is a good job, because before you know it the night has fallen and everyone with ‘normal’ jobs is at home curled up on the sofa watching Big Brother.
It all comes down to discipline.
Believe it or not, the pen and the pad give you more freedom than all the wonderful tools at your disposal on your computer. The pen becomes an extension of your arm, and your arm is directly connected to your brain where thought after thought after thought is created at an unbelievable rate.
The pen and the pad are forgiving. It requires no crafting. It gives you the ability to ‘get your ideas down’. Which is handy given that the average person has between two to three thousand thoughts in a day. If that’s a normal person… how many thoughts does a creative have!
More importantly, though, the discipline it teaches you is that nothing at all is as important as the idea. Without the idea all the garnish that goes on top of it. All the hours spent Designing, Photographing, Illustrating and Crafting is nothing but a waste.
Don’t just take my word for it
I’m surrounded by and know some incredibly talented people. Some of these people I have had the pleasure of working with in the past. Some I have the pleasure of working with now… mainly because I employ them! I asked them for their thoughts on the pen and the pad… here’s what they have to say:
Nick and Katie's Concepts
Katie, Senior Copywriter: If you can sell in an idea drawn with stick men, then it’s strong enough – refining is easy, it’s finding the idea that’s the tricky bit. With the pen and the pad you’re not harnessed, obstructed or distracted by other mediums – you’re in the process, it’s interactive, you’re not being an observer – it allows for spiraling thoughts and non-linear thinking – unlike computers.
Doodling has proved to aid concentration – often I draw really basic scamp doodles that lead to bigger and better ideas. You can retrace your thoughts – maybe a whisper of an idea that you scribbled and left, when you revisit it and follow the train of thought, can lead to better ideas. One last thing… I like the smell of markers. They make me light-headed.
Nick, Senior Art Director: Total freedom of expression. Flow. In the zone. No constraints, no computer, and no technology… it’s pure brain activity with no worries and the joy of being able to throw it away and start again. A blank sheet of paper can be the scariest thing in the World. That’s why some people prefer small pads I guess. Others jump onto Macs to hide behind technology instead of engaging their brains. I like big pads. Because I love making big ideas!
Stuart, Copywriter: JG Ballard used to write 1000 words a day in longhand. He’d then edit it over and over again, in the same way. Just him, his pen and his pad. He’d only consider typing his copy out once he was absolutely satisfied with it. That’s the thing with pad and paper – you watch the idea grow. Every discarded sheet is another step towards the finished article. It’s just more…romantic.
Jez Clark, Copywriter (and all round great bloke): You can’t hide behind a pad and pen. Same goes for an idea without substance. It’s also wonderful medium to get the ‘feel’ and ‘balance’ of a layout, free from the rigidity of grids.
It’s enchanted; akin to the restaurant napkin. The corner of a pad can be the birthplace of an amazing concept that grows out of control or the seat of a dead-end line of thinking. It’s possible to take refuge behind perfectly positioned pixels, but no-one can hide behind the pad and the pen.
It’s just you and the idea. And that’s a scary place to be.
Alison Arthington, Freelance Art Director/Designer: I’m not sure why, but I actually prefer to work through my initial thoughts in pencil, only committing them to permanent ink when I’m sure they’re definitely wheat and not just bin-worthy chaff.
I have my quirks when it comes to the paper bit too. At the kick-off, I start scribbling on the back of the brief (usually during the briefing), then on any available scrap of paper easily to hand. There’s often twenty or thirty thoughts all squeezed together on the back of an A4 sheet.
Then, when I’ve got ‘something’, I’ll asterisk it and give it a fresh, clean page of layout all of it’s own. Nothing else on there, just this one idea. And the hope that it’ll soon be joined by other, similar pages.
On the few occasions when I’ve hastily jumped onto the mac without scamping things out first, I’ve always ended up several hours later with pencil back in hand and a trash bin full of rubbish.
Richard Sharp, Creative Consultant: The pad and pen for me is an addiction. It signals the start of an exciting journey. The journey of IDEAS. When I sit down with the pad and the pen, time seems to stop. Chasing an IDEA is the best chill-out there is.
Jennie, Senior Art Director: A blank piece of paper where you can just scribble every thought, get it out of your head and move on to the next, what quicker way is there to develop an idea! If it turns out to be rubbish… just screw it up and move on… it gives way for the great idea emerge.
The end of what Jennie has to say is also true. For me I need to get an idea out of my head. Writing it down and making it permanent on a piece of paper… that frees up my head and gives way to the next idea… and the next.
I’ll leave the last word to Ben & James. A pair of Creatives I respect greatly. They got in touch with me when I told them I was writing this article to say:
‘Konrad Zuse didn’t come up with the idea for the computer by sitting at the computer.’
And…
‘The pen and the pad. Always the start of a great Ad.’
Couldn’t have put it better myself
If you’d like to see how our pens and pads can work for you… why not give Red C a call on 0161 872 1361 or click here
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