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John Maeda's blog

John Maeda is a world-renowned graphic designer, visual artist, and computer scientist and is a founding voice for “simplicity” in the digital age. From June 2008 he becomes the 16th President of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

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Another Typewriter Falls

Typewriters may be meeting their end, but I predict that society will once again yearn for their imperfect and unique imprint.

Every week I count at least one typewriter that has met its demise. It would seem that our society would be more forgiving of these machines. After all, I know of no easier or more direct way to place a printed address on an envelope.

The newer typewriters had little character [sic], as they were under digital control. But the old typewriters were much like an untuned piano in the sense that every letter typed made an imperfect and unique imprint. Type that is set on the Web does not suffer from imperfection. Every letter is placed perfectly on the digital page, with absolutely correct spacing.

I predict that we will see a yearning in our society for more ... imperfection. Not just flaws or errors, of course. We will want to see evidence of what is human-made and real.

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If you want personality...

try writing a note or letter by hand. Plenty of pens still around.

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dmm
04/04/2008
Posts:193

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Re: If you want personality...

true, but for that "slick" presentation to the secretary to rip and shred, how can you beat typography? if the author can figure out setting a custom left-justified paragraph just once in Word, this process should rival the Selectric for ease of envelope addressing, after a first run-through with the address on back... ;)

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johnalphonse
04/07/2008
Posts:78

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Different moods of different tools

As a writer, I find that the medium influences the mood of the content I produce. Pen and paper produce a meditative state in me that's reinforced by the sensation of paper sliding smoothly against the side of my hand, and the sound of the pen's scratching. I can type on a computer keyboard faster than I think, and this gives me a sensation of breathlessness when writing in that medium. Also, the ease of erasing and rearranging thoughts adds to the feeling that my thought isn't quite moving quickly enough. I've always liked typewriters because they create a protective cone of sound around me. The intense noise-making and strong tactile feedback also have an air of productivity that no other tool has matched for me. I was given a vintage typewriter as a wedding gift that I break out when I need a change to get me out of writer's block.

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