10 reasons why creatives should start
work with a pen and paper.
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John Long, ECD
Jan. 2023
Technology has made executing
creative ideas much easier.
But has it make the work better?
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That’s…debatable.
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As for AI, it’s just another tool.
To get “photorealistic cat scuba diving” or “Dora the Explorer Wraith” you still have to come up with those ideas.
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No one wants to go back to
typewriters and mechanicals.
But we could use tech more selectively.
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A modest proposal:
at the beginning of the creative process, put down the tech and pick up a pencil.
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Here are 10 reasons why you should.
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#1
Digital is distracting.
Deep creative thinking only happens when the mind has time to wander—when you’re a bit bored.
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#2
Writing by hand stimulates the brain.
An Indiana University study found that freehand writing stimulates the brain in ways typing doesn’t and has a similar effect on it as meditation.
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#3
Writing and sketching by hand slows you down–in a good way.
Technology has tricked us into believing we can produce great ideas quickly. Excellence takes time.
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#4
Writing by hand enhances learning.
Researchers at Princeton and UCLA found students learn better when taking notes by hand.
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#5
When you write by hand, you actually produce more ideas.
A Univ. of WA study showed that when children composed text by hand they expressed more ideas.
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#6
Scribbling is fun.
There’s a reason you did it when you were a kid. Craft is tedious work. But in the early ideation stage you need to play around.
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#7
Writing by hand makes you smarter*.
*Possibly. Psychology Today detailed many cognitive benefits of writing by hand, including comparing its effect on the brain to playing a musical instrument.
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#8
Paper doesn’t have a “delete” key.
When you sketch by hand, it’s permanent. You might get lucky and land something good early on. But if you’re editing as you go, you could throw away gold.
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#9
It’s easy to fall into patterns with tech.
Starting a new project with an old template. Repurposing material from a previous save. The same fonts, patterns, grids. Paper doesn’t have that baggage.
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#10
Most of the greatest ad campaigns of all time were created by hand.
Helmut Krone didn’t use InDesign to create the Volkswagen “Lemon” ad. Be like Helmut Krone.
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For more, follow:
Twitter: @janthonylong &
LinkedIn.com/in/johnalongcd/
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