Elegy To Four Colors
Jan. 13th, 2004 06:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
philthecowThere was an article in Newsweek recently where they interviewed the curators at the Cooper-Hewitt (a design museum in New York which is part of the Smithsonian) about their favorite everyday items. One of the women said that she thought the Post-It Note was a beautiful thing.
I would like to nominate the four-color pen. At least my Bic four-color pen.
Whoever put blue and black across from each other and green and red across from each other was a genius, because it just wouldn't be the same otherwise. Red and blue are the two colors that straddle the clip, and black is in the most convenient position relative to the way I write. They are pure tones which have a remarkable correspondence to the actual ink colors. The colors are easy to push down with either a fingernail or a thumb but difficult to push back up and accidentally retract in the middle of an exam.
The hard plastic ball on the top is perfect for pen-chewers because it is almost impossible to chew through, or even to chew noticeably. The white plastic clip is flexible enough to clip onto anything but not to bend out of shape. (It is also impossible to chew. Yes, I have a slight oral fixation.)
The two-tone color scheme complements all four of the four colors, the white top letting their true character show and the light blue pen shaft clashing with none of them. The black line that separates the two parts is understated and elegant, serving as a simple visual boundary which organizes the pen and relaxes the eyes.
Yes, the four-color pen gives me orgasms of design delight.
I would like to nominate the four-color pen. At least my Bic four-color pen.
Whoever put blue and black across from each other and green and red across from each other was a genius, because it just wouldn't be the same otherwise. Red and blue are the two colors that straddle the clip, and black is in the most convenient position relative to the way I write. They are pure tones which have a remarkable correspondence to the actual ink colors. The colors are easy to push down with either a fingernail or a thumb but difficult to push back up and accidentally retract in the middle of an exam.
The hard plastic ball on the top is perfect for pen-chewers because it is almost impossible to chew through, or even to chew noticeably. The white plastic clip is flexible enough to clip onto anything but not to bend out of shape. (It is also impossible to chew. Yes, I have a slight oral fixation.)
The two-tone color scheme complements all four of the four colors, the white top letting their true character show and the light blue pen shaft clashing with none of them. The black line that separates the two parts is understated and elegant, serving as a simple visual boundary which organizes the pen and relaxes the eyes.
Yes, the four-color pen gives me orgasms of design delight.
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no subject
Date: 2004-01-13 03:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-13 04:27 pm (UTC)"When I got my pen in the mail (7.95 plus tax and shipping!) I was amazed to see that all of the colors worked! Look! I can write on paper! It changed my life."
no subject
Date: 2004-01-13 04:30 pm (UTC)I like my waterman pen better, thank you. and my lamy. and my rotring. yayme.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-13 04:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-13 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-13 08:45 pm (UTC)I just noticed that.
You're even cooler than you originally appeared.
YAY DANNY ELFMAN!
no subject
Date: 2004-01-13 11:47 pm (UTC)