Tag Archives: pencil

These Experimental Pencils Treat Writing as Performance Art

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There’s something almost rebellious about spending serious design energy on a pencil. We’re constantly told that screens are the future and handwriting is obsolete but Korean design studio BKID went all in on the opposite direction. Their project “Write Draw Think” asks a question nobody knew they needed answered: what if we stopped taking the pencil for granted?

Created as research for the Hangeul Museum in 2025, this isn’t your standard stationery lineup. BKID developed sixteen experimental writing tools by deeply studying how we actually use pencils, the gestures we make, the habits we develop, the way our hands move when we’re focused versus when we’re exploring. The result is a collection that transforms writing from a mundane task into something physical, sculptural, and weirdly thought-provoking.

Designer: BKID

What makes this project fascinating is how BKID completely reframes what a writing tool can be. Instead of treating pencils as simple recording devices, they positioned them as bridges between our minds and our bodies. Each of the sixteen tools creates a different writing experience, which sounds abstract until you start thinking about what that actually means.

Some tools are designed for solo deep work, helping you sink into that flow state where writing becomes almost meditative. Others flip the script entirely, letting multiple people draw a single line together. Imagine trying to write collaboratively with someone, not taking turns but literally guiding the same mark at the same time. That’s the kind of weird, wonderful territory this project explores.

The design choices get granular in ways that reveal how much attention BKID paid to the actual mechanics of writing. Sharp writing tools emphasize the tension in letter structures, making you hyper-aware of angles and pressure. Round tools evoke something softer, tapping into the breathing quality of Korean vowels. These aren’t metaphors. They’re intentional formal decisions that change how your hand moves and how marks appear on paper.

What’s clever here is that BKID managed to make experimental design work that’s also genuinely functional. These aren’t precious art objects meant to sit behind glass (though they’re certainly sculptural enough for that). They’re meant to be used, tested, experienced. The project lives in that sweet spot where form follows function, but function also reveals new forms.

This also feels like a love letter to Korean typography. Hangeul, with its geometric clarity and systematic structure, offers rich territory for exploring how letterforms and tools influence each other. The project acknowledges that writing systems aren’t just abstract symbols but physical acts shaped by the tools that create them. By reimagining the tools, BKID opens up possibilities for reimagining the marks themselves.

In our current moment, where AI writes essays and voice memos replace handwritten notes, there’s something quietly radical about paying this much attention to analog tools. “Write Draw Think” doesn’t make arguments about the superiority of handwriting or romanticize the past. Instead, it proposes that the physical act of making marks still has untapped potential, that there are experiences and ideas accessible only through the direct connection between hand, tool, and surface.

The project also hints at something bigger about how we approach design problems. Rather than starting with aesthetics or jumping straight to solutions, BKID began with research into behavior and gesture. That grounding in actual use makes the experimental forms feel purposeful rather than arbitrary. It’s design that respects both craft tradition and avant-garde exploration without getting stuck in either mode.

For anyone interested in the intersection of design, culture, and everyday objects, “Write Draw Think” offers a reminder that innovation doesn’t always mean adding more technology or features. Sometimes it means stripping something down to its essence and asking what else is possible. It’s the kind of project that makes you look at your own pencils differently, wondering about all the ways you could write, draw, and think if only your tools invited different gestures.

The post These Experimental Pencils Treat Writing as Performance Art first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Aluminum Sphere Pencil Makes You Draw Like a Caveman

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Early humans scratched lines on stone walls with rocks, and that primal act sits at the root of every sketch we make today. Most modern pencils are optimized for control and detail, shaped like sticks to give you precision over every line and curve. Alberto Essesi’s unnamed pencil concept takes a deliberate step back toward that raw, gestural way of drawing, translating it into a highly refined spherical object that looks more like a polished pebble than any conventional pencil.

Essesi designed this tool for himself after watching a documentary about prehistoric mark-making and then trying to draw with an actual rock. He noticed how the stone forced him into long, bold lines and larger forms rather than tight details, and decided to capture that feeling in a modern drawing instrument. The result is a palm-sized aluminum sphere with a small conical graphite tip emerging from its edge, held like a stone in your hand.

Designer: Alberto Essesi

The form is deceptively simple. A sphere with a polished aluminum band around the middle and sand-blasted, anodized surfaces on the sides. In use, your hand cups the sphere like you’re gripping a smooth rock, which encourages whole-arm movement instead of fingertip control. That naturally pushes your sketches toward sweeping strokes and energetic shading, exactly the kind of drawing Essesi wanted to encourage by changing the shape of the tool.

The material choices are deliberate. The body is hollowed out to reduce weight, avoiding the fatigue a solid metal ball would cause during long sessions. The polished equator catches light and emphasizes the perfect geometry, while the matte sides diffuse reflections and feel softer against your fingers. That contrast between mirror and satin surfaces gives the object a quiet drama even before it touches paper.

The tip uses an infinite graphite insert, a long-lasting graphite alloy that wears down extremely slowly and doesn’t need traditional sharpening. The conical tip is easily replaceable and is designed to replicate the sensation of a smooth stone grinding against a surface. On paper, it lays down a mark closer to charcoal or a soft pencil, ideal for big shapes and confident lines rather than tight technical work.

The exploded render shows the hollow shell, threaded ring, and domed cap polished as carefully as the exterior. Essesi says he loves making every part, even the invisible ones, as refined as what you see. That approach turns disassembly into its own kind of pleasure, revealing a tiny piece of mechanical jewelry rather than a rough interior with leftover machining marks or unfinished edges.

The pencil nudges you away from fussing over details and toward exploring volume, rhythm, and energy. By abandoning the stick form and embracing a stone-like grip, it changes your drawing style simply by changing the shape of the thing in your hand. It’s less a tool for everyday note-taking and more an invitation to sketch differently.

The post This Aluminum Sphere Pencil Makes You Draw Like a Caveman first appeared on Yanko Design.

Move over Graphite… This Company is making Recycled Coffee Pencil Leads that write and smell great

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People are much more productive on coffee, they say. A single cup can get you working with more energy and focus, but one company is making your cup of coffee a little more productive than you think. While the coffee you drink enriches your mind, the coffee grounds you throw away after the brewing process can apparently be bound into pencil leads, letting you literally write/sketch/doodle WITH coffee! Meet GRIND Z – a pencil lead that ditches graphite for coffee, giving you an all-natural zero-waste alternative to regular pencils. The 5.6mm lead fits into any clutch pencil that accepts leads that size, allowing you to scribble, write, take notes, doodle, and sketch with coffee. Each lead is made up of recycled coffee grounds along with a combination of binding agents – and the result is an earthy brown lead that writes on paper and actually has a coffee aroma too!

Designer: Zirobio

Click Here to Buy Now: $26 $34 (24% off). Hurry only a few left!

Coffee grounds are a major contributor to landfill waste, with millions of tons ending up in dumps each year. GRIND Z effectively diverts these grounds from an unwanted fate, giving them a new life as a creative tool. The company behind this project, Zirobio, is a biotechnology firm dedicated to developing sustainable solutions through bio-based materials. Initiated by Hailey and Miles, avid coffee drinkers, the GRIND Z was their way of seeing if this humble cup of coffee – a symbol of work, happiness, and hustle – could be channeled into something else. Something that transforms coffee waste into even more productivity.

This is a 5.6mm pencil lead containing 20% recycled coffee grounds and other components like wax and adhesives.

Coffee has been embraced by the art community already, with people using espresso and black coffee to make stained art. The liquid imparts a brown or ochre tint on paper, depending on how diluted it is – Zirobio’s idea builds on this already existing trend, transforming it from liquid to lead. One cup of coffee can generate enough grounds for up to 6 leads, Zirobio says. Each GRIND Z lead boasts a unique blend of 20% recycled coffee grounds and 80% essential binding agents like waxes and adhesives. This carefully formulated combination ensures a smooth writing experience you expect from high-quality pencil lead. But the real magic lies in the subtle, natural coffee aroma (with a hint of bitterness) that lingers with each stroke, adding a delightful sensory element to the drawing/writing process.

The lead comes in a standard 5.6mm size, ensuring compatibility with most clutch pencils – the refillable mechanical pencils commonly used by artists and designers. Zirobio even offers a sleek aluminum clutch pencil as part of their Kickstarter rewards, creating a perfect match for the eco-friendly lead. The natural brown hue of the coffee grounds eliminates the need for artificial coloring, resulting in a unique aesthetic that complements the sustainable philosophy behind the product.

Beyond its eco-friendly credentials, GRIND Z offers a captivating visual appeal. The subtle variations in the brown tones add a touch of organic charm to your artwork or sketches. This earthy aesthetic sets it apart from traditional graphite leads, allowing artists to explore a new visual language in their work. The lead can be used with a clutch pencil or even as a crayon. It supports being sharpened by a knife or a sharpener, with zero wastage (because there’s no wood being used), and if all that wasn’t impressive, the GRIND Z is naturally skin-friendly, allowing people with sensitive skin to handle it with ease.

You can grab yourself a 2-pack of GRIND Z leads (each pack contains 6 leads) for $26 and YD readers get a free custom-made coffee bean ring too. Alternatively, a $29 pledge gets you a GRIND Z 2-pack along with a compatible 5.6mm aluminum clutch pencil. If you own a coffee shop or a small studio, YD readers can also enjoy a 34% discount, getting a 10-pack of GRIND Z and 10 clutch pencils for $109, adding a sustainable highlight to your brand. Additionally, stretch goals have unlocked more free rewards with free shipping, such as art posters, coffee ground soap, and coffee ground mugs, included along with your order.

Click Here to Buy Now: $26 $34 (24% off). Hurry only a few left!

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This ultra-minimalist pen stand makes your writing partner the center of attention

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We all have our favorite writing instruments, be it an heirloom fountain pen or even a number 2 pencil. You’ll probably just stuff the latter in drawers or leave them strewn on your desk, but the pen that has been with you for years is something you’ll probably want to show off while keeping it within easy reach. Pen stands exist for that exact purpose, but some of them try to compete with the pen for attention. They have extravagant and luxurious designs that defeat the intention of putting your favorite pen on a pedestal. That’s the trap that this tiny pen stand tries to avoid by practically removing all non-essential features that prevent you from showing off your trusty writing partner.

Designer: Kairi Eguchi

Click Here to Buy Now: $35 $39 (10% off at checkout). Hurry, deal ends in 24 hours!

What stand could be simpler than an upright cylinder with a whole in the middle that’s just enough to fit a single pen? After all, a pen stand’s purpose is to hold the writing tool for easy access while showing it off when not in use. Anything else is just excess and waste that burdens the product both visually and functionally. That’s the kind of minimalist design that this small and simple stand embraces, but that doesn’t mean it’s a plain and boring desk accessory. In fact, it is ironically one of the most beautiful pen stands around, especially if you favor minimalist designs.

Your eyes will be immediately drawn to the stand’s diminutive size. At only 52.5mm (around 2 inches) tall, it has just enough space to hold a small portion of the pen, leaving the majority of the barrel unobstructed and free for everyone to behold. Despite its small size, however, the stand is able to, well, stand without tipping over due to the weight of the pen. In fact, the stand itself tilts a little bit to one side, an intentional design that makes it easier to pull out the pen quickly when you need to jot something down.

The trick to the Centroid Stand’s unbelievable feat is in its construction, which also accounts for its two-tone color finish. The top half of the stand is made from polished aluminum which gives it a stylish luster, while the lower half is made from heavier copper that shifts the center of gravity lower, making it more stable regardless of its tilt or the weight of the pen that it holds. These two dissimilar materials, joined together using a friction welding process, give the stand a rather distinct flavor, one that is both playful and elegant at the same time. Copper also develops a unique patina over time, adding to the stand’s character as it grows old with you.

Showcase your Everlasting All-Metal Pencil with the ultimate stand.

Beautiful in its simplicity and ingenious in its functionality, this ultra-minimalist pen stand offers a perfect view of the writing instrument that it holds. Due to its minimalist design, it is the perfect complement to equally minimalist pen designs, such as the Everlasting All-Metal Pencil that will last as long as this unconventional stand. It is a glowing example of how simple designs, when done right, can exude a kind of beauty that gently draws your eyes without distracting from the attention that your favorite pen or pencil rightfully deserves.

Click Here to Buy Now: $19.95.

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Apple Pencil Number 2 skin is a perfect homage with a big caveat

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Despite what its founder once said, Apple has wholeheartedly embraced the stylus, at least for its iPads. In fact, you could even say it innovated an accessory that hasn’t seen much change in years, introducing magnetic charging and invisible touch-sensitive buttons to the design. Its minimalist aesthetic and familiar shape have also made it more open to custom designs and skins that allow owners to express themselves beyond a simple white or black stick. Of course, this also presented an opportunity for accessory makers to establish a new market segment made especially just for this Apple stylus. Skin manufacturer Colorware is just the latest to jump on that bandwagon, but its Apple Number 2 Pencil is quite unique in more ways than one.

Designer: Colorware

The first Apple Pencil was pretty much a smooth and slippery cylinder that forced some people to put on grips or skins just to be able to securely hold the stylus. The second-gen Pencil improved the design with a somewhat hexagonal body that gave it a better grip but also inspired even more skins to embellish the Apple Pencil’s appearance. After all, with that familiar shape and generic name, it’s almost a dead knocker for the iconic Number 2 pencil known by people of all ages throughout the world.

The Colorware Apple Number 2 Pencil is one such makeover for Apple’s current stylus, but it takes the modification to the extreme. It definitely looks like the Number 2 or HB pencil with its glossy yellow body, orange eraser, and silver band that connects these two parts. Colorware, however, takes the homage one step further: even the tip is black, like a typical graphite pencil.

The nib of the Apple Pencil is, of course, white, and almost all skins stop at covering the barrel only. That’s because you can’t really cover the nib and expect its performance to be unaffected. The manufacturer naturally doesn’t divulge what it used to coat the nib, so you’ll have to trust that the Apple Number 2 Pencil will still remain as functional as a regular Apple Pencil.

The catch to this almost faithful recreation of the classic HB pencil is that it costs a whopping $215. Considering the 2nd-gen Apple Pencil retails for $129, that’s not a small cost added on top. A regular skin would only set you back $13 or so, though you’d also have to look for unofficial black nibs if you want to get the complete look. It also doesn’t indicate if that price includes extra nibs, so you might find yourself at a loss when this special black tip needs to be replaced.

The post Apple Pencil Number 2 skin is a perfect homage with a big caveat first appeared on Yanko Design.

Everlasting Metal Pencil Changes the Game in Writing No Sharpening Ever Required

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We’ve all been through those panicked moments when we try to scramble for a pen or even a pencil and neither is in sight, let alone within reach. Thanks to a renaissance of paper notebooks and analog productivity systems, it’s no longer weird to be carrying a writing instrument with you all the time, sometimes even in your pocket. Not all pens and pencils, however, are made to be shoved in pockets, especially when it comes to pencils that have fragile leads that easily break at the slightest pressure. But what if you had a writing tool that never ran out of ink, never needed to be sharpened, and never snapped in two when you accidentally sat on it? That’s the kind of handwriting bliss that the Pocket Everlasting Metal Pencil brings to your pocket, bag, or EDC toolkit, ensuring you’ll have something to write down your thoughts with at the moment that inspiration strikes.

Click Here to Buy Now: $17 $20 (15% off at checkout). Hurry, deal ends in 24 hours!

Although an ink pen is the preferred tool for jotting down notes, some prefer the centuries-old pencil for its more forgiving and expressive properties. That’s mostly thanks to the nature of the graphite core that leaves its unique mark on paper or other mediums. But whether the pencil is traditional or mechanical, it has the almost innate drawback of needing to be sharpened or replaced because the “lead” has become dull or has broken off. When that happens, not only does your flow of thought get broken as well, you also start to get stressed while scrambling for a sharpener or replacement leads.

This all-metal pocket pencil removes that weakness by using an ingenious special alloy core that barely needs sharpening or not at all. That alloy, however, still contains graphite so it leaves the same marks that a regular clay or charcoal-based pencil would. In other words, you get the same writing experience and quality as a 2H pencil, but without the hassles of “running out” of lead or even ink.

What makes this everlasting pencil even more special is its size. At only 4.7 inches (120mm) long, it is the perfect length to keep in your pocket so you always have it at hand when you need it. At the same time, it isn’t too short to make writing for long periods of time uncomfortable. It strikes the perfect balance between portability and ergonomics, something that a regular pencil can’t even achieve.

The design of the pencil is quite distinctive as well, sporting a faceted metal barrel with a matte texture that improves your grip and prevents the pencil from rolling off desks. It also comes with a rather cute leather cap so you don’t accidentally leave marks inside your pockets. Whether you’re scribbling notes or drafting your next designs, you can enjoy a stress-free and expressive writing experience by having this everlasting all-metal pencil always in your pocket.

Click Here to Buy Now: $17 $20 (15% off at checkout). Hurry, deal ends in 24 hours!

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