What does it mean to write? Writing is a very simple task one can do with only a pen and paper. And yet, there’s an incredible amount of power to it, such as expressing your feelings to someone, gathering your thoughts into one place, leaving behind a record of present events to look back on in the future . . .

We’ll be using the Hobonichi Techo 2019 release to take another look at the action of writing, pondering and discussing what makes it so fun and what makes it so mysterious.

In this special article, we’ve taken a closer look at 10 people who draw and write in their professional or personal lives, checking out their favorite writing tools and hearing all about their writing process. We hope you enjoy reading all about the wide variety of approaches to writing.

What does it mean to write?

vol.2

Taku Satoh

“Using a mechanical pencil makes me feel like I have 0.5mm fingers.”

Our second interview is with graphic designer Taku Satoh, who showed us his Hobonichi Techo and the mechanical pencil he always uses with it.

ProfileTaku Satoh

Graphic Designer
Graduated from Tokyo University of The Arts in 1979, majoring in design, and completed his master’s degree in 1981.
Joined Dentsu, Inc. before establishing the Taku Satoh Design Office in 1984.
Created product designs and branding for Oishii Gyunyu milk, Lotte XYLITOL gum, and much more.
Currently active across a broad spectrum of projects, including general direction for NHK Educational TV’s “Design Ah!” series and art direction for “Nihongo de Asobo.”
Current director of design museum 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT in Tokyo.

TSDO Website

--: You’ve shown us in the past that your writing tool of choice is the Rotring Mechanical Pencil. Is that still the case?

Satoh: Yes, I still use it for almost all writings in my techo. Sometimes I’ll use ballpoint pens or felt-tip pens, but when I’m taking notes in my Hobonichi Techo or making rough sketches for logos I’m working on, this is what I use. I don’t use any colors, either. I’ll draw everything out with this one pencil and just imagine the colors.

--: Oh, that’s interesting. How long have you used this pencil?

Satoh: I think it’s been about 20 years now. When it starts to wear out, I buy a new one, so this is one of many Rotrings I’ve had by now. It’ll be really hard on me if this pencil is ever retired, but I have about 5 spares saved up just in case. There’s something special about having a tool I love this much.

--: What do you love about this pencil?

Satoh: The shape, first of all. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one. (Laughs)

--: So it was love at first sight.

Satoh: Just look at the tip of the pencil. It doesn’t have a cone tip like standard pencils — it’s a cylinder, and that cylinder supports another cylinder that houses the lead. There’s a slightly cylindrical shape here, too. Having the body mimic the shape of the thin pencil lead it supports makes a lot of sense.

--: Now that’s a designer answer!

Satoh: If you’re using a regular pencil to point out something you’ve drafted, the tip gets in the way. But this pencil has such a precise tip that it allows you to point out even the most detailed spots.

--: So it’s useful for not only writing, but pointing.

Satoh: To get even more particular: if I push the lead out just this much, I can actually tell myself, “Let’s just write for 0.2 more millimeters of lead.” (Laughs)

--: Now that’s particular!

Satoh: The weight is also perfect for me. There’s something really nice about the feel of metal, and this has just the right amount of heft to it. It’s really pleasant.

--: What lead do you use? 0.5 mm HB?

Satoh: That’s right. I’ve tried several types, but I feel like the depth [darkness] of HB lead does the best job of communicating my thoughts and feelings. F lead looks a little light, and the lead is very hard. B is soft and breaks too easily, so I can’t quite express the details I’d like to. Even the slightest change in lead feels totally different for me.

--: Being so familiar with a tool makes it really easy to feel slight differences. I’m sure we have a lot of daily Hobonichi Techo users who have a favorite lead darkness or thickness.

Satoh: A good tool ends up feeling like an extension of your own body. When a carpenter always uses the same planer, he comes to think that he’s simply using his own body. That’s what this pen is for me. It makes me feel like I have 0.5 mm fingers.

--: 0.5 mm fingers!

Satoh: When I’m writing, I can feel the texture of the paper and the scratching of the lead against it. So that’s all reverberating in my grip, giving me not only visual feedback, but important tactile information up through my fingers. It’s a really delicate sense that I don’t think can come from inputting information with a keyboard and mouse.

--: Maybe that’s why people feel so happy when they use a pen that writes very smoothly.

Satoh: Yeah. The feel of the paper in the Hobonichi Techo is different from normal copy paper. It even feels different based on the weather and humidity. The fibers of the paper feel soft and silky in humid summers and taut and stiff in dry winters. The information I physically pick up on changes with the seasons. It has an impact on me.

--: I’ve never noticed the different feel of the paper in the summer and the winter!

Satoh: It’s said that in our daily lives, the things we’re conscious of are only a tiny aspect of the big picture. Most of life consists of things we don’t notice. To that end, when you’re writing something, you’re really affected by the most delicate and rich sensations and, before you know it, they become a part of you.

--: Yeah.

Satoh: Nowadays, people only talk about the things everyone is aware of. But I think ancient shamans could feel things like the changes in the weather, and sense what was coming in the future. I think that today we rely so much on sight and sound that our ability to sense something with our bodies has really dulled.

--: That may be.

Satoh: I think the richest information and sensations we can gather come from our subconscious. For the sake of future generations, and for our children, we need to consider how we can foster that environment.

--: That’s the sense I got from your recent Design Ah! event. The fact that you can feel the act of writing throughout your body. The way a writing utensil can become a part of your own body. It’s also interesting the way you pair the Hobonichi Techo and Rotring pencil as a specific tool set you use for thinking.

Satoh: Now that you mention it, two years ago, when I created the new Hobonichi logo, I sketched the rough draft in my Hobonichi Techo. I was drawing it out in my open techo while I rode the bullet train, and to this day I remember what the scenery outside the window looked like at that moment.

--: Wow! That’s amazing.

Satoh: Writing is so interesting. The specific contents of your writing aren’t the only things encoded in it; it’s also memories of the time you spent and the place you were when you wrote it. Perhaps using your body to write is what makes your memories of that moment stretch all the way outside yourself to your environment. That’s how I feel, anyway, but I’d love to see it scientifically proven. (Laughs)

(Next time we’ll be talking with Jun Miura.)

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