Update (1/24 9:00am): @ericmata75 is our winner, thank you to everyone for entering our giveaway!
The story goes, as told by co-founder Andrew Allen, that Paper by FiftyThree started out of a love for analog products. That four Microsoft colleagues turned friends with the resources of a Fortune 500 company found a greater passion in a pencil, scissorsโฆand paper. Often Andew, Georg Petschnigg, Jonathan Harris and Julian Walker would sitย down andย discuss their ideas, talking about possibilities that bounced around in their heads. These brainstorming sessions would always be recorded on a scrap, or coffee filter, napkin or Moleskin, notably they werenโt writing in Word or the like – they were writing everything out.
The feelingย of analog products, the feel of cutting paper or dragging a pencil across paper. How do they bring that feeling to a digital world? It was at that point, theyย bunkered down in a 5th floor New York apartment and set out to re-imagine digital design. They set out to make Paper.
At Microsoft, the now FiftyThree team worked on a variety of projects. Andrew told us thatย โfor all the bad things said about Microsoft, it really is a great place to work.โ Serving as a self-described โgraduate schoolโ, it provided a backdrop for what would eventually become an App of the Year and Apple Design Award Winner. Funny how that works out.
The inspiration for Paper comes from a frustration with the digital creative process. In a world that has seen so much growth from a technological perspective, much of the design software world has remained largely stagnant.
โWe [the FiftyThree team] all have the same frustration with digital creative tools.โ Andrew says, โIllustrator and Photoshop have been around for 20 years, but its easy to argue that they have not changed much. Everything feels so linear, we wanted to build a free-form experience, not a step-by-step wizard.โ
There is a certain joy in hearing Andrew Allen tell the story of Paperโs beginnings. Leaving the solid ground of a large company and spending days and nights on end, working at the kitchen table developing a product worth being proud of.
โIt really started with Georg, Julian and Myself at Georgโs fifth floor walk-up apartment in New York. Julian slept on the couch, I worked at the Kitchen table, it truly was a start-up by New York standards.โ
The initial design process took roughly eight months, from conception to a true working model. In the beginning, there were doubts, like most start-ups experience.
โYou ask any creative, and there are doubts along the way. You never really quite know, but once we were done we felt like we had created something worth being proud of.โ
Success quickly followed after those first eight months, asย Paper by FiftyThree quickly picked up steam. Over the last four years, theyโve experienced a number of successes and have expanded operations to now include two offices and multiple rounds of investor funding. Most recently, Paper has utilized the improvements made within iOS 8 to build an even more life-like Paper experience bringing true-to-the-touch response to its app. By utilizing the Pencil, released in 2013 by FiftyThree, artists, hobbyists and designers are able to feel that analog experience in a whole new way.
FiftyThree has attracted a lot of talent along the way, bringing in others with big name company experience, such as Google, SONOS and Nike. However, FiftyThree has made a strong effort to maintain who theyโve been since the start, despite so much success. Theyโve set out to create a different work atmosphere, highlighted by a 1-1 engineer to designer ratio that puts as much emphasis on the process as it does the final product.
โUltimately, at our core we are still that startup. We work hard to have an atmosphere that breeds creativity.โ
If youโve never taken the time to use the Paper by FiftyThree app, Iโd say youโre missing out on an experience. While it does not have all the qualities of an analog piece of paper, it has many features that make it a wonderful example of how our physical world can marry with the digital one. The biggest takeaway from getting to know FiftyThree is that its not just an app that you โgetโ from the App Store. There are genuinely great people behind it that are working to give you a true experience. Even if its not happening in a factory or leather goods shop, the people at FiftyThree are still following the American Dream. Creating products here in the States and providing jobs for those here in America along the way – you could say that it’s the digital American Dream.
This week weโll be giving away a Pencil by FiftyThree to two lucky winners. To enter this giveaway, followย @9to5Toysย on Twitter and retweet the article. If Facebook is more your thing,ย Like usย and share this article with your friends. Additionally, you can enter the giveaway by leavingย a comment at the bottom of this article. Weโll choose three winners next Saturday. Good luck!
Previous winners:
- Grado Headphonesย โย @omar_cruz
- This is Groundย โย @chrismachian
- Myro:Airย โ @strikeux
- Grovemadeย –ย @morganrhc
- Jamstik MIDI guitarย –ย @EGHSPrincipalRI
- PUC MIDI hub (x2)ย –ย @broniย /ย @phillsea
- Owen & Fredย –ย @kenjancef
- Carvedย – Multiple winners
- Waterfield Designsย –ย @zrockstar
- Tinsel and Timberย – Multiple winners
- Spool Dockย –ย Multiple winners
- Tucker & Bloomย –ย @codeyh
- DODOcaseย – multiple winners
- TM1985ย –ย @darlamack
- JDS Labsย –ย Adam Scheidegger
- Bison Made – multiple winners
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OMG I’M TWO YEARS LATE BUT PLEASE MAKE ME WIN THIS! It’s so much better than the Apple Pencil and I just purchased the iPad Pro. The Walnut FiftyThree is GORGEOUS!
That’s a mighty nice pencil!
Too bad it does not work with the IP6+
The Pencil would elevate my experience with Paper to a whole new level.
I’ve been thinking about getting a Pencil! I’d love to have one.
I love paper and really want a pencil!
I’ve been waiting for this ๐
That pencil looks really nice!
This looks awesome!
This would be sweet
Looks great!
Pencil…. please be mine!
looks great!
I could use use the Pencil by 53 to draw on my iPad AND world domination…no? ok just drawing…
This may finally be a stylus worth buying!
What an awesome device. Another european company made a squatty stylus (too short), a second made a wand (too thin) but with my big hands this looks great.
Need to replace my 4.99 special with a spiffy new update!
Looks pretty spiffy. Great giveaway!!
As a retired editor on SS starting to freelance edit, I would be so appreciative to be able to use this awesome Pencil and Paper in my work…amazing invention! And I would spread the good word about the Pencil!
This would be an exciting win! Great promo.
Another Great Giveaway by 9to5toys
I used this app for the first time at the Sprint store the other day, and was blown away! I would love to win this Pencil. Can’t wait to show this to my kids.
Awesome app! I use it EVERY DAY in my middle school art class. I hope I win!
That looks way better than my current tiny stylus…could definitely use a replacement!
As a graduate student with limited funds, I would love to win this.
after my old stylus died, I would love one of these.
Thank you for reinforcing the great products, Paper and Pencil, each a culmination of the passions of the folks at FiftyThree. I would love to use a Pencil!
I have yet to find a good stylus, would love to try this one!
Set my creativity free!
could use a new sylus
Here I go!
Oooh, the pencil looks great!
Have loved this for a long time, would be fantastic to win
I’m trying to win this…
what a great tool!
I want it!! ๐
Awesome
I want a Pencil!!! ๐
Amazing app and I would love to finally try out the pencil. I have been getting into photoshop lately, but I agree it’s more of a linear experience. Paper is such a free form experience.
I would love to try Pencil!
Would love to try out a Pencil!
Great pencil and great Paper by FiftyThree app! ๐
win please
Love the app, would love a Pencil!
Great app, great pencil
Cool. I’d love to win a Pencil.
It is a complete tool even without the Pencil, but I could do so much more with it. Thanks for the story behind the app.
Pencil me up ๐
I enjoyed the story behind this app.
This is gorgeous! If only it wasn’t so pricey…
Great article and a great app.
I’ve wanted the pencil since it came out!
Yesh please!
PENCIL PLEASE!!!
Would love a pencil
I would love a FREE Pencil!
Paper is such a cool app! It’s so cool to here these guys’ story. Thanks for writing a great article about this. I’ve been using the app for years, but I never knew this story before. It would be great if I could get my hands on a Pencil. I’ve wanted one for a while; they look like so much fun to use!
Would Love the Pencil! I don’t have facebook or twitter… Paper 53 contunite to put out great products.
I have twitter, but i dont use it*
Great article. Pencil looks awesome.
Most likely the best looking pencil…
I would appreciate Pencilโฆ
Definitely a beautiful little accessory. Would love to see how it feels in-hand vs. the standard pen/stylus type offerings.
Does the Pencil come with the IAP items in Paper app?
from “Tammy T.” Ooh, this looks like lots and lots of fun, especially for those of us who are tactile in our learning!
Awesome. Looking at some of the photos above with the pencil would make using Paper more easy.
Perfect time to develop some drawing skills!
Count me in.