The New Smart Writing Set meets you

On June 12, 2022, TEDxUTokyo was held at the University of Tokyo for the first time in five years.
TEDxUTokyo was first held in 2012 with the aim of "disseminating knowledge" and was the first ever TED event held in collaboration with a Japanese university. Here, the x in TEDx stands for the fact that the event is run independently of TED under a TED license.

Moleskine sponsored this event because we shared the mission to " Co-Build the Future" and wanted to stimulate creativity and inspiration among the students. Moleskine collaborated with the TEDxUTokyo Organizing Committee to create an original notebook customized with TEDxUTokyo's mission and vision, which was given to all participants, including those involved in the event.

In addition, Moleskine set up a booth where participants could experience the Smart Writing Set (SWS), which combines handwriting and　digital technology.

Participants who visited the booth expressed great interest in this novel product and asked many questions about the SWS technology and how it works. Most of the participants were impressed by the ability of the SWS to digitize what they had written in their notebooks, as they explored and appreciated the possibilities of handwriting.

The contents written in the SWS booth were digitized and transformed to create the image of the “Akamon (Red gate)” the symbol of the University of Tokyo.

We interviewed a member of TEDxUTokyo organizing committee to find out how they used SWS to create a communication of knowledge.

Mizuki Shinozuka (Senior, College of Liberal Arts, The University of Tokyo): As a member of the TEDxUTokyo Executive Committee's On-Stage team, Mizuki works with speakers to create their talks; he has passed the final exam for the Liberal Arts section of the National Career Development Examination in 2021 and plans to study abroad at the University of Essex in the UK from October.

"I value the act of writing very much. I don't like to write on a tablet, and I rarely revisit notes on my tablet. That is why notebooks are one of my most important tools.” “I wrote all my notes for TEDxUTokyo in a Smart Notebook and digitized them. Not only was it less time-consuming to share notes with others, but I think it also lightened the impression the words gave off to the reader compared to typed words that can often give off a cold, dull impression.

Also, when I forgot my notebook and the speaker asked me what I had written a few days ago, I was able to look it up on my SWS from my smartphone and tell him, which allowed me to brush up the talk immediately.”

Seeing the letters I wrote in the booth transform into the Red gate design, I felt the potential of being able to consolidate them as data even if they are located far from each other.
In fact, there is an exchange diary in my laboratory, and by writing each other trivial stories of daily life that we don’t necessarily need to talk about, communication is sparked through the notebook.
The ability to consolidate data in SWS means that we can communicate through notebooks even when we are away from home, for example, when studying abroad, or when working with people around the world. The accumulation of thoughts will lead to further change.

The SWS has not only attracted the attention of students attending TEDxUTokyo, but also the support of business professionals. We asked them to tell us how they use the SWS in their professional workplaces.

Founder of Keiji Ashizawa Design, known for its total design of spaces, supervising, if not designing, everything from architecture and interiors to furniture, under the motto 'Honest Design'. In addition to working on domestic and international architecture and interior projects and for furniture manufacturers, Ashizawa is also the head of Ishinomaki Laboratory, which was born as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Whenever an idea strikes me, I immediately write it down in a notebook. If I don't have a notebook nearby, even if it's a paper napkin, I make a habit of taking notes immediately. That's how much notetaking and sketching are core activities for me in my work. And since the quality of my sketches is directly related to the quality of my work, a favorite pen and notebook are very important.

I really like the simplicity of the Smart Notebook, where what I write is kept as a record. Until now, I had a fear of writing in notebooks. I used to have a fear of writing in a notebook, that what I wrote would disappear or that I would not be able to find it. Therefore, I used to take a picture of my important sketches after I wrote them and save them, but with Smart Notebook, I don't need to do that, and they are saved automatically.

Sketches are an accumulation of thoughts, so it is helpful to be able to look back at what you have drawn and add new ideas immediately, and it is also helpful to be able to color the leather on the tablet, for example, to get a closer image of the finished product.
"When sharing with others, I can show them immediately, and during online MTG, I can make further new sketches based on the opinions that came up while sharing. I find it interesting that although notebooks are the essence, the digital nature of what I draw allows me to expand on what I have drawn in a way that notebooks can't."
Photo by Leo Jacques
Word art integration/creation by Atsushi Maruyama as a member of the TEDxUTokyo Organizing Committee