Alatka, a new drawing instrument

Maja Mesic, an industrial designer from Croatia, recently won the Red Dot award for his project Alatka, a drawing instrument.

As opposed to the restrictive form of pencil-shaped drawing tools, Alatka s ergonomic form has been devised to allow a more natural and expressive approach to drawing. Despite the fact that the dot is the basis of every drawn line, form or coloured surface, one does not draw millions of dots to form a line or shape. Instead, these lines are created with the drawing tool, which moves in sync with the hand. However, most of the drawing tools available on the market are primarily created for writing, and are not suitably adapted to drawing. Furthermore, if one wants to colour a surface, one needs to fill the surface with lots of lines. This is because the stick-type tool can feel unnatural to draw with; it restricts the movement of the hand. Alatka presents an innovative approach to drawing with a form that can adapt to drawing lines as well as coloured surfaces. With its tear-drop form, it allows the wrist to be free without having to conform to the movements dictated by other more restrictive shapes. The user is able to naturally use Alatka and position the hand as they wish. The movement of the wrist is more fluid and thus, the user is able to achieve balance and stability by easily adapting to its form.