One of the most well known methods for recording and communicating ideas is sketching. Especially in the spacious world of design, this technique has stood its ground as one of the primary skills to master.

It is a tool used since the dawn of man. Early caves sported the very first sketches. It has seen its share of development, but the core principle never changed.

Sketching basically needs two things: a tool for writing and a surface for writing upon. The writing tools depend on the task at hand; be it charcoal, markers, ballpoint pen, or simply pencil, they all do the job.

As for the writing surface, this is where the story gets interesting. Sketching prefers no notable object of notation. The creative and design world uses paper, typically found in sketchbooks, dummies, or other special designed objects. But for sketching any surface writable applies.

There is a certain pattern in the material used for sketching upon compared to the time of applying the sketch. During the day, in your normal office hours, using your pen for drawing purposes is mostly

inflicted upon plain sheets of paper.

Nevertheless, sketching is not time-bound. When the pen meets the paper outside your nine to five hours, a classic piece of paper might not be around. This is where The Napkin steps in: it represents all the media for sketching. These media include among others: post-its, business cards, coasters, pieces of tablecloth, and of course, the napkin itself.

Back to the source of sketching: ideas. The origin of ideas are also not time-bound. An idea can strike at any moment, at any time. Thus, it becomes important to have a writing surface at the ready. Because, let’s face it; most people have a pen with them at all times, but we never carry a set of post-its. It is the media such as the napkin that fulfill this role.

How many times have you been in a situation where you had to write something down on a scrap of paper or any other form of napkin-like media? It is a common occurrence. But we will be sticking with the creative design community for now, since that is our target audience.

Check out the next two pages for more napkin empowerment ».