The Tapico Typer is a tactile-first device for deliberate reflection and intentional living. It is for journaling, first-drafting or stream-of-consciousness typing.
Not designed for maximum portability, its physical presence requires the user to carve out the space and time for their writing (that said, I've used mine while sitting in bed, so it isn't non-portable either).
Tapico is an antithesis to the "do anything, anywhere, anytime" design trends endemic to modern devices.
In preparation for this project, I explored the driving forces behind our attention economy, and discovered a growing trend in products that have come about as a response to these unique conditions.
We are living in an increasingly fast-paced world of technological innovation. But paradoxically, despite more opportunities of things we could be, do or see, we seem to be reporting lower life-satisfaction.
We're like children in a candy shop, but every shop is a candy shop, and there ads for candy on your phone, and ads on the tube, and on TV... candy everywhere you look.
As a result, a class of analogue-first products have been on the rise.
They seem to run counter to most devices on the market, those whose aims were to do more, serve more, be more.
But the appeal lies in their attention to the human-friendly details. For example, e-Ink displays that respect our natural circadian rhythm, direct reach-and-touch interactions, and an intentional absence of hooks (like streaks, notifications or infinite scroll) designed to keep you using them longer than you meant to.
They're tools, not devices vying for your attention.
In a world where, as a result of ads, the 2022 NFL Super Bowl made $11.1 Billion more than the FIFA World Cup (despite having 15x less viewership), it quite literally pays to distract.
In today's attention economy, I believe we need tools and schools of thought that champion the human element in our relationship with technology, particularly with regard to intentionality, focus and rest.
[Placeholder] ChatGPT released GPT-3 November that year — something about how I was refreshing my Python coding skills with the help of ChatGPT, probably my last usage of Stack Overflow
Isn't the screen "a bit" small? 4.2" is just way too small, I suspect you will find this thing uncomfortable for long use.
the larger waveshare displays don’t have fast enough refresh rates to be useable as a typewriter, up until you get to the $100-150 price point.
Isn't the screen "a bit" small? 4.2" is just way too small, I suspect you will find this thing uncomfortable for long use.
the larger waveshare displays don’t have fast enough refresh rates to be useable as a typewriter, up until you get to the $100-150 price point.
TO EDIT, THE FOLLOWING IS SOLELY FOR REFERENCE:
Fair questions. Tapico was a degree-show prototype on a student budget — not a production product with an R&D line. Larger e-ink panels with a refresh rate fast enough for typing jump quickly into the $100–150 range; one 6″ option I looked at cost nearly as much as the whole build.
So 4.2″ was the ceiling that stayed affordable and partial-refresh capable. The lag is a real e-ink trade-off at that price. The small screen also pushed the device toward writing rather than editing: you see less of what you’ve written, so you keep moving forward.
Drop images to add
... If this ever hits the market or Kickstarter/indiegogo, I’d buy one!
There's plenty of space to undercut the market with a product like this. People are stuck buying products from decades ago because no one is offering anything in the $100-$200 range.
Wow, this is a fantastic design! I’d buy a disk image, shopping list and tutorial.
This looks awesome. Congrats! I want one.
Love it. Put me down for two!
This is SO cool… 100% following to see what comes of this because you have a huge opportunity to pop into the market.
I love this. Aesthetically pleasing just as it is. And the potential for a decent price point for a finished product. That said, I still want one.
r/umpc and r/writerdeck and r/cyberdeck may also be interested, and I'd buy something like this.
Hey how much would this cost to buy in the uk? Genuinely really interested in this!! Looks amazing!
As an amateur writer that sticks to paper and ink because I find the PC too obtrusive and distracting, I'm genuinely fascinated by this. Love it, looks fantastic.
I think the idea is awesome, I use a typewriter for the same purpose… but it’s obviously not digital.
... If this ever hits the market or Kickstarter/indiegogo, I’d buy one!
There's plenty of space to undercut the market with a product like this. People are stuck buying products from decades ago because no one is offering anything in the $100-$200 range.
Wow, this is a fantastic design! I’d buy a disk image, shopping list and tutorial.
This looks awesome. Congrats! I want one.
Love it. Put me down for two!
This is SO cool… 100% following to see what comes of this because you have a huge opportunity to pop into the market.
I love this. Aesthetically pleasing just as it is. And the potential for a decent price point for a finished product. That said, I still want one.
r/umpc and r/writerdeck and r/cyberdeck may also be interested, and I'd buy something like this.
Hey how much would this cost to buy in the uk? Genuinely really interested in this!! Looks amazing!
As an amateur writer that sticks to paper and ink because I find the PC too obtrusive and distracting, I'm genuinely fascinated by this. Love it, looks fantastic.
I think the idea is awesome, I use a typewriter for the same purpose… but it’s obviously not digital.
... If this ever hits the market or Kickstarter/indiegogo, I’d buy one!
There's plenty of space to undercut the market with a product like this. People are stuck buying products from decades ago because no one is offering anything in the $100-$200 range.
Wow, this is a fantastic design! I’d buy a disk image, shopping list and tutorial.
This looks awesome. Congrats! I want one.
Love it. Put me down for two!
This is SO cool… 100% following to see what comes of this because you have a huge opportunity to pop into the market.
I love this. Aesthetically pleasing just as it is. And the potential for a decent price point for a finished product. That said, I still want one.
r/umpc and r/writerdeck and r/cyberdeck may also be interested, and I'd buy something like this.
Hey how much would this cost to buy in the uk? Genuinely really interested in this!! Looks amazing!
As an amateur writer that sticks to paper and ink because I find the PC too obtrusive and distracting, I'm genuinely fascinated by this. Love it, looks fantastic.
I think the idea is awesome, I use a typewriter for the same purpose… but it’s obviously not digital.
This looks awesome. Congrats! I want one.
Love it. Put me down for two!
This is SO cool… 100% following to see what comes of this because you have a huge opportunity to pop into the market.
I love this. Aesthetically pleasing just as it is. And the potential for a decent price point for a finished product. That said, I still want one.
r/umpc and r/writerdeck and r/cyberdeck may also be interested, and I'd buy something like this.
Hey how much would this cost to buy in the uk? Genuinely really interested in this!! Looks amazing!
As an amateur writer that sticks to paper and ink because I find the PC too obtrusive and distracting, I'm genuinely fascinated by this. Love it, looks fantastic.
I think the idea is awesome, I use a typewriter for the same purpose… but it’s obviously not digital.
... If this ever hits the market or Kickstarter/indiegogo, I’d buy one!
There's plenty of space to undercut the market with a product like this. People are stuck buying products from decades ago because no one is offering anything in the $100-$200 range.
Wow, this is a fantastic design! I’d buy a disk image, shopping list and tutorial.
This looks awesome. Congrats! I want one.
Love it. Put me down for two!
This is SO cool… 100% following to see what comes of this because you have a huge opportunity to pop into the market.
I love this. Aesthetically pleasing just as it is. And the potential for a decent price point for a finished product. That said, I still want one.
r/umpc and r/writerdeck and r/cyberdeck may also be interested, and I'd buy something like this.
Hey how much would this cost to buy in the uk? Genuinely really interested in this!! Looks amazing!
As an amateur writer that sticks to paper and ink because I find the PC too obtrusive and distracting, I'm genuinely fascinated by this. Love it, looks fantastic.
I think the idea is awesome, I use a typewriter for the same purpose… but it’s obviously not digital.
... If this ever hits the market or Kickstarter/indiegogo, I’d buy one!
There's plenty of space to undercut the market with a product like this. People are stuck buying products from decades ago because no one is offering anything in the $100-$200 range.
Wow, this is a fantastic design! I’d buy a disk image, shopping list and tutorial.
This looks awesome. Congrats! I want one.
Love it. Put me down for two!
This is SO cool… 100% following to see what comes of this because you have a huge opportunity to pop into the market.
I love this. Aesthetically pleasing just as it is. And the potential for a decent price point for a finished product. That said, I still want one.
r/umpc and r/writerdeck and r/cyberdeck may also be interested, and I'd buy something like this.
Hey how much would this cost to buy in the uk? Genuinely really interested in this!! Looks amazing!
As an amateur writer that sticks to paper and ink because I find the PC too obtrusive and distracting, I'm genuinely fascinated by this. Love it, looks fantastic.
I think the idea is awesome, I use a typewriter for the same purpose… but it’s obviously not digital.
... If this ever hits the market or Kickstarter/indiegogo, I’d buy one!
There's plenty of space to undercut the market with a product like this. People are stuck buying products from decades ago because no one is offering anything in the $100-$200 range.
Wow, this is a fantastic design! I’d buy a disk image, shopping list and tutorial.
r/umpc and r/writerdeck and r/cyberdeck may also be interested, and I'd buy something like this.
Hey how much would this cost to buy in the uk? Genuinely really interested in this!! Looks amazing!
As an amateur writer that sticks to paper and ink because I find the PC too obtrusive and distracting, I'm genuinely fascinated by this. Love it, looks fantastic.
I think the idea is awesome, I use a typewriter for the same purpose… but it’s obviously not digital.
... If this ever hits the market or Kickstarter/indiegogo, I’d buy one!
There's plenty of space to undercut the market with a product like this. People are stuck buying products from decades ago because no one is offering anything in the $100-$200 range.
Wow, this is a fantastic design! I’d buy a disk image, shopping list and tutorial.
This looks awesome. Congrats! I want one.
Love it. Put me down for two!
This is SO cool… 100% following to see what comes of this because you have a huge opportunity to pop into the market.
I love this. Aesthetically pleasing just as it is. And the potential for a decent price point for a finished product. That said, I still want one.
r/umpc and r/writerdeck and r/cyberdeck may also be interested, and I'd buy something like this.
Hey how much would this cost to buy in the uk? Genuinely really interested in this!! Looks amazing!
As an amateur writer that sticks to paper and ink because I find the PC too obtrusive and distracting, I'm genuinely fascinated by this. Love it, looks fantastic.
I think the idea is awesome, I use a typewriter for the same purpose… but it’s obviously not digital.
... If this ever hits the market or Kickstarter/indiegogo, I’d buy one!
There's plenty of space to undercut the market with a product like this. People are stuck buying products from decades ago because no one is offering anything in the $100-$200 range.
Wow, this is a fantastic design! I’d buy a disk image, shopping list and tutorial.
This looks awesome. Congrats! I want one.
Love it. Put me down for two!
This is SO cool… 100% following to see what comes of this because you have a huge opportunity to pop into the market.
I love this. Aesthetically pleasing just as it is. And the potential for a decent price point for a finished product. That said, I still want one.
r/umpc and r/writerdeck and r/cyberdeck may also be interested, and I'd buy something like this.
Hey how much would this cost to buy in the uk? Genuinely really interested in this!! Looks amazing!
As an amateur writer that sticks to paper and ink because I find the PC too obtrusive and distracting, I'm genuinely fascinated by this. Love it, looks fantastic.
I think the idea is awesome, I use a typewriter for the same purpose… but it’s obviously not digital.
... If this ever hits the market or Kickstarter/indiegogo, I’d buy one!
There's plenty of space to undercut the market with a product like this. People are stuck buying products from decades ago because no one is offering anything in the $100-$200 range.
Wow, this is a fantastic design! I’d buy a disk image, shopping list and tutorial.
This looks awesome. Congrats! I want one.
Love it. Put me down for two!
This is SO cool… 100% following to see what comes of this because you have a huge opportunity to pop into the market.
I love this. Aesthetically pleasing just as it is. And the potential for a decent price point for a finished product. That said, I still want one.