Grey literature workflows: the surprising role of pen & paper

Word processing has been around a long time now - so long, that we barely use the phrase anymore. So dominant in our workflows has it become that we act as though there's no need to distinguish it - as if there is simply no alternative.

So pen and paper have become redundant forms of technology then?

Well, no, actually. This episode dares, unfashionably, to explore how non-digital technology can contribute to the workflows used in the creation of pieces of professional and scientific communication.

And before anyone shouts, "Technophobia!" - no, not a bit. The argument is simply that different forms of technology have different capacities and potentials - and that there are some processes where pen and paper can come into their own.

In the process, we explore document design, types of paper, and the nature of composition,

Reference and links

Sven Birketts, The Gutenberg Elegies (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2006)

The pen shop in Oxford is Pens Plus.

Further listening

If you enjoyed this episode, you might enjoy the following episodes:

• Don't fall in love with your work: Sabuhi Essa on creative processes
• Wasted words: our antidote to verbosity
• Learning to become design literate: a key resource