The team spent months painstakingly figuring out how to emulate materials on a digital screen. For example, they had to understand how lead plays on the texture of paper, and how pen ink moves when you apply an artistic wrist flourish. Even more time was spent getting watercolor paint to bleed just right when you hold down your finger in place. Swipe your finger side to side quickly and the watercolor smudges like you’d expect it to. The point here is providing real tools to use every day while sketching, drawing, and creating — and to that extent FiftyThree has succeeded.
It’s stuff like this that makes me love the current wave of development. People who actually care about their product, and care from the perspective of their users.
I’m using Paper now, and will use it later for a meeting I’ll have. It’s great. Easy, fun, intuitive and it feels just right. Best of all, it’s free.
The Verge has a rather in-depth look at it and the team behind it.
