This Silicone Pen Has No Seams, No Clip, and Twists Like Konjac - Yanko Design

"Most pens announce themselves with metal clips, visible joints, clickers, and branding competing for attention. There's usually a textured grip zone, a separate barrel, and some kind of mechanism you can see or feel when you deploy the tip. Japanese minimalist objects go the opposite direction, hiding complexity under calm surfaces and letting the act of using them take center stage rather than the object itself announcing its presence."

"Twist is a ballpoint pen designed by UO for KACO that hides its mechanism inside a single sleeve of soft silicone. Instead of a separate grip, clip, and twist ring, the body is one continuous mass you hold like chalk. When you twist to extend the tip, the silicone flexes and follows the motion, so the whole form breathes rather than simply exposing a joint or clicking a part."

"Conventional pens assign jobs to different components, a non-slip clip, a shaped knob for twisting, a hard plastic barrel for structure. Twist folds all of that into the silicone itself, so material, components, and function dissolve into one volume. There is no obvious boundary between grip and body, in line with Japanese minimalism's habit of hiding seams and making objects feel like they came from a single mold."

"The interaction feels quieter than expected. You twist the body and the silicone gives slightly as the inner core rotates, a motion the designers compare to twisting konjac. There is no sharp click or exposed threading, just a smooth, resistant turn and then a tip that quietly appears. It turns a mundane action into a tiny tactile moment without shouting about mechanics or exposing any hardware underneath the skin."

Most pens reveal their mechanisms with metal clips, visible joints, clickers, and branding, plus textured grips and separate barrels. Twist is a ballpoint that hides its mechanism inside a continuous sleeve of soft silicone, merging grip, clip, and twist ring into one mass shaped to be held like chalk. Twisting to extend the tip flexes the silicone so the body breathes rather than exposing joints or clicks. The motion is smooth and slightly resistant, likened to twisting konjac, producing a quiet tactile moment that focuses attention on the act of writing.

Read at Yanko Design - Modern Industrial Design News