Blog | FiftyThree

Hello, We Are FiftyThree. It’s been over a year since we...

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:06:00 -0400

Hello, We Are FiftyThree.

It’s been over a year since we launched Paper by FiftyThree. In that time, our team grew from five to twenty, encompassing some of the most multifaceted individuals we know. Our passions range from jewelry making to playing the banjo. We come from around the world.

Tara, our newest team member, has over 30 nicknames, and Georg, our CEO, spent part of his childhood helping his family run a castle. We’re painters, filmmakers, explorers, inventors, food lovers, mini golfers, marathoners and Ultimate players (Aseem is apparently very good). We even have a licensed Doctor of Metaphysics (You can call him Dr. verdugo.) and Becky brings on natural disasters whenever she travels. Ian M once rode a bicycle for 20 minutes straight while blindfolded; Amy learned to bike twelve months ago.

We worked with award-winning photographer Lee Towndrow to create portraits of each team member featuring Lee’s signature paper sculptures, and we think they turned out beautifully. We hope you like them, too.

Check out our new About page, and be sure to say hello!

Explore. See What The World Is Making. New worlds are opening up...

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:31:41 -0400

Explore. See What The World Is Making.

New worlds are opening up in Paper. Dive deep into your ideas with zoom. We made a zoom that works the way you do. Pinch to magnify; focus where it matters, without losing sight of the big picture. One of the most highly requested features is now part of Paper. We can’t wait to see what you’ll do with it. We’re also introducing the Made With Paper stream. Find inspiration from creators around the world, right within Paper.

Dive in, get inspired. There’s a whole new world to explore in Paper.

What’s New

Zoom Get closer to your ideas. Zoom gives you fast access to deeper levels of your drawing, without losing your place on the page. Simple, powerful, intuitive.
Made With Paper Find inspiration from creators around the world, right within Paper. It’s a new way of exploring some of the most exciting work being created in Paper, without leaving the app.

Download Update

FiftyThree Makes Time Inc. List of 10 NYC Startups To...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:14:00 -0400

FiftyThree Makes Time Inc. List of 10 NYC Startups To Watch

Today, Time Inc. unveiled its third annual list of 10 NYC Startups to Watch for 2013. We’re honored to see FiftyThree featured alongside peers for whom we have deep respect in the NYC startup community.

FiftyThree has grown by leaps and bounds since launching our first product Paper in March 2012. Our team continues to grow, too. Every day we’re surrounded by and collaborate with people we admire: Inventors, painters, musicians, filmmakers, marathoners, comedians, Canadians and equally impressive teammates based in Portland and Seattle.

Still, we have a ways to go. We like to say “Paper is where ideas begin…” And in the truest sense of the word, this adventure is only beginning. People are their best when they create, and we’re excited to play a part in enabling creativity. Join us.

We’re hiring.

PAPER. SIMPLIFIED. One year ago, we introduced the world to...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:31:00 -0400

PAPER. SIMPLIFIED.

One year ago, we introduced the world to Paper. In the intervening months, we developed innovative new tools, improved existing features and devoted countless hours to making Paper better, faster, stronger. As we enhanced our product and made customers happy, we realized we were missing one thing. Minimalism.

Introducing: The most basic version of Paper to date. Built on our powerful core technology masterminded in our sixth floor walk-up in New York City, the new Paper brings together Draw and Erase, two handcrafted tools that effectively cancel each other out. Need a faster way to hide what you’re working on? Our Reset™ feature clears the page with a single swipe. Mistake? What mistake?

Where some see limitations, others see possibility. Welcome to a new world where it’s simpler than simple. It’s simplest.

Learn more about the new Paper on the FiftyThree website.

And in case you missed it… Happy April Fools’ Day, everyone!

Product Designer Wanted Opportunities for greatness are rare....

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 08:12:32 -0500

Product Designer Wanted

Opportunities for greatness are rare. This is one of them.

We’re looking for an experienced product designer to lead the creation of things that have never been seen before. You’ll have space to think, iterate, and own the details. You’ll be challenged and supported by some of the best designers and technologists in the world.

We’re looking for a person who can think strategically from a high level, but also dig deep into the details of visual, interaction, and motion design. This is an opportunity to create world-class products that span apps, web, services, and hardware. We’re looking for someone who doesn’t settle for easy answers. Someone who can simplify the complex, create beauty from nothing, and build meaningful experiences for millions of creators.

If the above sounds like you, read the full posting and apply today.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Made With Paper: NY Fashion Week Following the success of our...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:27:00 -0500

Made With Paper: NY Fashion Week

Following the success of our collaboration with Women’s Wear Daily at the WWD Apparel & Retail CEO Summit in January, we teamed up again to live sketch New York Fashion Week. Using Paper, we captured the collections and ideas presented on the runway and behind the scenes, and showcased them on wwdonpaper.fiftythree.com.

Pictured above is a spread of our sketches featured in WWD. See the entire collections, made with Paper, below.

Alexander Wang
Calvin Klein
Diane von Furstenberg
J.Crew
Marc Jacobs
Oscar de la Renta
Proenza Schouler
Yigal Azrouël

Special thanks to fashion illustrator Danielle Meder, artist Emilie Baltz and Ghurka designer Janelle Sing for joining us to sketch the shows.

LIVE SKETCHING NEW YORK FASHION WEEK Following the success of...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 15:21:00 -0500

LIVE SKETCHING NEW YORK FASHION WEEK

Following the success of our collaboration with Women’s Wear Daily at the WWD Apparel & Retail CEO Summit in January, we’re excited to announce we’ve teamed up again to live sketch Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City.

From February 7th to 14th, follow along as we capture the collections and ideas presented on the runway and behind the scenes with Paper. See each show unfold on wwdonpaper.fiftythree.com, and on Twitter and Tumblr using #wwdonpaper and #nyfw.

FiftyThree will be attending shows throughout the week, but stay tuned for live sketches from the following.

Yigal Azrouël 2/8 2p
Alexander Wang 2/9 5p
Diane von Furstenberg 2/10 4p
J.Crew 2/12 9:30a
Oscar de la Renta 2/12 6:30p
Proenza Schouler 2/13 8p
Calvin Klein Collection 2/14 2p
Marc Jacobs 2/14 8p

Sketches by FiftyThree and Danielle Meder

PAPER WINS A CRUNCHIE Last week was a good one for FiftyThree....

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:17:00 -0500

PAPER WINS A CRUNCHIE

Last week was a good one for FiftyThree. On Tuesday we were in Toronto for Interaction13 where Paper won Best in Category for Expressing. On Thursday we flew to San Francisco for the 6th Annual Crunchies Awards where we were honored to take home the gorilla for Best Design!

A huge thank you to the FiftyThree community and everyone who voted for Paper. This ape’s for you.

PAPER MEETS MOLESKINE+MILK In early January, FiftyThree teamed...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:05:00 -0500

PAPER MEETS MOLESKINE+MILK

In early January, FiftyThree teamed up with Women’s Wear Daily at the WWD Apparel & Retail CEO Summit to help capture the ideas shared by thought leaders of the fashion industry. Over two days, we told the stories presented through live sketches, notes and illustrations, creating a visual record of the insights from speakers and guests like Marc Jacobs and Karl Lagerfeld.

To commemorate the occasion, FiftyThree partnered with Moleskine + MILK to print a special edition book containing highlights captured in Paper.

Together with our partners we celebrated new ideas, taking them from presentation to page in four stages. We communicated our learnings through live sketches, which were summarized at the conference by FiftyThree co-founders Georg Petschnigg and Andrew Allen to illustrate key takeaways.

To open the exclusive event to a wider audience, we made a dedicated Tumblr site to display the sketches online. The site features Paper Stacks, a theme we specially designed with ALLDAYEVERYDAY to showcase your creations.

After the Summit, each attendee received a copy of the journal as a keepsake.

At FiftyThree, we strive to enable creativity by making tools that are beautiful, simple and intuitive to use, and by collaborating with partners who also endeavor to remove barriers to creation. We’re excited to cross the boundary between physical and digital journals in our first collaboration with Moleskine + MILK.

To see the collection of live sketches in its entirety, visit wwdonpaper.fiftythree.com. Make your own photo book with Moleskine + MILK at moleskinephotobooks.com.

Journal photographs by Emilie Baltz

THANK YOU IXDA This week, FiftyThree is in Toronto...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:41:00 -0500

THANK YOU IXDA

This week, FiftyThree is in Toronto for Interaction13, the 6th annual conference hosted by the Interaction Design Association (IxDA). The IxDA is a network dedicated to the professional practice of Interaction Design, no matter the level of experience.

In December, we learned that Paper was selected as a winner in the 2013 Interaction Awards. Last night at the awards ceremony, our app received top honor in the category Expressing.

We built Paper for everyone despite professional titles and artistic ability; we made it for the math teacher who uses the app to create class notes, for the comic artist, the architect and aspiring sommelier. We’re humbled by the honor from IxDA, an organization whose values we share, and we hope to help enable creativity for many years to come.

PAPER JANUARY UPDATE Bienvenue. Paper now supports French for...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:00:21 -0500

PAPER JANUARY UPDATE

Bienvenue. Paper now supports French for French-speaking créateurs.

We also addressed a number of bugs.

Version 1.2.6 now available in the App Store.

WE LOVE TO HELP Ten months after launching Paper, our team is...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:22:00 -0500

WE LOVE TO HELP

Ten months after launching Paper, our team is excited to announce our redesigned Support site. As FiftyThree continues to grow, we want to ensure you always have a place to go with questions, feedback and suggestions. A place where the door’s always open for new ideas and constructive criticism.

95% of creators visit Support through the Paper app, so we reorganized the site, keeping touch and intuitive navigation at the forefront of the new design. Browse articles to get answers to frequently asked questions. Search topics by keyword to quickly find solutions. We included animated GIFs to demonstrate basic features, and it’s now easier than ever to pose a question to the FiftyThree team and community. Simply click on “Ask The Community” at the end of any article.

We want to specially thank our most avid contributors, like Marc Sabatella and flameshaft, who helped make our original support site a place for lively discussion and debate. We’re excited to move the conversation forward with each of you at support.fiftythree.com.

Note: Our team is rolling out the new site today. This change may take some time to propagate. All visitors should be able to see the new support site by tomorrow morning.

VOTE FOR PAPER Our team put this video together in summer 2012,...

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:26:00 -0500

VOTE FOR PAPER

Our team put this video together in summer 2012, describing some of the design and development process behind Paper. This was part of our entry for the Interaction Awards. How time flies. Last year alone creators spent over 500 years in Paper, up from the 190 years that our CEO Georg Petschnigg mentions in the video.

Please head over to the IxDA and vote for us.

LIVE SKETCHING THE WWD CEO SUMMIT On January 7th and 8th, join...

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 07:00:00 -0500

LIVE SKETCHING THE WWD CEO SUMMIT

On January 7th and 8th, join FiftyThree online as we live sketch the WWD Apparel & Retail CEO Summit in New York City.

We’re honored that Fairchild Fashion Media asked FiftyThree to help foster connections and capture the ideas shared at their summit. Over the next two days we will live sketch the conference, share our impressions and learnings, and create a visual record of the insights presented by thought leaders of the fashion industry.

Follow along at wwdonpaper.fiftythree.com and see sketches being created in real time using the #WWDApparel tag on Twitter and Tumblr.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! What a year it’s been. In March, we...

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 14:47:00 -0500

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

What a year it’s been.

In March, we introduced our first product called Paper. Over the next few months, we got organized, Paper came alive with color and we were honored to win awards from our favorite organizations. We welcomed new members to our team and became a family.

For all of this, we thank you — for your passion, support, feedback, and, above all, your bottomless well of fresh ideas and collaborative spirit.

If you’re new to Paper, welcome! Our team is on hand to provide support online and by email, paper@fiftythree.com. We’ll also be featuring your creations on Made With Paper throughout the holiday week.

Wishing you and yours a merry Christmas and happy new year. Here’s to an inspiring 2013.

APP OF THE YEAR! Apple has named Paper iPad App of the Year....

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 14:48:00 -0500

APP OF THE YEAR!

Apple has named Paper iPad App of the Year. We’re incredibly honored (and a few of us on the team are still scraping our jaws off the floor). We’re lucky to spend our days working on something we love and believe in, and to see creators around the world using Paper to achieve goals of their own.

It’s been an exciting ride for FiftyThree this year. In June, Apple awarded Paper the Apple Design Award. Since then, Paper has been honored to win awards from AIGA, IxDA, Communication Arts and TIME magazine.

Thank you for using Paper, for telling your friends about our app, sharing your work and feedback, and continually collaborating with us to build a better way for making in a world that more often encourages consumption instead.

Today’s honor is as much yours as it is ours. Thank you.

To see all winners, visit the App Store Best of 2012.

2013 Interaction Awards

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 11:22:00 -0500

It’s been quite a year for us at FiftyThree. With a few weeks left to go before the new year, we learned that Paper was selected as a winner in the 2013 Interaction Awards.

The Interaction Design Association (IxDA) is a network dedicated to the professional practice of Interaction Design, no matter the level of experience. Along with 24 other inspiring projects, Paper was chosen to represent the best of the year for enabling self expression and creativity.

We built Paper for everyone despite professional titles and artistic ability, and we strive to champion the work of all creators from the comic artist to accessory maker; the new parent to aspiring sommelier. We believe that to be human is to create. Because of this, we’re humbled by the honor from IxDA, an organization whose values we share and which will continue to drive us forward in 2013.

Interested in joining us? We’re hiring.

Paper Palettes. Inspired.

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:22:00 -0500

There’s no such thing as a bad color, just bad color palettes.

Along with the Mixer, our team introduced four new palettes inspired by several factors — the way light hits an object, our memories, favorite places, artists, and eras; we were motivated by practicality and standards of different design disciplines. Here are the ideas and visual elements that led to the creation of each new palette.

Warm & Cool

The main theme at play in our first palette is the contrast of warm and cool, sunlight and shadow. The visual inspiration was dusk when the warmth of the day fades into the cool of night, and the sky appears to be on fire with hot orange and steel blue. We were also taken with the way sunlight hits an object and casts a cool, blue shadow.

Portrait

We wanted to offer a palette centered on picking a skin color for portrait sketches. In particular, we were inspired by painters like Rembrandt, Francisco de Goya and Gilbert Stuart, who we admire for the way they handled lighting and shadow on the color of skin. Despite it being inspired by the work of Old Masters, the palette evolved into something that felt modern. It wasn’t about choosing a range of skin tones. Instead, we created a palette inspired by the way light affects appearances.

Technical Drawing / Product Ideation

We designed this palette with product ideation sketching in mind. Looking at various sketches, we found a few commonalities that informed the colors we chose: Varying shades of steel blue helps with defining the form and shape of the object. The orange, yellow and greens are accent colors to make design details pop off the page.

Old & New

This is our most urban palette. Simultaneously retro and modern, like a vintage car or your favorite pair of jeans. Midnight blue denim paired with show-stopping red shoes.

These were the narratives that inspired our team. We left two palettes open; now it’s your turn to capture the stories and colors that inspire you.

Image Credits Federica Marchi / Rembrandt / Gilbert Stuart / Nick Baker / Josh Buller / John Whaley / Yago Veith / Travis Isaacs / SoulRider.222

CELEBRATING 6 MILLION COLORS After a year of in-depth research,...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:52:00 -0500

CELEBRATING 6 MILLION COLORS

After a year of in-depth research, design and engineering, we introduced our latest tool, Mixer, in late October. We knew it would be a powerful tool for expression, enabling creators to play with color in a new and natural way that, up until then, had only been available in the analog world.

Drawing inspiration from the familiar, tangible experience of mixing paint, we made something we were truly excited about and one we couldn’t wait to share.

Since launching the Mixer six weeks ago, six million colors have been created in Paper. Magazine editors have used it to make playful sketches of fashion icons; math teachers have used the Mixer to highlight equations; makers all over, from first-timers to professionals, have unzipped a world of color.

Fast Company examined the science behind our Mixer and Co.Design explored the thought process which led us to believe (or rather, remember) that it’s simply more fun, more intuitive to create colors instead of ‘picking’ them.

Paper is alive with color because of creators like you. Thank you.

Made With Paper by tinyimplications, Zhen Zeng and Ovidiu Zaharia.

PAPER DECEMBER UPDATE Page Fill. Drop a color from the palette...

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:47:00 -0500

PAPER DECEMBER UPDATE

Page Fill. Drop a color from the palette onto the page.

Pogo Connect. Now supporting iPad Mini. Learn more.

Version 1.2.5 now available in the App Store.