Montegrappa 2112 Cyberpunk Pen
(Montegrappa & Jovem Nerd Contest)
The Montegrappa 2112 Cyberpunk pen is a conceptual high-quality fountain pen that was created in July 2016 and celebrates classics of the sci-fi/cyberpunk genre and culture.
Based on the “retro-future" style, the pen has elements mainly inspired in concepts by the artist Syd Mead, as well as in cyberpunk movie props from the 80s and early 90s, featured in movies such as “Blade Runner”, “Robocop”, “Tron", animes like “Akira” and “Ghost in the Shell”, and in video game advertisement as the ads for Sega Mega Drive, for example. The ambience of the game “Alien Isolation” also was a great inspiration. The "High Tech, Low Life” aesthetics, industrial, polluted, metallic, increased by color-pops in neon tones create a technological and highly toxic environment, which also adds to the technical constraints imposed in the past to represent the future. These were the factors that guided the development of Montegrappa 2112 Cyberpunk and the elements that compose it’s box.
The fountain pen and screw elements were maintained, hinting the noir aesthetics of the mentioned movies, as well as to blend with the Montegrappa luxury and high-quality identity. The 18K white gold nib have ruthenium coated details, containing an emboss that simulates the slots of a printed circuit board. It rests on a feed cutted in ebonite, and the front set shape is based on the Montegrappa NeroUno.
The handle section of the pen and part of its barrel and cap are made from pressed and enamelled titanium, providing comfort to the touch. The clip of the cap simulates an industrial pipe, is made of titanium and contains a bearing which facilitates its use. A silver ring with Montegrappa logo divides the pen, and its notches facilitate the cap or the ink converter removal.
The ink level display and the rearward half of the pen’s barrel are made of transparent resin. Throughout this part, a carved grid represents the axes of cyberspace. Still in the second half of the pen’s barrel there is a solid tangle of wires and pipes, hand-carved and then injected (die-casting), in matte black resin. The rearmost portion of the pen is molded in translucent resin with a matte finish and contains a silver medal with the "2112" logo, an adaptation of the traditional "1912" logo of the Italian brand, and represents the future year that Montegrappa will complete 200 years of existence (and also a reference to the famous song by the Canadian trio Rush, which its facts are narrated in a cyberpunk dystopian future).
The packaging of the pen as well as the other components of its kit is an essential part of the experience. A stainless steel box with the inscription "Montegrappa Cyberpunk" and “2112" logo, inspired by the briefcases that carried the Voight-Kampff empathy test machines in the movie “Blade Runner”, wrap the whole set.
When opening the briefcase, the user finds the first level of products: a brown leather lined partition containing the pen and two special bottles of Montegrappa ink. The bottles have a pill shape, being one of blue the other of red ink, making a direct reference to the famous “pill scene” in the classic 1999 movie “The Matrix". The sentence "This is your last chance," present in Morpheus’ speech, is printed on the back of the box lid with a plastic frame that simulates a Vid-Phone. It relies on the pen’s user to solve such philosophical questioning.
When removing the leather separation is revealed the second layer of products of the kit. A booklet contains the pen care tips, as well as its warranty. A small flash drive carries the digital pen manual and information about its design process and the Montegrappa brand. Finally a screw-in stylus with a counterweight pressed in titanium complete the set of products.
The last two mentioned items were designed to effectively expand the use of the pen to the cyber environment, and not just be restricted to the physical simulation of it. Thus, the ink converter of the Montegrappa 2112 Cyberpunk can be replaced with the stylus while maintaining the same comfort and allowing its use in tablets, smartphones or any support that has a touch screen. In a not very distant future, this cyberspace interaction can be even more immersive, starting by the developments in Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality technologies and the popularization of apps such as Google’s Tilt Brush, for example.
I would like to thank Jovem Nerd and Montegrappa personnel
for the initiative and the opportunity to demonstrate my work!
- - -
Thanks for taking the time to get to know my work!
Please, if you have any opinion, compliment, question or criticism,
let me know in the comments section below!
