idea maps on a ‘whiteboard’ wall
Matthew Cavanaugh for The New York Times
We love maps of ideas and are inspired by this photo published in last weekends in Sunday New York Times Business Section. It got us thinking about how to create a good-looking erasable wall without having to use chalk. (Chalkboard paint is GREAT in many places, but we wondered about other options.) We thought of the “whiteboard” often used to graph ideas in board rooms and wondered if there was a whiteboard paint that would make a similar surface on any wall. So we Googled “whiteboard paint” and hit the jackpot (we even found the Times guy’s pumpkin orange color). Checkout IdeaPaint for a one-coat, totally erasable paint that you can write with markers….You can use it on “anything you can paint”…
Related post: Where Good Ideas Come From
5 Responses to idea maps on a ‘whiteboard’ wall
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I loved this. But my dream is to have a writing instrument that will work on shower walls and not come off until you remove it. I used to write on mine with crayons. Not at all the best medium, and difficult. But I had realized that I often had ideas in the shower or bath, with no way to write them down. Finally, I started keeping crayons just within reach. I had a whole bunch of little notations to dream on. (And, occasionally, my boyfriend at the time would add a love note. It made for an interesting mix.) Then one day I had a non English speaking cleaning woman come in, and seeing only what seemed like a scribbly mess, she scrubbed the walls clean. Who knows what extraordinary idea went down the drain with her efforts. Anyway, ever since, I have wanted to do it again, but better. And easier. But I don’t know what would fit the bill.
So this is very cool and I want to find out a little more about it… Then because the crayons are waxy, the water in the shower didn’t wash your writing away? Or did you just not use the shower? If the writing needs to be SCRUBBED to come off, then there are lots of possibilities (and with an alert cleaning lady).
IF you can write on tiles with crayons without water washing the messages away, well, then, why not try it again?
In fact, I’m going to get some crayons out and write on my shower wall, then take a shower and see what happens. There is something amazing about this idea.
Sally–Of course, I used the shower. But you have it exactly right. The waxiness of the crayon kept the water from washing all those ideas away. Until the cleaning woman took the matter into her own hands. If you have other thoughts, I would love to hear them.
I always motivated by you, your opinion and way of thinking, again, appreciate for this nice post.
– Murk
Sharpies come in an amazing range of colors now- waterproof too. They coul be used on the tile surface, it might be possible to remove markings with alcohol or something like soft scrub. Also a waxy crayon called “China Markers” is used to write on glassware in science labs. They come by the box in red, blue, black. The trick is to buff them off the smooth surface when the surface is dry.