make any surface into a whiteboard

Some time ago we wrote about IdeaPaint, special paint that can turn any surface into a dry erase “white board”. You can write all your brilliant ideas on it with markers, then wipe them off when you don’t need them anymore. Now the IdeaPaint people have come out with a great variation on the theme: CLEAR IdeaPaint, that can be painted on virtually any painted wall or wood surface. Paint it on your exotically colored wall, or a plywood wall or door. It ain’t cheap—about $225 covers 50 feet.

But as we settle into our new space and laboratory, we’re constantly thinking about the possibility in writing our many ideas on walls…and then erasing. We’re reminded of the folks at IDEO, a cutting-edge design firm known for pasting ideas on the walls using post-it notes, and then moving the post-it notes around as ideas evolve (or taking them down, or adding more…).

Since our plans, lists, designs, thoughts, etc. are never static, shouldn’t there be a way to illustrate them that is appropriately mutable?

We’re thinking about which of our walls would make the best idea wall…or even, which surface? How liberating would it be to scribble right on our desk, or on our floors painted the color of an oyster shell?

Via Better Living Through Design

Related posts: idea maps on a ‘whiteboard’ wall
more writing on the walls (indoors)
smudged chalkboard paint as chic wall color (+ how-to make your own chalkboard paint)
tool for improvising: defer judgment
graphing novels, business plans and other big ideas

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6 replies on “clear ideapaint for ‘whiteboard’ surfaces ANYWHERE

  1. Thanks so much for this idea. We’re testing out right now. If glass works with marker’s it would be a great way to make a “white board” with some shine.

  2. Years ago, preparing for a major move about which we had mixed feelings, we used an erasable china marker to write humorous remarks and slogans on a window, including rude comments about our real estate agent (who had an easily satirized name). Everyone participated, including both sons (ten- to twelve-year old boys are the funniest people on earth). The exercise did no harm (the real estate agent never saw it), it helped us blow off some steam, and we cleaned everything up before departing.

  3. absolutely smitten with the Noma Food Lab – thank you Diary of a Tomato!

  4. I might paint a white wall in my office with this paint. Could be kind of cool to just scribble on the white wall. I wonder though if this is easy to paint over if I decide I don’t want to ink up my walls?

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