2 weeks since the last newsletter - feels more like 2 months.

Can’t wait to share what we’ve been cooking up. Soon.

Since writing has taken a backseat to prioritise crafting, today’s edition is unironically dedicated to the craft of writing.

Enjoy.

— Tom

P.S. Thanks for giving some love to today’s sponsors, who keep these breakdowns free.

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iA's Devotion to Craft

Chess Move

The what: A TLDR explanation of the strategy

Designed as the digital equivalent of a typewriter, iA Writer, by Information Architects (iA), offers a minimalist writing environment unlike most mainstream word processors.

Font choice, colour, and the ability to add elements like tables are limited. When you open the application, you begin with only an empty screen and a blinking blue cursor, signifying that all you can essentially do with it is write.

iA Founder Oliver Reichenstein alluded to their distraction-free approach to word processing as a "David vs. Goliath" strategy against monolithic global rivals like Microsoft.

Through this, they’ve sold over 3 million copies and pioneered a new category of writing applications by creating an immersive, flexible, and transparent product experience with a deep appreciation of craft as a Northstar.

Breakdown

The how: The strategic playbook boiled down to 3x key takeaways

1.  Immersion Without Distraction

iA Writer's core features immerse users into their writing. The software is designed so your hands never have to leave the keyboard. 

Rather than offer a multitude of ways to fiddle with formatting (like many word processors typically do), iA Writer's thoughtful features ease users into a flow state:

• A singular font* with three variable options focuses you on the writing

• Focus Mode dims sentences and paragraphs you're not working on

• Markdown provides a lightweight syntax for consistent formatting and faster writing

* it took 7 years for iA to introduce its first additional, albeit subtly different font option.

Rather than trying to be an all-in-one tool, iA's stance is that other tools like InDesign are often better for laying out pictures, implying you really shouldn't be doing that in software like Word anyway.

2. Flexible Features to Meet Users' Needs 

When writing inspiration strikes, iA Writer's flexibility meets its users where they are. Its mobile application isn't limited—it offers customizable features that can make its experience as robust as the desktop version.  

The Lightning Menu is a customisable menu that quickly pulls up shortcuts with a single tap. A keyboard with customisable buttons can also be configured. 

Recent features like Wikilinks (functionally similarly to how links work on Wikipedia) add another dimension of versatility. You can connect your thoughts and learnings, make them easily findable and thus build a living web of articles, notes, research, and ideas."

3. Transparent Philosophy That Builds Trust

iA Writer can't be everything to everyone, nor does it intend to be.

While some may question features like the benefits of Markdown, iA nevertheless thoughtfully details a broad range of considerations they've explored in their blog and social media. From a comparative analysis of Rich Text vs. Plain Text vs. Markdown to interrogating Apple's early UI guidelines for the iPad, their rationale reveals a deep level of intentionality driving their "detail-obsessed quest" and, ultimately, their design choices. 

Their transparency can be bold at times, yet informative, whether you agree with their particular stances or not. This, in turn, has been an effective way for them to cultivate trust and appreciation for their unique philosophy if one is inclined to take a closer look. 

Instead of an additive approach in an attempt to satiate everyone's needs, the opinionated positions they take and clearly articulate foster a deep resonance in their user community, as one reviewer shared:

Rabbit Hole

The where: 3x high-signal resources to learn more

"Rethink reading and writing from inside out" ↗

[11 minute read]

A compelling dive into digital vs. analog reading and what that means to design better software.

"Studying these layers it becomes clear that books are not as linear as they first appear—before opening a book many people look at the back cover, the dust jacket flaps, and the table of contents."

“Fade to white” ↗

[3 minute read]

iA's physical notebook is the real-world counterpart to its writing software; designed for focused, clean, distraction-free writing. The notebook’s guidelines are barely noticeable—as you write, they disappear due to contrast.

Swiss paper makers and bookbinders described the task as impossible, so they sought specialists in Japan.

They finally got it right after creating 100 prototypes and 20 test prints.

How iA built a better presentation app ↗

[42 minute watch]

iA CEO, Oliver Reichenstein shares their similarly bold approach to making presentations. iA Presenter leads its users towards articulating the story they're trying to tell first, rather than distracting them with layout options beforehand.

That’s all for today’s issue, folks!

Thanks again to our wonderful sponsors Attio and Kinde, and to you, the reader, for being here today.

We’ll be back with more in 2 weeks.

— Written by Carver Wilcox, edited by Tom Alder

Our Tech Stack

If you made it this far, you’re probably (1) a writer, (2) wondering if iA Writer could be your catalyst to becoming a writer, or at the very least (3) learning more about writing tools than you thought you would this morning.

Without the ability to produce quality writing, Strategy Breakdowns doesn’t exist today. Curious how we approach it?

Here are 3 other toys in our creative toolbox that we use, love, and recommend trying:

See the full set of tools we use at Strategy Breakdowns here.

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