iA physical (paper) notebook

Posted by satis
Dec 8, 2023 at 08:09 PM

‘Watermark lines’ like these are nothing new in the stationery world, but they’re niche. A couple of years ago Ghost Paper sold an “embossed line” notebook that looked very similar, and other manufacturers (like Rhodia and Doane, if I remember correctly) periodically sell light grey paper notebooks with white lines.

This may be a result of what happens when you hit the wall on sales, your software is purposefully limited in its design philosophy, and you have continuing dev costs and no subscription revenue. (In 2017 I paid $14 for both iOS and macOS apps; that price is now $100)

It still amazes me that in 2023 IA only lets you use one of three built-in fonts and either their implementation of white-on-black or black-on-white. This purposeful limitation definitely puts a limit on user interest and sales, and the fact that their own site and in-app pop-ups use additional fonts underscores that such restraints are too limited. (The link in the OP’s post is set in IASerifDay and ISSansDay, which aren’t available in their own app. And its emails have used various fonts including Arial and Helvetica Neue.)