social designer’s 500 colored pencils project is pretty cool. the idea of having 500 individual colors available is enough to make any artist or designer gush with joy. especially when the colors have names like “lettuce” “drizzly afternoon” “mild curry” and “tomatillo.” this is the type of project that appeals to a select crowd.
however, once the reality of cost and time sets in, it’s uh…not so cool anymore.
join the project and you pay $33 a month for 20 months. each month you get 25 pencils. some quick math and you’re looking at $660 for colored pencils. but where do you store 500 colored pencils? oh, they make cases too. no, they aren’t cheap.
the aurora display case, for example, would create a beautiful piece of art. it’s priced at $260 for 5, 100 pencil holding units.
so back to the math, if you add one of the case options to your pencil subscription, you’re basically going to be too poor for paper.
more importantly, imagine the guilt you’d face when or if you actually used a pencil! that’d kill me.
another gotcha, for me at least, is that you can’t buy all at once. you must participate in the 20 month program. my guess is that i’d loose a few here and there (dozens probably), or by the time my 10th shipment arrived, i’d either be out of my first shipment, or they’d be nubs formerly known as pencils.
love the concept, the design, and yes, 500 colors is awfully inspiring (hence this post), but ultimately it’s just fancy pants. i’m just not feelin it.
i will note that it’s not the actual price point for one colored pencil, which isn’t bad at all @ $1.32 per pencil. (especially considering caran d’ache luminance pencils sell for nearly $4.50 a piece! ) it’s just that 500 colors, as much as that makes us drool, isn’t practical or necessary outside of the the idea itself.
if you’re big on the warm and fuzzies you’d get by knowing you had such a set, and you’ve got $660 and two years to dedicate to said feeling, you should totally buy this.
for the rest of us, i suggest you spend $50 at your local shop, get a nice set of colored pencils a six pack of your favorite beer, and call it a day. use them up. toss them in a cup. they’ll still look great on your desk (you pretty little artist you) and you can actually use them. when they’re gone, buy more. you can even make up your own color names if you have that kind of time on your hands.
word.
