Sketch what you want to remember.
Across seven experiments, Wammes, Meade, and Fernandes found that people recalled words better when they drew the objects than when they wrote the words. The result held across several changes to the task.
Try it with the Board
Turn a key idea into a small drawing, then add a short explanation. You don’t need a polished illustration to start exploring.
A closer look at the evidence
The experiments tested memory for presented words. They did not test DATUM products or show that drawing guarantees better results in every learning or work setting.
See an idea from another angle.
In a study of combining shapes into objects, sketching helped expert sketchers produce more novel changes to the shapes’ structure. Overall creativity ratings were similar across the sketching and mental-imagery conditions. The benefit depended on the task and expertise.
Try it with the Board
Sketch a possibility. Place it beside your references. Make a second version with one relationship changed. Use the comparison to ask a better question.
A closer look at the evidence
Verstijnen and colleagues studied a specific visual task. This supports a role for sketching in some forms of creative restructuring, rather than a universal creativity boost.
Let the workspace hold the pieces.
Risko and Gilbert’s review describes cognitive offloading: using actions and external tools to reduce the mental demands of a task. A reminder or visible reference can change what you need to keep in mind. Benefits and tradeoffs depend on how you use the aid.
Try it with the Board
Put the project’s goal, open questions, and next action in one visible place. Review it regularly so the board remains a useful reference.
A closer look at the evidence
This is a review across several kinds of external aids, not a trial of magnetic boards. Our Board routine is a practical application of the idea, not a measured DATUM benefit.
Make thinking a hands-on practice.
In a 2024 EEG study of 36 university students, writing presented words with a digital pen produced more widespread brain connectivity than typing them. The researchers discussed possible implications for learning.
Try it with the Board
Write down a question in your own words. Add a diagram. Return to it and revise the thought as it develops.
A closer look at the evidence
The study measured brain activity during a specific task, not improvements in creativity, productivity, or later memory. It used a digital pen and an unusual typing task. A later commentary questioned its learning conclusions and methods. The study does not establish that a particular surface or DATUM products improve these outcomes.
HOW WE USE THIS RESEARCH
The habit matters.
These studies inform our approach to tools for writing, sketching, and organizing ideas. DATUM products have not been tested in these studies. Our suggested routines are applications of the research, not proven product outcomes. The silver finish and leaning format are design choices; we make no claim that they independently increase creativity or productivity.
GO TO THE SOURCE
The reading list.
- doi:10.1080/17470218.2015.1094494
- doi:10.1016/S0001-6918(98)00010-9
- doi:10.1016/j.tics.2016.07.002
- doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945
- doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1517235
