The ROKR wooden typewriter: a closer look

I've added a few comments in brackets.

Part I: InterviewQ：I believe that "Type is the rhythm of one's creativity", so my first question is, when you see a classic typewriter, or the model of one you’ve designed, do you ever feel an immediate urge to sit down and start typing? What was your first impression of it?A: When I see a typewriter, I think of the scenes of typing in many movies and TV shows. The first one that comes to mind is The Shining.Q: Yeah, The Shining came to my mind too.Q：So what would you want to type? Maybe that classic line Jack Nicholson delivered in The Shining...Q：“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”A: I didn’t have any specific words in mind at the time, but I really loved the way the English letters looked so neat when typed.Q: That’s right. Okay, My second question is: Was your first encounter with a classic typewriter through movies and TV shows, as you just mentioned? Have you ever seen an actual classic typewriter in real life?A: Right, when we first started designing, we bought a relatively flat, modern typewriter. Later, we decided to go with an older model because, from my experience working on other products, I found that older designs are easier to work with and have a more classic aesthetic. So I searched on YouTube and came across the Underwood No. 5. It has a more retro look, and it holds significant historical importance. After all, it was the first commercially successful mechanical typewriter.[Richard: This is not true, of course. That distinction should go to the Sholes & Glidden of 1874, which was followed by the Remington no. 2 and other pioneering designs such as the Caligraph, Hammond, and Crandall. The Underwood no. 1 (1895) was the most successful attempt to design a frontstroke typewriter, and it did have a huge influence in the 20th century.]Q: Right, and that type of wood might be a better fit for our product: it has a more vintage look. How did the team decide to make a typewriter? Who came up with the idea?A: It was our product manage's idea.

He initiated the project, proposing to create a typewriter with a scale close to 1:1. However, at that time, we hadn’t yet determined its unique selling points or operating mechanics. As for why we chose this concept, one reason was that the product’s overall texture and the tactile feedback when typing aligned well with ROKR’s brand identity.Q: Impressive. We’ve been receiving some truly touching feedback from users. In this era of digital office work, where AI is widely used, people’s typing postures essentially boil down to two things: typing on a keyboard or playing the piano. But our typewriter offers them a third option. They feel that its retro charm helps offset the monotony of office work and gives their bodies a new sense of posture.I feel this is the most tangible feedback the typewriter provides to users: it breaks the monotony of their daily routines. I’ve noticed that in our brand marketing, we’ve often incorporated the interplay between pianos and typewriters, and the response has been exceptionally positive. I’d like to ask: how long did the entire development process for this typewriter take? Were there any bottlenecks during that time that you felt the need to overcome?A: The entire design process took about a year and a half: it was indeed quite a long time. Since I was essentially handling all the structural aspects on my own, what appeared to be a single, cohesive structure actually required me to repeatedly verify every single detail once it was broken down into its components.Q: Were there any patent drawings or blueprints available for reference during the R&D phase?A: There are two references: one is a physical reference, and the other is a video reference. The physical images include 1:1-scale photos showing only the exterior, collected from the internet. The video reference consists of exploded-view (internal-structure) diagrams. Later I will show you.[The team did inspect an actual Underwood, as becomes clear later on.]Q: Gorgeous. Thanks.A: However, during our previous meetings, we considered many options, such as a system where tapping the keys would display text on an electronic screen, or one where the keystrokes and text display were completely separate. Ultimately, we decided that a realistic simulation would be more meaningful.

On the one hand, it provides users with a hands-on STEAM experience, allowing them to understand the actual structure of a typewriter; on the other hand, it lets users immerse themselves in authentic typing experience.Q: It feels like you’re bringing an old object back to life, or even making it better, and bringing it into people’s lives.Q:  I recall that LEGO released a typewriter model before, but it was purely a model and couldn’t actually type. One of the reasons the ROKR Typewriter has generated such a huge buzz in China is that it really can type: many people bought it specifically for that reason. It’s very difficult to build a model that can actually type. When you first took on this project, were there any parts that gave you particular headaches, or that took you a long time to figure out?A: One challenge was how to recreate the typing process as accurately as possible. In reality, typewriters involve metal keys striking the paper: a process that requires significant force and is quite strenuous, and the sound produced is quite loud. I spent a long time thinking about this, even going so far as to go into a dedicated room to test it out myself!!!The solution I eventually came up with was to add a metal plate at the front. Initially, it was a circular surface striking another circular surface, but later I modified it so that the circular surface struck the entire flat surface, which provided a more complete tactile feedback. This idea was actually inspired by Alex, the head of our design department.[If I understand correctly, this is what is called the "anvil" on a typical typewriter. Typebars don't hit the platen with full force—that would soon destroy the rubber. Instead, the typebar hits a metal anvil at a point that allows the type to move just far enough to push the ribbon against the paper and leave a mark. The click-clack of a typewriter comes from typebars striking the anvil.]Q: That was really tough! And I see, the typewriter comes in two version. Both of them are unique and charming, one is the classic version and another is the magic version. What promote your team to design these two versions?A: Actually, I started out working on the Black Gold (Classic Version) version, which I was more involved in.

For the Magic Version, we enlisted the help of an illustrator and product team members to design the visuals, resulting in a stage-like effect.This was partly to cater to a broader audience: one version targets a male-oriented market, while the other targets a female-oriented market. Depending on the home decor setting, the Black Gold version is suited for more formal spaces, while the Fairy Tale version works better in cute, whimsical settings.Black Gold / Classic / "masculine" modelMagic / Fairy Tale / "feminine" modelQ: A real typewriter has thousands of parts, so our toy version can’t possibly be that complicated. There must be some simplifications or substitutions in the design, right?A: Yes. While real typewriters come fully assembled from the factory and undergo a precise calibration process, our product is designed for users to assemble themselves, so we’ve simplified it. The main simplification involves the shift function. If we were to include both upper- and lower-case characters, the entire type carriage mechanism would need to move up and down, which would make the whole unit very unstable. So we’ve omitted the lower-case function and retained only the upper-case function to ensure that a full sentence can be typed.Q: Yes, it mainly involves omitting uppercase and lowercase letters. Have other parts been simplified as well?A: We’ve also reduced the number of keys on the keyboard by removing the number row. Since the wood panel is 4 millimeters thick and we need to incorporate a metal plate, there simply isn’t enough space to fit all those keys.Q: Apart from simplifying the design, given that the original mechanical structure was too complex, did you develop an entirely new mechanical structure to replace the original linkage?A: In fact, we’ve focused more on recreating the original typewriter’s layout:where the keyboard is and where the type hammers are.However, the internal mechanisms have been completely redesigned to accommodate our wooden components. This includes the key-press mechanism, the character-striking mechanism, and the line-feed mechanism.Q: An original design?A: Yesss! We have filed for invention patents for all three of these components. Since it is impossible to replicate them exactly (real metal structures do not require wooden boards), we designed these entirely new structures.Q: Which agency has undergone the most changes?A:  Tapping mechanism.