The design secrets of Lamy's most successful product, or how a school fountain pen became a design icon?

I was never a big fan of safari. Years ago, when I fell in love with Lamy – primarily the classic writing instruments from the 60s, 70s, and 80s – I treated the safari with a bit of distance. In the stores where the sleek, elegant black Lamy 2000 was displayed next to that year's current bright „safari,” I tried to ignore the latter, as I thought this style was so distant, so different from the restrained and geometric forms I loved. Later, when I did get my hands on a safari fountain pen, they either ended up deep in a drawer or I gifted them away.

The turning point came when I tried out a white pen with a black clip from the 80s and started using it daily. Although I still don't specifically collect Lamy safari pens, their number is continuously increasing, and at the same time, I began to be increasingly intrigued by how this writing instrument became one of the world's most popular fountain pens. At that time, I didn't know that the journey I took to acquire the Lamy safari was very similar to the path the market went through in the early 80s, at the time of the pen's appearance.

What made the safari so successful? Why does it fit into Lamy's product range? Can a school fountain pen become a historical piece in fountain pen history and an iconic design object? In the first part of my article, I will present the history of the safari, primarily focusing on the design phase, while briefly mentioning the various versions and colors.

 

The Lamy revolution: modern design is born

A Lamy company has a history that dates back to the 1930s. The company's predecessor was founded by C. Josef Lamy in Heidelberg, Germany, initially under the names Artus and Orthos. After World War II, it produced writing instruments under its own name, primarily fountain pens.

Artus and the early Lamy mainly manufactured low and medium-priced, but high-quality pens, thanks to the fact that they recognized the potential of injection molding early on, already in the 30s. Thus, Artus became the first manufacturer in Europe to produce the entire pen from injection-molded plastic. The company strongly focused on the school-age demographic, designing several models specifically for students, such as the Artus Ballit, the Favorit, or later the Junior or the Prinz.

From the early 60s, the company was taken over by the founder's son, Manfred Lamy, who defined the comprehensive philosophy and principles of the “modern” company, which included design, brand identity, manufacturing technology, and communication. The embodiment of these principles and the company's philosophy was the modern company's first fountain pen, the Lamy 2000, which became Lamy's iconic product with its groundbreaking design and unusual material use. Thus, today's Lamy counts its own history from the appearance of this pen in 1966. Lamy has become not just a traditional writing instrument manufacturer but a design brand that always focuses on innovation and modern design.

Alongside the modernization of the company, earlier models were gradually phased out, replaced by newly designed pens. An important part of the transformations led by Manfred Lamy was that each product family was specifically designed for more narrowly defined groups. The 2000 model targeted successful men, the cp1 model introduced in ’74 aimed at female customers, but there were also fountain pens for young adults. The idea for a fountain pen for schoolchildren was conceived in the first half of the 70s at the company, as this was still missing from the new offering. In 1975, the development of the new product family began.

 

Involvement of external experts: a new approach

The targeted age group was students aged 10-15, attending the upper grades of primary school. In German schools, fountain pens are very common, and students mostly learn to write with them from the age of 6, making this a multi-million market for Lamy.

While in the lower grades the institution or teachers prescribe the use of specific writing aids, in the upper grades the rules are more relaxed, and it is here that a student first chooses their writing instrument themselves. Lamy's intention was for the new product to be the „second fountain pen” in a student's life, the first one that is their own choice, an expression of their personality. Another undisguised goal was to introduce the brand to users at a young age, to establish brand loyalty so that they would choose Lamy pens in the future.

The school fountain pens of the time mostly imitated adult fountain pens, often being simplified or colorful versions of them. Lamy wanted to break into this category with a product that bears the typical Lamy brand characteristics.

 

Designing a school fountain pen

The design of Lamy products has been carried out since the 1960s by Gerd A. Müller and a group of in-house design engineers. However, for this product family, an external company, the Entwicklungsgruppe Mannheim led by Prof. Bernt Spiegel, was commissioned. Spiegel was an economic and social psychologist, and Wolfgang Fabian worked as a designer in the team, who is often referred to as the main designer of the Safari. Wolfgang Fabian later became the company's most employed designer, with pens such as the white pen, the first completely white writing instrument, the swift, the first capless roller, or the Spirit, which is folded from a thin metal sheet, associated with his name.

The design was carried out within the framework of integrated product development, with a coordinated working method in which various corporate functions (e.g., engineering design, manufacturing, marketing, sales, etc.) participate together, in parallel, and with continuous communication in the development of the new product, until its market launch. This novel approach was somewhat unusual at the time among similarly sized companies.

While the school fountain pens of the time were primarily made based on the advice of educators and educational professionals, Lamy also considered the opinions of children important. Thus, members of the targeted age group were involved in the product development, and the pen was shaped based on their continuous feedback.

The following requirements were formulated during the design process regarding the Lamy safari pen:

• its design and appearance should be robust, radiating „indestructibility”
• it should have a matte surface with a black nib
• it should have a distinctive and durable clip
• the cap's fit and the visual separation of the pen body from the grip should be assisted by an O-ring
• it should have a comfortable grip support
• it should have an ink window
• it should not roll off the table even without a cap

 

The four design principles of Lamy

During the modernization of the company in the 1960s, Lamy established a four-point criterion system that all of the company's products must meet. The four points are as follows:

• Uniqueness
• Usability
• Communication
• Shaping

According to the criteria, products must distinguish themselves from competitors' products by their uniqueness and must be true innovations. The design should serve not only the beauty of the utility object but also its usability, making it more comfortable and ergonomic. The design must clearly express which target group it addresses in terms of quality, price, status, and value. Just as the adaptation to different target groups makes them diverse, the shared value system makes Lamy products similar, with each product showcasing its Lamy-ness. A common characteristic of Lamy products is that they are modern and functional. Later, the four points were supplemented by a fifth, sustainability.

The designers first had to ask whether the new writing instrument, which would significantly differ from previous products, could meet Lamy's four design principles while maintaining the specific needs of the target group. How can a pen be both sleek and functional, yet youthful and appealing to a ten-year-old child? Additionally, it should have a distinctive appearance that significantly differs not only from elementary school writing instruments but also from adult pens. It must also meet the usage needs of a school-aged child: it should be indestructible and suitable for everyday durable use.

Lamy safari: adventure and freedom in a pen

An important aspect of the safari development was to build a theme behind the product family that facilitates the target group's connection to the product, thereby aiding emotional involvement. This theme had to be reflected in the product's name, appearance, packaging, and advertising. After comprehensive market research and lengthy brainstorming, the chosen theme became the nature-oriented, active outdoor lifestyle, „outdoor life.” This is the theme that can express the main characteristics typical of the age group through a fountain pen: the desire for adventure and freedom, independence, and separation from parents. Hence came the name: safari, which encompasses adventure and exploration but also connects to exotic landscapes and animals, aiming to appeal to the youngest. 

The vision takes shape: the final design

The designers started with a significantly rough and exaggerated model, gradually refining it until they reached the final form. Thus, the final, streamlined shape was created, the pen that is still available today in almost unchanged form: a cylindrical body, truncated lengthwise on both sides, which prevents it from rolling off the table, with a flat section featuring one ink window on each side.

The grip part is connected to the cylindrical body with a thread, featuring an ergonomic grip with a rounded support on one side. A black ring separates the two, which is also responsible for the proper positioning of the cap.

The cap is also cylindrical in design, with a huge black-painted bronze clip at the end, which is the most characteristic part of the pen. The cap is secured with a black metal screw.

The fountain pen received the Z50 steel nib (then known by another name) and ink feed system, which were specifically developed for this pen. The goal here was also durability and usability. Accordingly, it was designed so that even a school child could easily replace it if they desired a different line thickness or if the pen suffered an accident. The fountain pen can be used with the standard Lamy cartridge or converter.

The new fountain pens were equipped with a plastic (nowadays cardboard) ring at the junction of the body and grip, which, when removed, allows the two parts to be screwed together and ready for use.

The pen is made of extremely durable ABS plastic, in a matte finish, aside from the metal parts. It was released in two colors: the model intended for boys in “Savannagrün” (a type of olive green), and the one for girls in “Terrarot” (terracotta) color. According to market research, these colors are well associated with the safari theme, and they were also in fashion in the late 70s and early 80s. The pen nib was supposed to be black for both colors according to the plans.

The safari theme appeared not only in the pen but also in the accompanying accessories, decorations, promotional materials, and advertising campaign, for example, the pens... container-like, they received a box made of cardboard, resembling a freight container, displaying the Lamy safari emblem in a uniquely designed, stencil-like font.

Along with the packaging and smaller accessories, the complete setup for expos and exhibitions was also designed in the safari theme – with chairs, stands, and exhibition booths. Gerd A. Müller was responsible for their design, who was also the designer of the Lamy 2000, among others. However, the comprehensive design was still not enough for the pen to enter the market; a pre-testing with selected children from the target age group was still needed.

The trial of practice: what did the children say?

Before entering the market, an acceptance study was conducted to test not only the product family itself but also the related accessories and advertising materials with the appropriate target group. It was confirmed from the children's behavior and reactions that the product and the underlying theme worked well together, but a few minor changes were also necessary based on the children's opinions.

Changes occurred in the colors and the accessories related to the pen as well. The basic concept was to equip the pens with a black nib, but this changed; the model intended for girls received a steel-colored nib. Originally, animal figures could have been clipped to the pen's clip, but the older age group found this too childish, so the designers discarded this idea. (Interestingly, clip-on figures have returned in some special editions in recent years, e.g., Line Friends, Pokémon, Starbucks special edition).

When determining the price, an important consideration was that the pen should be accessible to an average student, so the price was set at 20 marks for the fountain pen. This corresponded to about half the price of a movie ticket in 1980 and was less than a third of a steel-nib cp1 fountain pen. The price remained around 20 marks even with the increase in popularity and later production costs, and it has been managed to keep it at approximately the same level to this day.

The next part of the article will discuss market entry and the subsequent period, briefly touching on the various versions and colors of Safari.

(To be continued)