For many creative people, a distinctive pen is part of their personal marque, a symbol that says something about who they are. A fine writing instrument can also inspire you to new heights of creative thought and expression.

Such is the case with the Lamy 2000 4-color pen, my writing instrument of choice for the last 20 years. Imported from Germany, this sleek black beauty contains 4 ink colors: black, blue, green and red.

Its simple, elegant design doesn’t require a complex mechanism to select the ink color. Rather, it’s designed to let gravity do the trick. Near the top of the pen are four colored bands, which encircle its body, one representing each ink color. To select a color, simply rotate the pen until the band of the ink color you want is facing upwards. Then click the button at the back of the pen to begin using that color of ink. It’s very simple and intuitive.

This elegant pen is well balanced, comfortable to write with and is very durable. My first one lasted over 6 years of daily usage. Another plus: The Lamy 4-color pen can use either Lamy or Rotring refills; both can be found at most fine pen shops.

Creative uses

This fine writing instrument is the perfect complement to a mind mapping session, because it allows you to effortlessly select one of four ink colors on the fly, without changing pens.

The Lamy 2000 4-color pen has more day-to-day benefits as well. For example, here is how I use it when taking notes in a meeting:

I typically write meeting notes in blue; if I run out of ink in the middle of the session, I can quickly and easily switch to black ink without missing a beat.

I use red ink to designate action items and green ink to represent ideas. Color coding my meeting notes in this way helps me to quickly scan them after the meetig and add those action items to my to do list.

I never thought I’d ever say this about any writing instrument, but my Lamy 4-color pen has become an integral part of how I creatively express myself. I can’t imagine working without it.

The Lamy 2000 4-color pen retails for approximately $60-70 in fine pen shops nationwide. It can also be purchased on Amazon.com here.

Conclusion

If you’re like most business people, you probably spend a significant amount of time each day writing. Why not use a pen that inspires you, and makes it easy to express your ideas in glorious color?

(originally published on InnovationTools.com)