Tl;dr: I gave a beloved tool from the early 21st century a makeover, 20 years later.

This post has everything you need to make your own hipsterPDA v2.4 files to laser cut or 3D print. If you don’t want to or don’t have the time, no problem! Just grab the files from Gumroad for $3 or pay-what-you-can (please just don’t sell or distribute the files).

It’s 2024 and I hop from my laptop to my tablet to my smartphone. Notifications buzz, commercials ding, and I miss my tiny flip phone and my hipsterPDA.

It is 2004 and the French are told we are human brain-time for the highest bidder. That same year, some people see the future coming and come up with a simple tool to offload our minds. No advertisers, no predatory algorithms, no battery anxiety, no FOMO.

Slap a few index cards together with a mini binder clip, keep a pen handy and call it a day. This simple, cheap and efficient tool has a name: the hipsterPDA (it even has its own Wikipedia article).

Yes, it’s just a stack of cards with a mini binder clip. Get over it. Let’s make a better hipsterPDA!

A better (and still simple) hipsterPDA

There are a few things I thought the original hipsterPDA lacked already in the ‘noughts. What it lacked then, it still lacks now!

• First, you still need a hard surface for support to write comfortably on it.
• Second, the edges of the cards bend or tear over time.
• Third, it’s not very customizable beyond types of cards or colors. If Tyler Durden asked you “What kind of hipsterPDA defines you as a person?” what would you answer?

From wishlist to concept

I sat down and drafted out the idea in my notebook, then in Fusion360.

For our writing surface problem, I decided to use 1/8″ plywood as a support structure. Thick enoug to make a good support without making the overall dimensions too thick – and I have several sheets on the shelves in the shop!

For our damaged edges problem, I added an eighth of an inch around the card stack. I also added a notch at the top to line up the cards and give the board some character. Since the cards I use are lined lengthwise, I added another notch on the left side. Now we can go from portrait to landscape mode!

I threw fillets everywhere, and had a first concept ready. It was time to cut a prototype on the Omtech Polar laser cutter we had just upgraded!

From concept to object

A couple cardboard tests let me make sure the laser cutter was performing well. Once that was out of the way, I cut a first version in plywood to test drive. I was happy with it until I wasn’t! The extra space on the right and at the bottom didn’t feel comfortable.

After trimming that extra space Fusion 360, I cut an updated prototype. This new version felt much better! It was much more comfortable in hand, more asymmetrical – and visually interesting!

Since the new version felt so right, I customized it, gave it a light sanding and a mineral oil finish. I officially dubbed it hipsterPDA v2.4 because it’s 2024, gave it a moustache and specs because it’s a hipster, and called it a day. Maybe we’ll come up with an update for 2025?

We’re done! What’s next?

I have optimized all the features I wanted from the hipsterPDA for now, but there’s still plenty to do! Especially when it comes to customizing it for friends: I know I’m definitely making a few of these for Christmas! My maker friends are always looking for something to jot down notes real quick.

It might sound silly to you, but this tiny stack of wood and paper makes my mind a little more mine. Simple tools are valuable because of what they do, not just what they’re made of! It’s easy to forget that, these days.

This write-up is more than enough to help you make your own hipsterPDA in Inkscape or Fusion 360.

Does it still look like too much work or effort? Cool! Buy the files from Gumroad! It’s pay what you can (please just don’t sell or distribute the files) and I threw in a 3D printer-ready file for you printheads out there.

Now go make a hipsterPDA for yourself, friends, family!