Around my studio, you’ll notice thin strips of pink tape on all kinds of things. Some are plain. Some have numbers. Some have dates.
At first, it might seem random. But soon you’ll realize: It’s not random at all. It’s a system.
(Of course it is!)
Quick Find
I use pink tape to mark my stuff. Not literally everything—but most “loose” things.
You’ll find it on my pens, my mouse, my mic, my space heater, my stamps, my scanner—and bunch of small things in between.
The rule is simple: If I were to lend this item to someone—or lose it somewhere—you should be able to spot it instantly.
My pen among other pens. My charger all the way across the room.
This quick-identification trick is how my pink tape system started in the first place.
Mark Your Tools
A few years ago, I saw a video from Adam Savage talking about how tradespeople mark their tools.
Apparently, tools get mixed up all the time. To prevent that, tradespeople spray-paint or mark their gear with unique colors or patterns.
That’s how you know: This drill belongs to Daryl. That nail gun belongs to Natalia.
That idea stuck with me. Of course, as interesting and tempting as it would be, I wasn’t about to spray-paint my stuff.
So I had to figure out a practical, durable way to make my mark.
(Hot) Pink
I’ve always liked pink as an accent color.
Coincidentally, pink tape was a signature of another maker I admire—Laura Kampf. She uses pink tape for labels. I decided to use it for markers.
My own take on the tape. A small homage to a maker who reminds us that “every defect gets respect.”
Once I figured out the material and method, I got to work.
Branded
After a while, something strange and beautiful happened.
I realized I wasn’t just marking tools. I was building an aesthetic. A visual identity. My own visual identity. My own "brand".
Piece by piece, a style emerged—not copied, not forced, but built through borrowing, adapting, and making it my own.
Over time, after tagging random things with colored tape, something bigger started to form. A quiet system. And it’s not “cute DIY craft project” energy. It’s a deliberate layer of thought that says:
“Everything in my space has a place, a purpose, a mark.”
The pink tape isn’t just about finding your pen. It’s a physical manifestation of how I think about tools, about work, about flow.
Now, if you see a random pen, cable, or USB stick somewhere—and it has a tiny piece of pink tape on it—you'll instantly recognize that item as being undeniably mine.
Make your mark
If you're thinking about marking your stuff—like my buddy Chase did with his—here are a few simple things to keep in mind:
- Mark it. Make it yours.
- Make it easy to see. Easy to find.
- Make it part of you. Make it feel right.
Mark it. Make it yours. Make it unmistakably you.