The 1970's and 1980's had been hard decades for Parker, but although most people by now regarded the fountain pen a fossil, for Parker there was in particular one model that continued to sell in large numbers, the Parker "75", with its distinctive, yet simple design and functionality. And, at that, with a nib that could easily be replaced to suit the users hand. Especially the Cicelé finish (a pattern that Kenneth Parker once "borrowed" from a cigarette case in the early 1960's, made by a London silversmith) in sterling silver had sold in the thousands.But by 1990 the Parker "75" was closing in on its twentieth year, and it's high end cousin, the Parker Premier (that shared many finishes with the Parker "75") was soon to turn ten. Other high end pens, like the Classic, had been around since 1982 (even though it was slightly redesigned 1988 as the Parker "95"). Parker decided that it was time to retire the old work horses and launch a new top line fountain pen. During the 1980's Parker had relied heavily on the Jotter for the low end ball pen market and the Classic for the high end ball pen and roller ball pen market. By the late 1980’s Parker felt that they needed to revitalise the $10 to $100 gift market and commissioned Hollington Associates in London to design a completely new ball pen and pencil. As a result of this The Insignia was introduced in 1991. The principle designer of the pen being Geoff Hollington.
he new Insignia line was marketed as a precision-crafted, high-performance writing instrument based on an ergonomic design. As a top-line Parker it qualified to bear the Sterling Silver Cicelé pattern, and it was an instant success.Now Parker again contacted Geoff Hollington and asked him to come up with a fountain pen design that would be versatile and attractive enough to replace the Parker "75". Hollington worked closely with Parker's engineers to make sure space was efficiently used and that writing performance, cap fit, pushbutton action for the ball pen version and so on were optimised. His long experience with different materials and the knowledge of the basic construction of the pen, ABS plastics, acrylics, brass, stainless steel, silver and gold made the cooperation work well.
— Pens are very, very simple products in some ways: the have rotational symmetry, their size is constrained by ergonomics, as is the shape to a large extent; they are very well evolved - the clip for instance works well in pockets and bags and it stops the pen rolling off the table. So when designing a pen you have only a small space in which to move. Add the need for strong brand authenticity and the space becomes very tight indeed. That’s why, in my opinion, properties like proportion, balance and elegance are very important, Hollington says.
| The 1970's and 1980's had been hard decades for Parker, but although most people by now regarded the fountain pen a fossil, for Parker there was in particular one model that continued to sell in large numbers, the Parker "75", with its distinctive, yet simple design and functionality. And, at that, with a nib that could easily be replaced to suit the users hand. Especially the Cicelé finish (a pattern that Kenneth Parker once "borrowed" from a cigarette case in the early 1960's, made by a London silversmith) in sterling silver had sold in the thousands. But by 1990 the Parker "75" was closing in on its twentieth year, and it's high end cousin, the Parker Premier (that shared many finishes with the Parker "75") was soon to turn ten. Other high end pens, like the Classic, had been around since 1982 (even though it was slightly redesigned 1988 as the Parker "95"). Parker decided that it was time to retire the old work horses and launch a new top line fountain pen. During the 1980's Parker had relied heavily on the Jotter for the low end ball pen market and the Classic for the high end ball pen and roller ball pen market. By the late 1980’s Parker felt that they needed to revitalise the $10 to $100 gift market and commissioned Hollington Associates in London to design a completely new ball pen and pencil. As a result of this The Insignia was introduced in 1991. The principle designer of the pen being Geoff Hollington. | he new Insignia line was marketed as a precision-crafted, high-performance writing instrument based on an ergonomic design. As a top-line Parker it qualified to bear the Sterling Silver Cicelé pattern, and it was an instant success. Now Parker again contacted Geoff Hollington and asked him to come up with a fountain pen design that would be versatile and attractive enough to replace the Parker "75". Hollington worked closely with Parker's engineers to make sure space was efficiently used and that writing performance, cap fit, pushbutton action for the ball pen version and so on were optimised. His long experience with different materials and the knowledge of the basic construction of the pen, ABS plastics, acrylics, brass, stainless steel, silver and gold made the cooperation work well. |