Last night I stumbled on Writer, a writing tool designed by Information Architects Inc., a Tokyo-based Web design and branding firm.

Rather like OmmWriter, it’s a high-end minimalist take on Zenware: it’s got that “many hours of paring it all down to the very essentials” look that anyone who goes into an Apple store will instantly recognize. (For the iPad they created their own typeface– or as they put it, an “iPad-optimized writing typography”. Typeface design is one of those crafts that requires paying close attention to a million details that most people never consciously notice. The fact that they created their own tells you a lot about the subtle obsession behind this project.)

Also like OmmWriter, it comes out of an industry that one normally blames for contributing to digital distraction. It’s a tension I want to understand, as clearly there’s something more interesting going on here.

I’m also curious whether these kinds of projects serve as calling cards, or demonstrations of a company’s technical and design excellence. Sure, it’s not the normal thing they do, but perhaps there’s a calculation that these programs show off a company’s philosophy or aesthetic in a way that a more traditional portfolio doesn’t?