A method for producing, and a product having, a surface nanopattern, wherein the method comprises the steps of: obtaining a substrate with a smooth surface; acquiring a self-assembling monolayer precursor, wherein the precursor includes an inducible, usually photocatalytically, active region and a substrate attachment region; mixing a plurality of the self-assembling monolayer precursors with the substrate to produce a self-assembled monolayer having an exposed surface comprising the inducible active regions and anchored to the substrate smooth surface by the substrate attachment regions; obtaining a path-directable nanoparticle; contacting the path-directable nanoparticle with the exposed surface at an interface area; exposing the exposed surface contacted with the path-directable nanoparticle to an inducing event, usually exposure to light, thereby chemically altering the inducible active regions and producing a detectable state in the interface area on the exposed surface; and applying a force of variable magnitude and direction in the plane of the surface to the contacted path-directable nanoparticle to produce movement of the contacted nanoparticle over the exposed surface thereby extending the detectable state interface area into a detectable trace over the exposed surface to produce the nanopatterened surface.