Post-it notes / Global
Sticking around
It’s hard to imagine life without the Post-it. We talk to four creatives about how the humble but ubiquitous sticky notes have improved their work, from organising maps to involving 30 households in the design of their new homes.
The origin of sticky notes is the stuff of r&d legend. Spencer Silver was a research chemist at 3M, the Minnesota-based industrial and consumer products company, seeking to concoct an adhesive strong enough to hold airplane parts together. Instead, in 1968 he developed acrylate copolymer microspheres, a sticky adhesive that came off surfaces easily and didn’t leave residue. Silver evangelised his invention within 3M and patented it in 1972 but no obvious commercial application emerged. Another chemist learned about Silver’s adhesive and thought…
