3m Post-it Note

[Mellissa Sprock]

A Post-it note (or sticky note) is a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. A low-tack pressure-sensitive adhesive allows the notes to be easily attached, removed and even re-posted elsewhere without leaving residue. The Post-it's signature adhesive was discovered accidentally by a scientist at 3M.[1] Originally small yellow squares, Post-it Notes and related products are available in various colors, shapes, sizes and adhesive strengths. As of 2024, there are at least 28 documented colors of Post-it notes.[2] 3M's Post-it has won several awards for its design and innovation.[3]

Post-its are versatile and can be used in various settings for various purposes.[4] They are commonly used in classrooms and workplaces but can also be found in art, media, and social media.[4][5][6][7] Post-its have also been used as tools for public engagement and persuasion.[8][9][10]

Although 3M's patent expired in 1997, "Post-it" and the original notes' distinctive yellow color[11] remain registered company trademarks, with terms such as "repositionable notes" used for similar offerings manufactured by competitors. While use of the trademark 'Post-it' in a representative sense refers to any sticky note, no legal authority has ever held the trademark to be generic.[a]

In 1968, Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M in the United States, attempted to develop a super-strong adhesive. Instead, he accidentally created a "low-tack", reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive for the aerospace industry.[12][13][14][1] For five years, Silver promoted his "solution without a problem" within 3M both informally and through seminars, but failed to gain adherents. In 1974, a colleague who had attended one of his seminars, Art Fry, came up with the idea of using the adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymn book.[15][16] Fry then utilized 3M's sanctioned "permitted bootlegging" policy, which allows employees to spend some of their work time on projects of their own choosing, to develop the idea.[16] The original notes' canary yellow color was chosen by chance, from the color of the scrap paper available at the lab next door to the Post-it team.[17] Fry provided 3M employees with a prototype of the product, and individuals started exchanging messages, demonstrating the product's communicative effectiveness.[13]

3M test marketed the product as a "Press 'n Peel" in stores in four cities in 1977, but results were disappointing.[18][19] A year later, 3M launched a massive marketing campaign known as the Boise Blitz.[1] This campaign involved renaming the product to "Post-it Note" and giving out free samples to offices in Boise, Idaho.[13][20][1] This time, results were promising as more than 90 percent of those who received free samples indicated they would buy the product.[18] Post-its were launched across the United States in 1980.[20][21] The following year, they were launched in Canada and Europe.[22]

The Post-it Note team received the internal 3M Golden Step Award in both 1981 and 1982 in recognition of their creation of a lucrative product that resulted in substantial new sales. Additionally, in 1981, they were honored with 3M's Outstanding New Product Award.[25]

Alan Amron claimed to have been the actual inventor in 1973 who disclosed the Post-it note technology to 3M in 1974.[27][26] His 1997 suit against 3M resulted in a confidential settlement.[27] As part of the settlement, Amron agreed not to make future claims against the company unless the settlement agreement should be breached.[27] However, in 2016, he launched a further suit against 3M,[27][26] asserting that 3M was wrongly claiming to be the inventor, and seeking $400 million in damages.[28] At a preliminary hearing, a federal judge ordered the parties to undergo mediation.[27] The suit was subsequently dismissed, upholding the previous 1998 settlement.[29]

Post-it Notes come in a variety of colors, collections, sizes, and rulings.[31] The original Post-it note color is Canary Yellow, the color of the notes when they were initially invented, and it remains one of the most popular colorways to this day.[31] All the notes are recyclable, but 3M has also introduced Greener Post-It Notes, which feature a 67% plant-based adhesive and recycled paper that uses no new trees.[31]

Varying types of Post-it notes are available on the market that vary in material, functionality, or stickiness.[31] The currently available varieties are listed: Super Sticky Notes, Extreme Notes, Greener Notes, Cube Notes, Recycled Notes, Pop-Up Notes, Assorted Shapes and Size Notes, Notes with a Tab

They are used in the workplace both to convey information and to offer praise or words of encouragement. They can help boost communication between coworkers and can help communications between departments. They can also serve to praise people or tell them to keep up the good work.[33]

They can be used to annotate textbooks in place of standard highlighting and sideline note-taking methods, allowing the pages to remain free of markings.[34] Additionally, Post-it notes can be used to visually guide students to important points in the textbook, helping them find information faster.[34]

They are convenient for team exercises involving graphic organizers, such as a fishbone diagram.[35] Students can easily collaborate on an organizer by each contributing one idea or clause on a Post-it.[35]

Post-its have appeared in a variety of movies and TV shows and are a widely used prop across different media channels.[5] In Grey's Anatomy, the Post-it became an iconic symbol of commitment after Meredith and Derek used a blue Post-it to declare their wedding vows, a significant pop-culture moment.[36] In season six of Sex and the City, the Post-it was used to facilitate a breakup.[37]

Due to its collaborative use in the workplace, Post-its are commonly seen in LinkedIn posts.[38] One LinkedIn member posted about mapping the customer journey through Post-its with tips on involving different team members and organizational strategy.[39]

As one of the top-selling consumer items on the market, Post-it notes may have a positive effect on how users take in the information presented on them. This is backed up by research that aimed to see just how helpful these small strips of paper can be to those who utilize them.[8]

In 2012, Turkish artist Ardan zmenoğlu was selected to have a solo exhibition at Bertrand Delacroix Gallery in the art district of Chelsea, Manhattan. The exhibition, titled "E Pluribus Unum" (Latin for "Out of many, one"), opened November 15, 2012 and featured large scale works on Post-it notes.[40]

Rebecca Murtaugh, a California artist, who uses Post-it notes in her artwork, in 2001 created an installation by covering her whole bedroom with $1000 worth of the notes, using the ordinary yellow for objects she saw as having less value and neon colors for more important objects, such as the bed.[23]

In 2000, the 20th anniversary of Post-it notes was celebrated by having artists create artworks on the notes. One such work, by the artist R. B. Kitaj, sold for 640 in an auction, making it the most valuable Post-it note on record.[41][42][failed verification]

The Lennon Wall, a message board created during the 2014 Hong Kong protests from a stretch of curved staircase in the Central Government Complex, is covered in multi-colored Post-it notes with handwritten messages from supporters.[43]

In 2011, at the Munich, Germany Apple store, a group of Apple fans paid tribute to Steve Jobs by constructing a portrait of him out of 4001 Post-it notes.[44] The use of Post-its resembled pixel art as each Post-it acted as a single pixel.[44]

Sidewalks Labs, a Google-owned company that focuses on urban innovation, opened a public workspace in Quayside, Toronto that supports public engagement in the city-planning process.[9] Plans are presented here and the public can freely share their ideas, opinions, and feedback on potential projects, often in the form of Post-it note annotations.[9]

Post-it notes have also been used in museums to allow for more public interactivity and participation.[10] In 2016, at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, the public wrote their reflections on the life of Prince on Post-it notes and posted them near the exhibit.[10][49] Some Post-it notes were archived by the museum to preserve the public sentiment expressed at the time.[10]

From my experiences in writing, I determined that it is so much easier to write when I know what is going to happen in the story. As a weekend warrior, I finished my sci-fi middle grade in 9 months. Better than two years, but still not quite fast enough. I decided for my next novel that I would plot out the whole thing before I wrote one word.

Next, I needed to figure out about how many chapters my book would have. Most middle grades come in at about 50,000 words. If each chapter is 1,500 words, then I would need about 33 chapters. Compensating for word variance, and the fact that even plotted out I might need an extra chapter here or there, I lined up 30 sticky notes, 10 to a row, like this:

I knew at some point that there would be a big showdown. So, I noted that towards sticky number 25ish. There were a few scenes I thought would be cool to add, so I jotted those down and picked a spot in the lineup where it would feel right for it to happen.

Voila! In a day and a half I had the entire book plotted out. Okay, loosely. However, I do a lot of marinating in my head before I write, and knowing the arc of the book allows me to think about the story as a whole as I am coming up with ideas.

Even in the conservation lab of the Smithsonian Institution Archives, land of acid-free bookmarks and conservation-grade adhesives, I recently found myself looking high and low for a practical Post-it note. It was the perfect way to temporarily label a jar of adhesive for one day's use, instead of cutting out a small piece of paper and taping it to the jar. So much extra work! Created around 1960 by Art Fry and Silver Spencer (legend has it that they were trying to create a strong, durable adhesive but kept making this weak low-tack adhesive by accident), the humble Post-it note is now a fixture of office culture. So simple and easy to use, what is there not to love about them?!

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