buena vista: In praise of the post-it note.

Over the years of my career many products and services have been essential to craft. Some simple - remember scalpels? typescales? Rotring pens and type pads? Some more complex ecologies; typesetting companies, photo libraries and the whole print industry. Well, I started out a Graphic designer, pre-Apple...

Now I find that one beautifully simple product created by Art Fry of the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company - 3M to you and me - has today become the defacto and über useful tool for me.

The humble post-it.

Now we all know about leaving messages on co-workers computer screens, do not disturb signs, out of order signs, shopping lists stuck to shopping carts, directions on dash-boards. For sure there are a gazillion uses, but what about in idea generation, in brainstorms and just plain regular thinking?

Here are some reasons why the post-it excels here too:

Ownership of ideas: once captured on a post-it note and offered up, it’s no longer mine, it’s your idea, it's ours. Get that idea out of your head ASAP and set it free! In these days of collaborative working, the sharing of ideas is paramount and post-its are the perfect format. No egos here please - it's about core, not décor - what you're saying not how you're saying it! Post-its ARE the public domain.

Not precious: the idea might be a great one or an also-ran but the humble post-it note is a great leveller. It's big enough only for the simplest expression (little space for decoration, 'craft' or fluff) and can be easily discarded with minimal energy expelled. They could be cheaper (but seriously, don't be tempted to buy imitations ) but somehow they feel at once both precious and disposable. Keep it and value it or screw it up and bin it!

Visibility: They maybe small but they come in bright colours and when written on with a bold marker like a sharpie pen, then simple, brief messages can be seen and quickly assimilated from a distance - unlike ideas committed to a layout pad or locked inside a hard disc. Try a simple sketch on a postie - even easier to grasp than words. Use colour as you wish in sorting' editing and synthesising, for headings, catgories and grouping. The shapes and patterns begin to have meaning, develop your own protocols. Make the post-it work for you.

Portable and pocketable: Stick them anywhere you like, then move them. Think about their location, their relation to their neighbours. This thought over here belongs to that group over there? OK, synthesis and cluster, peel them, pluck them and replace them. Remove them, pile them pocket them to review on-the-go or a cheeky presentation. Stuck for a notebook? Grab some post-its.

Spontaneous: Be quick, be concise. Ok they're only big enough for a dozen words so make sure they're the right words. If not, reduce the thought - or be creative, use two post-its - opposing arguments, build and tell a story, whatever works.

Feel good: If each post-it equals one idea then you can pretty quickly get productive. Using them can also make you feel organised, grown up and generally feel good about your work session.

Revisit: Post them on a flip chart pad or a large foam board, leave it then return later. The notes will still be where you left them, the patterns recognisable, the words standing out. Pick up where you left off or where someone else left off.

Flexibility: Think, evolve, build, re-write, remove, replace, refine, reiterate. Small ones for voting, larger ones for storyboarding. Capture everything. Build mind maps, lists, brain dumps. The start over, peel them off, stack and keep them. Photograph them, use them for a presentation, reveal them, share them, use them, praise them.

Thanks, Art.