From Analog to Digital with The Post-it ® Plus App

In 1980, the Post-it® Note revolutionized the way we communicate, and continues to be a mainstay in everyday life as people organize and share ideas.

Yet, in today’s digital world, many people are on the go, attached to their mobile devices for 24/7 communication, often in different locations. How could the Post-it® Note sustain the creative process of idea capture, sharing and organization beyond the meeting room?

Our designers took up this challenge, diving into user experience. Collaborating with our technical and business colleagues, we began by examining the ethnography of capturing and sharing ideas during conventional brainstorming meetings. We then explored the technical functionality of software and electronic devices to replicate and complement such behavior in the digital world. This led to the development of user experience insights to design a process/product that is as intuitive, natural and creatively inspiring as the analog activity with physical Post-it® Notes. The entire process united a diverse and unique team comprised of scientists, programmers, and a variety of designers, researchers and business managers.

The Post-it® Plus App enables mobile device users to digitally gather ideas and thoughts as they develop them using Post-it® Notes in the analog world, also providing new capability to quickly and intuitively organize, add new ideas, and easily share information with others in formats that work in their digital life.

This effort leverages the digital expertise inherent in 3M’s design team, as well as our insights-driven focus on ethnography, marketplace trend analysis and user experience — it is design at its most cross-functional. The Post-it® Plus App demonstrates how we imagine design having a positive impact on legacy products and customer experiences all across 3M.