Chapter 1 - The properties of sticky notes for collaborative creativity: An introduction

Abstract

Sticky notes are closely associated with creative activity, and represent an undiscovered window into the practice of creative interaction and design cognition. Using the sticky note as a lens into human creative and designerly practices, we ask what the sticky note may tell us about creative cognition and design collaboration, and why the note is so seemingly difficult to digitally imitate. Covering the central properties of sticky notes (paper-based, small and square, colorful, sticky), the present introductory chapter analyses how these simple properties afford collaborative creativity. The affordances of sticky notes for face-to-face creative collaboration are many, and involve support for both creative cognitive activities, collaborative shared understanding, and democratic participation in design processes by both trained and novice designers. The versatility of the products extends to supporting a host of creative processes, which may in part help explain why sticky note digital counterparts have only been able to support certain of these qualities, leaving the digital version often feeling like half a support-tool.