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[Courtesy of officemuseum.com]
They exist, relatively unnoticed. Every day, hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions, are being used by people all over the world. They come in all shapes and sizes. They have one thing in common: they are ordinary.
Designers frequently use the phrase 'timeless design'. An oft-quoted example of is Chanel's little black dress. Timelessness, however, is not always coupled with glamour.
Timeless design is so called, for the most part, because its simplicity transcends time (and often, place). Timeless design should be also be the epitome of simplicity. And it need not be expensive.
That said, today it is time to give a little credit to two timeless design classics that are usually overlooked: the rubber band, and the paper clip.
THE RUBBER BAND
Does anyone really know who invented the first rubber band? No one can say for certain, I'm sure. According to a little PDF on inventions I picked up from Hewlett-Packard, the first rubber band was invented by an Englishman in 1845. The man's name was Stephen Perry. Apparently he invented it to hold papers or envelopes together. It was made from vulcanised rubber which, incidentally, was invented by Charles Goodyear (yes, THAT Goodyear).
Alliance Rubber Bands has a different story. They claim the first rubber band was invented in 1823, by Sir Thomas Hancock, a London coachmaker.
A little detective work cleared up the confusion. (A search on Google.com threw up 1,420,000 results for the words 'rubber band' and another 60,200 for the word 'rubberband'.)
Sir Thomas Hancock is apparently the founder of the British rubber industry. (See it here.) There is little written evidence (save the Alliance website) to confirm he was the first inventor. On a side note, Alliance Rubber Bands was founded in 1923 by William Spencer.
Stephen Perry was the first man to successfully apply for a patent for the rubber band on March 17, 1845, technically making him the first inventor.
But who knows? Available information only chronicles the history of inventions in the western world. It is not too presumptious to assume that the rubber band (perhaps in a more primitive form) may have been invented much earlier, by people of non-western origin. In any case, the rubber band is, without a doubt, a remarkable invention. To all those who have contributed in some way or other, kudos.
THE PAPER CLIP
Technically, what is a paper clip? "It consists of forming same of a spring material, such as a piece of wire, that is bent to a rectangular, triangular, or otherwise shaped hoop, the end parts of which wire piece form members or tongues lying side by side in contrary directions." (Taken from an excerpt from a patent.)
The first named inventor of the paper clip was Johan Vaaler, a Norwegian inventor. He patented the paperclip in 1899, in Germany. Johan Vaaler was the first person to patent a paperclip design, although other unpatented designs might have existed first.
The beauty of the paper clip is found in its simplicity. It performs its function - to hold sheets of paper together - perfectly and reliably, with minimal fuss; there are no extraneous parts.
As a design object, it is a prime example of form and function coexisting with compromise. Paper clip fanatics - one recalls a certain Sesame Street character - are surely not misguided in their appreciation for this extraordinary design classic, even as millions around the world take it for granted.
Pay a little more attention and you might be shocked to discover how many amazing design objects populate your everyday existence. The most ordinary things in life are sometimes the most remarkable. Unfortunately, most of the time we are too busy to notice.
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The history of vulcanized rubber
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More history of the paper clip
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