We’ve ALL seen this , which forces me to ask one question. Did the paper clip’s design influence the construction of the dedicated machine? Or was it the other way around? Did the industry’s limitations result in the clip being shaped that way? And more importantly, why have we blindly been following this design for the past 150 years?? (BTW, interesting fact, but the paper-clip was patented in 1867, exactly 150 years ago) Areaware thinks the old paper-clip design needs to be retired, much like Clippy, Microsoft’s annoyingly helpful Office Assistant. Their are made from spring steel and started off as simple line drawings which were later transformed into beautiful pieces of art that don’t just clip pieces of paper together, but rather decorate them, bringing just the right amount of design intervention to the mundane. Designer: Daphna Laurens ( )