Hi Carlos,
I agree, for pianos and other products, people of earlier times appeared to
not use the terms engineer or designer. The more common words were inventor
and invention
The term design (noun) was however used at that time to refer to the
drawings of an invention for manufacture. In some cases, as was normal at
that time, supported by design instructions encoded into cut sticks and
patterns, which can be seen as extractions of the essence of tested
prototypes.
The two characteristics of the piano that mark it as a new form of
instrument around 1500 are the semi automation of sound production by
telemotion through a variety of mechanisms, and the semi automation (through
different mechanisms) of sound level from soft (pian) to loud (forte). Hence
the name pianoforte. The invention of keys happened some 300 years earlier
with the monochord, which, rather than an interface design can better be
seen as a mechanical refinement of an existing practice , a relocation of
the manual freeform string sounding hammer of a dulcimer onto the body of
the instrument. This latter was presumably to ensure the hammers
consistently struck the strings in the correct place to create pleasant
overtones.
The modern piano emerged primarily as a result of the work of Cristofori
around 1700 who created designs for the mechanisms and furniture of the
instrument. The format of his designs and the notes on them many of which
survive are the same form as used in designs by current mechanical
engineering designers and product designers. As far as I have been able to
tell, Cristofori did not consider interface issues. The idea of the piano as
an interface, is distilled out of his mechanical designs by later
reinterpretation by those with an interest in interface design. Seeing the
keyboard in interface terms simply wasn't there at that time. I welcome
evidence otherwise.
Your example of the design of the piano is helpful in other discussions.
It demonstrates how the *design* (noun) referring to the drawings for
manufacture is characteristically and historically more common, and hence
more important, than the verb form (designing) or the occupation 'designer'
which seem absent from any discussions at the time. This is in spite of the
earliest written use appearing to be the verb form. The language of the time
it seems more common to refer to 'inventing', 'inventors' and 'inventions'
in this, the 'design' is the drawing that is the means of communication of
the invention to others for manufacture or recording. It appears the first
written use of the term invention was in relation to music (!) around 1550,
the written use of the term engineer coming in 200 years earlier around
1350 around the same time as the first written use of the term design, and
with a similar meaning.
Best wishes,
Terry
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carlos Pires
Sent: Sunday, 21 September 2014 6:05 AM
To: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related
research in Design
Subject: Re: background vs design
Dear Gunnar,
On this subject I just want to say that I find that metaphor to be lackin in
many ways.
For starters, the protagonists should be described not as blind people, but
as blind, paraplegic and intolerantly psychotic.
(and "groping at different animals" somehow doesn't sound right)
Do you like grand definitions?
Here's one:
noun
a large, full-toned piano that has the body, strings, and soundboard
arranged horizontally and in line with the keys and is supported by three
legs.
---
Notice that this is one of the earliest instances of interface design,
though I doubt people back then knew anything about engineers or designers.
Best regards,
==================================
Carlos Pires
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-------------------------------------------------------------
Design & New Media MFA // Communication Design PhD Student @ FBA-UL
Check the project blog:
http://thegolemproject.com
On 20/09/2014, at 16:49, Gunnar Swanson wrote:
> On Sep 20, 2014, at 7:33 AM, Carlos Pires <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>
>> The sisters are now enjoying those delicious scones when someone rings
the doorbell: it's Dr Love! He says:
>> -Congratulations, Mrs Speck: you are a designer!
>> And then:
>> -Congratulations, Deidre: you are an engineer!
>
> I hope Terry at least gets an invitation to a snack, a cup of tea, and
some nice conversation.
>
> And I hope I'm not being too presumptuous by trying to speak for Terry: He
works at grand definitions because he is trying to clarify grand issues.
>
> I admire his and many other people's attempts because, on some occasions,
they start to clarify grand issues. Whether it is because I am wise and/or
pragmatic or because I am lazy and/or narrow, I usually avoid dwelling on
such conversations. In the case of grand definitions of design, I fear we
are all the blind men each describing our part of the elephant.
>
> It may be that such discussions will unveil the nature of the elephant for
us. Discussions might allow us to figure out which of us is grasping the
decorative harness the circus placed on the poor beast, mistaking it for the
essence of pachydermatousness. Or I might be right. I believe we might
actually be groping at different animals.
>
>
> Gunnar
>
> Gunnar Swanson
> East Carolina University
> graphic design program
>
> http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cfac/soad/graphic/index.cfm
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Gunnar Swanson Design Office
> 1901 East 6th Street
> Greenville NC 27858
> USA
>
> http://www.gunnarswanson.com
> [log in to unmask]
> +1 252 258-7006
>
>
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