Origami Diagramming Conventions: A Historical Perspective Robert J. Lang
[email protected] Copyright ©1989–1991, 2000. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Part I Origami is an international phenomenon that has moved far beyond its traditional boundaries of Japan and Spain. Its practitioners are found world-wide, and the language they communicate in is made up of diagrams. The great strength of this language is its uniformity across the world. In this series, based on a panel discussion at Convention ’88 and a diagramming questionnaire sent to diagrammers around the world, I am recognizing existing standards of diagramming and proposing new ones to further promote worldwide communication of the art. 1 Introduction One of the difficulties facing a diagrammer is that of consistency with the past, his local folding group, the national scene, and potential co-authors. In the case of The Friends 2, there is also the question of consistency with what has been printed before in convention programs, teaching sessions, and other articles in the Friends’ Newsletter (such as David Shall’s concurrent series of articles). Minor differences appear, for example, in symbols lists printed in the Friends’ Newsletter #27 (Fall of ’87) and the Annual Convention ’88 program (Spring of ’88). When you bring in books, the situation gets even more complicated. I have written, or am working on diagrams for, three different books, two with a co-author. Because we each had strong opinions about what symbols were best, we ended up compromising, and I must use a different set of symbols for each project. As confusing as this is for a diagrammer, it is bound to be worse for the reader.3 Before Convention ’88, a number of folders recognized that there was a need for standardization, and The Friends have taken steps toward that end, for example, publishing the lists just mentioned. Before the convention, I sent a questionnaire to some 25 diagrammers around the world; many returned not only the questionnaire but sent pages of additional comments. At the convention itself, we held a panel discussion on uniformity that included most of the American diagrammers and some overseas participants as well. Its results, and the results of the questionnaire, will be included in the articles that follow. This article kicks off a series in which I will take a detailed look at diagramming symbols and conventions. Where there have been competing claims, I hope to resolve them. Where there are gaps, I hope to fill them in. I also will give some explanation for why to use a certain symbol. This series will run as long as it takes to cover the material, so if you have strong disagreement with something here, send me a letter and I’ll discuss it in a future installment. 1 These articles were written in 1989–1991. I’ve updated a few bits with these footnotes. 2 The Friends of the Origami Center of America, which is now called OrigamiUSA. 3 The next three books were solo efforts, and I’ve pretty much standardized on the consensus symbols described here, as has a large part of the origami diagramming community. Page 1 It would be nice to start with something simple, like a valley fold. We’re going to start even simpler than that. Many of the comments on symbology that I received concerned generalities rather than specifics; they took the form of basic principles to follow when diagramming a model. Let us begin with some of those principles. Following these ideas will eliminate many of the bugaboos that have had readers tearing their hair out, and they can help to resolve future questions of propriety in diagramming as they arise. Be consistent with the past The way things have been done in the past has a big thing going