In reply to New type taxonomy:
People interested in type taxonomy should know that I am hosting a panel on design taxonomy at the College Art Association Conference in New York City next February. Here's the call for papers (proposals due next Friday!):
PUTTING DESIGN IN BOXES:
THE PROBLEM OF TAXONOMY
When design historians label a chair as “Louis XV” style or a typeface as a “humanist sans-serif,” they are imposing classification schemes upon these design artifacts. This taxonomic approach, which has shaped much of design history, itself deserves attention. This panel welcomes papers that address the problem of taxonomy in the historiography of design, whether through case studies or theoretical reflections. Papers might consider the entrenchment of classification systems in the practice of design studies (e.g., in textbooks and syllabi); might address the roles of industry in both demanding and supplying classification schemes; or might probe the points at which taxonomic systems fail. Looking ahead, papers might also propose new strategies for effective classification (perhaps employing bottom-up semantic tagging in place of top-down fixed categorical schemes). The panel will consider how the intentional examination of the problem of taxonomy can generate insights both about design and about the scholarship thereof.
Proposals due May 4, 2012
Session chair: Craig Eliason, University of St. Thomas (MN)
Participants must be members of the College Art Association at the time of the conference.
More information and forms at http://www.collegeart.org/pdf/2013CallforParticipation.pdf
