March 30, 2006 at 11 AM

A Bit of Folded Paper

I’ve been thinking about origami lately, the Japanese art of folding paper. I originally got into origami as a kid, and thinking about it now, I’m convinced it was a major inspiration for me to move into a career in design. The brightly-coloured paper was probably my first hands-on exposure to aesthetics, the idea of making something look nice to make it seem more appealing. And the geometric purity and simplicity of origami are echoed in classical graphic design techniques, which are so often based on grids and simple shapes. But there is also just something lovely about the idea of taking a simple square and turning it into a piece of art with nothing added or taken away. No cutting or ripping, no gluing or stapling. Just folding.

Just about anyone can learn to do origami, and the simplest shapes are almost like folklore — who hasn’t seen the boat or the crane?

On the other hand, even if the art itself is deceptively simple, origami can be staggeringly complex. Robert J. Lang is an artist who has taken the art to a scientific extreme. He uses mathematical principles to design models that are unbelievably lifelike. They defy the two-dimensional nature of paper. Here’s Lang’s take on the crane for instance.

Lang has written plenty about what he does, and he even offers his crease diagrams, which are almost works of art in their own right.

Lang’s work has been featured in gallery and museum exhibitions around the world, but he has also helped scientists use the principles behind his work in ambitious projects like a giant folding telescope.

Origami doesn’t have to be complicated to be useful though. This box [PDF] is one of the simplest origami designs, but it’s surprisingly useful and sturdy.

Previously: The New City

Subsequently: The Beeb at Home and Away

March 2006
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