Skeuomorph
From Free net encyclopedia
Skeuomorph is a term used in the history of architecture, design, and archaeology. It refers to a derivative object which retains ornamental design cues to structure that was necessary in the original<ref>The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 1971. Volume II, page 4064.</ref>. Skeuomorphs may be deliberately employed to make the new look comfortably old and familiar<ref>Template:Web reference</ref>, such as copper cladding on zinc pennies or computer printed postage with circular town name and cancellation lines. The word derives from Greek, skeuos for 'vessel' or 'tool' and morphe for 'shape'<ref>Template:Web reference</ref>.
Historically, high status items, such as metal tableware, were often recreated for the mass market using pottery which was a cheaper material. In certain cases, efforts were made to recreate the rivets in the metal originals by adding pellets of clay to the pottery version for example. The mortice and tenon joints present in the trilithons of Stonehenge may be examples of skeuomorphs, derived from earlier timber structures.
In the modern era, cheaper plastic items often attempt to mimic more expensive wooden and metal products though they are only skeuomorphic if new ornamentation references original functionality, such as molded screw heads in molded plastic items. Blue jeans have authentic-looking brass rivet caps covering the functional steel rivet beneath, and a pocket watch pocket. Such ornamentation is not necessarily non-functional: the watch pocket is now used for coins, and ribbing on a hunting knife handle (skeuomorphic of vines binding wooden handles to a metal or stone blade) adds grip.
A common technology skeuomorph is the QWERTY keyboard which first appeared on the typewriter in 1873. The layout was designed so that frequently used pairs of letters were separated in an attempt to stop the typebars from intertwining and becoming stuck, thus forcing the typist to manually unstick the typebars. Though no longer required since electrical switches beneath the keys replaced mechanical typebars, the QWERTY layout is still used for English language computer keyboards because of its comfortable familiarity.
It has been argued<ref>Template:Web reference</ref> that toenails and the human appendix are examples of biological skeuomorphs.
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