These graphs, created by Jer Thorp of Ouno Design, are visualizations of design lingo used in the New York Times from 1984 to 2009. The one up top, for instance, shows frequency of use for the words "modernism" (red), "mid century modern" (orange), "eames" (yellow), and "corbusier" (magenta). See graphs comparing "vintage" VS "retro" and more below...
"interior design" VS "decor"
Look above at how the word "decor" dropped so drastically in recent years, giving way to "interior design".
"retro" VS "vintage"
And "retro" hardly even existed in the 80's. Hmmm... We think these findings are beautifully presented and offer an interesting insight. Do you? Do you find your own design-speak is pretty much aligned with what's shown in the graphs? Via: Ouno Design.
Veronica & Keith's Handmade Chic 
The World's Ugliest Condo: The Big Bathroom Reveal 
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The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Hunslet Dinner Plate
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Comments (8)
I would love to put these graphs, framed on my wall.....maybe I missed it, but are they for sale?? They are so beautiful and interesting.
I have found that contemporary and modern get mangled in usage.
For instance, modern as defined means modern materials, design and construction, whilst contemporary usually infers traditional materials, construction but in a less traditional style but contemporary also refers to recent times for styles etc but not futuristic, space age etc like modern traditionally is.
and I see people mangle retro and vintage and sometimes reproductions, retro is a new piece made to look like an older piece or period, while vintage is a piece, say an Eames chair made years ago or during its original run, while a new one is a reproduction of the original and a chair that implies the look of the 50's MCM can be refered to as a retro piece.
I see people infer what is obviously an old piece and calling it retro and it just bugs me or calling an Eames chair contemporary when it's really modern.
There are a lot of design terms I'd love to see disappear:
Pricepoint
Colorway
Landing strip
Pop
Beautiful information graphics.
Thanks for posting this! Just a quick correction: Jer did these *for* Ouno Design - he's not actually part of Ouno Design, except by extension. For more of his interesting NYT graphics look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blprnt/. And if anyone has ideas for other word comparisons, please suggest some!
re: lilyC
i second "landing strip"..
can we add "drama" to the list?
ciddyguy -- thanks for your comment on retro -- you are spot on. I hate when people call my apt "retro" -- when in fact the place is filled with antiques.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2006-entries/small-cool-extras-franks-midcentury-madness--008853
I would wager that the decor vs. interior design graph is more indicative of a change in author rather than a change in accepted parlance. Perhaps someone retired or new was hired at the point where the graph changes dramatically, and the new author preferred a different term. It could also be result of a NY Times stylistic directive. Either way, very interesting and attractive graphs!