Tag: Design History research

Delving into the roots of the electric guitar – Professor Paul Atkinson interviewed on the BBC World Service’s ‘The Forum’ about how the electric guitar has conquered popular music

Amplified: A Design History of the Electric Guitar

Professor Paul Atkinson, industrial designer and design historian at Sheffield Hallam and author of Amplified: A Design History of the Electric Guitar, has appeared on BBC World Service’s The Forum discussing how the electric guitar has conquered popular music. Professor Paul Atkinson is Professor of Design and Design History in the Art and Design Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University. […]

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Professor Paul Atkinson’s ‘Amplified: The Design History of the Electric Guitar’ reviewed by The Wire

Hallam professor traces design history of the electric guitar in new book. Professor of Design and Design History, Paul Atkinson, has written a book about the design history and development of the electric guitar, from invention through to mass production.  The book, ‘Amplified: The Design History of the Electric Guitar’ has been reviewed by The Wire (page 3), and “offers […]

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Wednesday 08 May 2019 – Lunchtime Seminar with Professor Paul Atkinson (Design & Design History) and Professor Virginia Heath (Film)

Title: Hairy Guys in Sheds / Three Chords and the Truth (with ‘work in progress’ film screening and live performance) Speakers: Professor Paul Atkinson and Professor Virginia Heath Abstract Emerging as a side project from research into a book on the design history of electric guitars, Hairy Guys in Sheds is the title of an article written by Paul Atkinson looking at […]

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‘The computer mouse at 50’ – Professor Paul Atkinson on the BBC World Service’s Click

Image of Paul Atkinson, an old computer mouse (from BBC World Service, Prototype of the first mouse computer presented in 1968 (invented in 1963 by Douglas C. Engelbart) Credit: Apic/Getty Images) and BBC World Service logo

Professor of Design and Design History Paul Atkinson  was a guest on BBC World Service’s Click programme on Saturday 29 December talking about the computer mouse on its 50th anniversary and how the design was developed and refined. Fifty years ago Doug Engelbart, engineer and inventor from the Augmentation Research Center Lab, gave what has become known as the ‘mother of […]

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Wednesday 18 January 2017 – Lunchtime Seminar with Prof Paul Atkinson (Design, SHU)

image of guitarist

Speaker: Professor Paul Atkinson (Professor of Design and Design History) Title: The Electric Guitar: A Design History Pauls’ academic research covers a wide variety of subjects, all concerned in one way or another with the relationship between society and technology. The relationship between people and technological artefacts is explored through his writings on the design history of computers. The impact […]

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Professor Paul Atkinson to give lecture at Oxford University on 26 November 2016

Front cover of Professor Paul Atkinson's 'Delete' published by Bloomsbury

Professor Paul Atkinson has been invited to give a lecture about the research behind his book Delete: A Design History of Computer Vapourware to Masters students in History of Design at Oxford University on Saturday 26 November 2016. While most historical accounts of the development of computer design focus on specific computers or manufacturers, examining the success stories of hardware […]

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Design Frontiers: Territories, Concepts, Technologies – Edited by Professor Paul Atkinson

Front cover of Design Frontiers - Territories, Concepts, Technologies edited by Paul Atkinson

Design Frontiers: Territories, Concepts, Technologies contains a series of articles based on some of the best papers presented during the 8th Conference of the International Committee for Design History and Design Studies (ICDHS) held in São Paulo, Brazil, in September 2012. The conference gathered researchers from 26 different countries from America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. The topic chosen for the […]

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Paul Atkinson’s ‘Delete’ featured in ICON magazine

ICON magazine logo

Professor Paul Atkinson is to be featured in the April edition of ICON magazine, in a six-page spread featuring examples of vapourware from Paul’s book Delete: A Design History of Computer Vapourware. See below for an extract: Vapourware is a term for computer products that a company announces, but doesn’t put into production. This might seem a straightforward concept, but […]

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