[iim7V7IM7]

I suppose we all make think about different things when we use design terms. Personally, I don't find Ervin Somagyi's "design language" to be very craftsman, arts & crafts, mission, prairie style (insert term here).

Somogyi's instrument designs that I have seen use intricate and sometimes ornate ornamentation. His basic instrument features (headstock and bridge for example) are also schooled in the ornate in their geometry and detail. His homage to elements of nature and his integration of elements found in tile or textile are in sync in my opinion, but that's about it, at least with the later US movement. His designs are perhaps more akin to the earlier UK Arts & Crafts movement in the work of Charles Mackintosh or William Morris which was a bit more ornate.

When I think of US Craftsman designs, I think of designs reflecting the following principles:

1) honest construction: e.g. functional joinery becomes an aesthetic feature with no ornate decoration
2) simple lines: e.g. use of the rectilinear, use of clean arcs, subtle tapers, visual alignments
3) quality of materials: e.g. quartersawn woods, cast iron and copper, ceramic, stained glass
4) elements in nature: e.g. Color palette, ornamentation both realistic and simplified/abstract

I see these principles being reflected in our project.