''Imagineering'' (from "imagination" and "engineering") is the implementation of creative ideas in practical form. The word was registered as a
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
of
Disney Enterprises, Inc. in 1990,
and forms part of the title of Disney's research and development arm,
Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attra ...
. The word was actually coined by
Alcoa around 1940, and appeared widely in numerous publications of several disciplines such as urban design, geography and politics, evolutionary economics, corporate culture and futures studies.
Earliest usages
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
,
Alcoa created an internal "Imagineering" program to encourage innovative usage of aluminum in order to keep up with demand. A
''Time'' magazine ad from February 16, 1942, titled "The Place They Do Imagineering" relates the origin:
Other notable pre-Disney usages include an October 24, 1942, mention in the ''New York Times'' in an article titled "Christian Imagineering," a 1944
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
entry which cites an advertisement from the ''Wall Street Journal'', and the use by artist
Arthur Radebaugh to describe his work, which was mentioned in the article "Black Light Magic," in the ''Portsmouth Times'',
Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth is a city in and the county seat of Scioto County, Ohio, United States. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky, just east of the mouth of the Scioto River. ...
, 1947.
Other early usage includes Richard F. Sailer's 1957 article "BRAINSTORMING IS IMAGINation enginEERING" written for the ''
National Carbon Company Management Magazine'', and reprinted by the
Union Carbide Company.
WED Enterprises applied for a trademark for the term in 1967, claiming first use in 1962.
In 1981, a book with the title ''Imagineering for Health: Self-Healing Through the Use of the Mind'', authored by Serge King, was published by Quest Books (
Wheaton, Illinois
Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...
).
See also
*
Imagineer (disambiguation)
Other uses
"Imagineering" has also been used by:
*
Master in Imagineering, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences Master's program.
*
Imagineering Foundation, a charity organisation that encourages school children aged from 8–16 to engage with engineering.
*
Imagineering, a defunct New Jersey
video game developer.
*
Imagineering Australia, a
microcomputer software and hardware distributor founded by Australian businessman
Jodee Rich
John David "Jodee" Rich (born 1960) is an Australian businessman. He was a founder of the defunct mobile phone provider One.Tel and the software distributor Imagineering Australia. He is now the CEO and founder of social analytics and influe ...
.
*
Larsen & Toubro
Larsen & Toubro Ltd, commonly known as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, with business interests in engineering, construction, manufacturing, technology, information technology and financial services, headquartered in Mumba ...
(L&T), an Indian engineering and construction giant, in its advertising. It has been used in its ad campaign, released in mainline publications and on outdoor media nationwide describing the new tagline of the company - "It's all about Imagineering".
* Applied imagineering, used by Dr. Snyder in the United States Salvation Naval Academy. "The quantum concepts generated with our imaginations are applied with words and deeds. Applied Imagineering quantifies the constructs upon which students may attain enlightenment of self goals, self assess, and implementation of dreams into reality."{{Citation needed, reason=Who is this 'Dr. Snyder'? There are no references., date=July 2022
References
English words
Disney jargon
Engineering concepts