Imagineering

Imagineering is a portmanteau word combining "imagination" and "engineering" most notably used by Walt Disney Imagineering. However, contrary to popular belief, the term was neither coined by Disney, nor originated there. "Imagineering" was popularized by Alcoa around 1940, and appeared widely in numerous publications and promotional print materials throughout the decade.

Earliest usage

Following World War II, Alcoa created an internal "Imagineering" program to encourage innovative usage of aluminum in order to keep up demand.^[1]

A Time magazine ad from February 16, 1942, titled "The Place They Do Imagineering" relates the origin,

For a long time we've sought a word to describe what we all work at hard here at Alcoa... IMAGINEERING is the word... Imagineering is letting your imagination soar, and then engineering it down to earth.^[2]

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 entry which cites an advertisement from the Wall Street Journal, and the use by artist Arthur C Radebaugh to describe his work, which was mentioned in the article "Black Light Magic" in the Portsmouth Times, Portsmouth, Ohio, 1947.

Other uses

"Imagineering" has also been used by:

• Imagineering term used in 1956 by Richard F. Sailer, for National Carbon Company Management, in the article Brainstorming is IMAGINation EnginEERING, most likely how the term migrated to Disney
• Imagineering, a defunct New Jersey video game developer.
• Imagineering Australia, a microcomputer software and hardware distributor founded by Australian businessman Jodee Rich.
• Imagineering, a field of study aiming to energize and transform the process of value creation in organisations and society as a whole using imagination in creating value; at the Imagineering Academy, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands, Europe, since 1993.
• "Imagineering" has also been used by an Indian Engineering & Construction giant, Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T). 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".
• “Imagineering by LK-AG” is an innovative technology brand which offers completely new possibilities for the design of exhibition stands and the setting of events – namely unusual solutions that work!

References

1. ^ Bykon, Maureen (November 2000). Aluminum Exhibits Its Versatility in Art, Life. JOM. http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/0011/byko-0011.html. 
2. ^ "The Place They Do Imagineering". Time. 1942-02-16. p. 59. http://graphic-design.tjs-labs.com/show-picture?id=1118935951&size=FULL.