Origami Classification

Rick Nordal and the Origami-List (a newsgroup of approximately 800 members) has generated a list of types of origami. In the future, we hope to organize the list so that we can have a better understanding of how the art form is evolving.

1. Traditional origami
2. Simple origami models – 2 and 3 dimensional
3. Complex origami models – 2 and 3 dimensional
4. Technical origami
5. Origami creativity
6. Abstract origami
7. Digital origami
8. Fun origami
9. Action origami models. ie. jumping frog – paper airplanes
10. Origami models that make a sound
11. Origami games
12. Origami puzzles
13. Origami stories
14. Origami that uses square sheets of paper
15. Origami that uses rectangular sheets of paper – $ Origami
16. Using a round sheet of paper.
17. Origami using specially shaped paper
18. Tear-I-Gami — The tearing of “perforated sheets” of paper
    from each page of an origami book

19. Single sheet origami
20. Modular origami – where multiples of identical modules are pieced together
21. Origami quilt
22. Golden venture origami
23. Composite origami where a model is made from two or more different pieces each folded in different ways
24. Multimodular origami
25. Commercial origami
26. Non – comercial origami
27. Origami for Friendship: Show others how to make origami at get togethers and parties to jump start conversations and to build relationships.
28. Origami for Education
29. Origami for science ( space ) and mathematics – ie. engineering, industrial design, computational (consumer goods)
30. Origami for Everyday Use – boxes, shelves, vases, cards
31. Origami for Health:Many therapists use paperfolding in their fields of medicine.
    Physical therapist use origami as a fun way to exercise hand muscles that they are trying to rehabilitate. ie. arthritis
32. Origami for Politics: the use of origami (in particular, the peace crane) to send a political message.
33. Fashion origami
34. fabric orgami – stiffened and not stiffened
35. Towel origami
36. Napkin folding. i.e. individual napkins
37. Pleated napkin folding of the Renaissance which was used for elaborate table-centre decorations
38. Handkerchief folding
39. Lace doileys
40. Food Origami. ie.This ranges from folding eastern European
    Blintzes and Blineys (which gave the name to the “blintz” fold) to folding pancakes, cold meats and icing sugar
41. Plastic origami
42. Metal origami
43. Straws (the plastic varity or paper)
44. Wheat straw
45. Palm weaving
46. Strip or ribbon folding
47. Swedish Stars
48. Paper Weaving
49. money folding… various currencies of the world.
50. Business card origami
51. Sticky Note origami
    

52. Japanese religious folding
53. Japanese formal wrappers
54. Tsutsumi
55. Japanese Noshi
56. Japanese gomashio wrappers
57. Sembazuru Origami
58. Jewelry origami
59. Anesama ningyo ( ” big sister doll ” ) – Japanese folk dolls that re made from simple materials, often paper, and unique to particular areas of the country
60. Origami Sculpture – Eric Joisel
61. Origami tessellation
62. Crease pattern origami
63. Wet folding: folding paper while it is wet.
64. Grafting, Tiling, Circle Packing and Tree Theory – Analysed and by Robert Lang
65. Box-pleating – Kosho Uchiyama
66. Blintzed bases – introduced as early as the 1950’s and early 1960’s
67. Paper crumpling – Vincent Floderer
68. Pleated surface textures – Eric Joisel, Jean-Claude Correia
69. Origami paper involving curves
70. The folding of curved creases
71. The folding of curved surfaces
72. Multi-piece tessellations – ie. Mick Guy, M.C. Escher
73. ‘Multipiece origami”, in which differently folded pieces are built together to form (say) a building or a scene. Yoshihide and Momotani are well-known exponents of this style of paper folding.
74. Multiunit boxes. ie. Tomoko Fuse
75. Linked Tetrahedra. ie. Tom Hull
76. Kirigami
77. Origamic Architecture ( also calleld paper architecture
78. Tea-bag folding
79. Shibori: originally, shibori refered to the shaped resist dyeing of fabric. For example, fabric is tightly bound with strings and selectively dipped in dye. See video here. The term is sometimes used to refer to the selective dyeing of polygon-folded paper as shown here
80. Kokigami
81. Pornogami
    

82. Yoshihide
83. Sumiko Momotani
84. Origami profiles – John Smith
85. Speed folding origami