ARCHETYPE, PROTOTYPE AND STEREOTYPE

The archetype is sometimes used in philology to indicate the original drafting of a work or the oldest original text. Artistic creation is an archetype.

For instance, the original project, the “design sketch” of a Riva yacht, crafted by the creative mind of the designer who conceived the model and then drew it on a piece of paper.

A prototype, or proto instance, combines the most representative attributes of a category.
It is the member that stands out in a category and acts as a cognitive benchmark related to whom the other “poorer” members are categorized.

A design item is a prototype.

In fact  an object of design incorporates a high set of qualities such as ergonomics, usability, constructive simplicity, environmental sustainability, and aesthetics.

Every object that is designed according to these qualities, such as a yacht by legendary Italian ship-owner Riva, is, in itself, a prototype.

A stereotype is, instead, a negative caricature of certain positive traits possessed by members of a group, exaggerated to the point of becoming detestable or ridiculous, or, conversely, the positive exaggeration of characteristics which would, in themselves, be negative.

Typical examples are fake branded items.