Module 7: Isotype

Communication without Words

Developed in the 1930s, the Isotype was a way for complicated information to be presented to the public. Statistics, instructions, and map directions were commonly presented in this way. The Isotype design has several key elements: simplification, abstraction, and emphasis on line. It attempts to universalize information so that the information is accessible to as many people as possible.

We see the impact of Isotype (called the Vienna method at the time of its development) in our lives in the form of web and app icons, information graphics ("infographics"), and informational signs (such as those found in airports). There are certain abstract symbols which are universal enough to be used and understood in a variety of contexts. When I see an arrow pointing to the right on a web page, I understand that to mean "next page"; in the context of a music player application, I understand that to mean "forward" or "next".

There is danger in becoming overly reliant on using symbols to communicate complex ideas. Human communication is a balance between efficiency and expression of complex ideas. Abstract concepts such as emotions and values are hard to articulate using purely symbolic language; additionally, symbols can often stand for different concepts. As in my previous example of a right-pointing arrow: depending on the context, the arrow can stand for "next" (as in "next page") or "forward" (as in "fast forward").

Modern pictograms

Isotype: International System of TYpographic Picture Education

• Developed by Otto Neurath
• Member of the Vienna Circle
• Austrian philosopher of science, sociologist, and political economist
• director of Deutsches Wirtschaftsmuseum
• Social democrat; involved in politics
• Founded Gesellschafts-und Wirtschaftsmuseum
• stressed that Isotype was limited in its ability to communicate 
• uses pictograms in order to communicate ideas
• pictogram (or pictograph): a symbol used to express an idea or concept

An infographic explaining why you should use infographics: http://www.markedlines.com/a-roundup-of-25-jaw-dropping-infographics/

Works cited:
Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. Meggs' History of Graphic Design. John Wiley and Sons. 2011. Kindle Edition. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotype_%28picture_language%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Neurath
http://ministryoftype.co.uk/words/article/isotype/
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pictogram