ISOTYPE by MTrevelyan

International System of TYpographic Picture Education

Isotype is an abbreviation of 'International System Of Typographic Picture Education'. It was developed by the Viennese Social Scientist Otto Neurath from 1925 in Vienna, Austria, as a method of visualising data and statistics from industry, demographics, politics and economy. Marie (then Reidemeister) and Gerd Arntz were to later join Neurath in developing the system to educate the proletariat, most of whom were virtually illiterate.

International System of TYpographic Picture Education

Otto Neurath Otto Neurath was born in Vienna in 1840. He studied mathematics and gained a pHd in Political Science and Statistics. He went on to teach political economy at the Neue Wiener Handelsakademie. He then directed the Department of War Economy in the War Ministry. Around 1917, he became director of the German Museum of War Economy at Leipzig. Neurath then joined the German Social Democratic Party in from 1918 -1919 and ran an office for central economic planning in Munich. When the Bavarian Soviet Republic was defeated, Neurath was imprisoned but returned to Austria after intervention from the Austrian government. He joined the Social Democrats in Red Vienna (nickname of Vienna between 1918 and 1935 when the Social Democrats had the majority and the city was democratically governed for the first time. There he became secretary general of the Austrian Association of Co-operative Housing and Garden Allotment Societies. Not only was did he have to work within the central body that directed the organisation, but was also in charge of the dissemination of information and education.

All hisAlllife hisNeurath life Neurath was interested was interested in presenting in presenting 'factual 'factual information information by means by means of visual of visual aids'. aids'. His association His association decided decided to inform to inform the general the general publicpublic aboutabout the housing the housing and garden and garden plot movement, plot movement, and so andthey so they arranged arranged an an exhibition exhibition in thein centre the centre of Vienna. of Vienna. Real, Real, fully-furnished fully-furnished transportable transportable houses houses were were erected erected on the on square, the square, and and withinwithin the city thehall, cityfurther hall, further information information was displayed. was displayed. They They depicted depicted the results the results of their of work their work on big onwall big charts wall charts - they- they showed showed the increase the increase of poultry-keeping of poultry-keeping in gardens in gardens and and yardsyards by designing by designing charts. charts. For double For double the amount the amount of of poultry poultry kept, double kept, double the number the number of arranged of arranged bird drawings bird drawings were were shown. shown. Ground Ground plansplans were were exhibited exhibited as well asas well new as new garden garden cities.cities. 'Neurath 'Neurath recognised recognised something something crucial crucial to to the theory the theory of communication, of communication, through through creating creating icons icons of of objectivity. objectivity. SinceSince a considerable a considerable part of part theofinformation the information to to whichwhich an individual an individual is exposed is exposed is optically is optically processed, processed, as as Gestalt Gestalt Theory Theory and perceptual and perceptual psychology psychology were were able able to to demonstrate demonstrate at theat end the of endtheof 19th the 19th century, century, it canit be can be conclusive conclusive that information that information must be must visualised be visualised or data or must data must be transformed be transformed into pictures into pictures in order in order to betoperceived be perceived at at all'. This all'. was This the was start the start of theof 'Vienna the 'Vienna Method' Method' later later to to become become 'Isotype'. 'Isotype'. As theAsexhibition the exhibition proved proved hugely hugely popular, popular, Neurath Neurath decided decided to keep to keep some some of it and of ituse andit use as ait nucleus as a nucleus of a museum of a museum for for Housing Housing and city andplanning, city planning, whichwhich he became he became director director of in of in 1923.1923. He named He named it 'Gesellschaefts-und it 'Gesellschaefts-und Wirtschaftsmuseum' Wirtschaftsmuseum' (Museum (Museum of Society of Society and Economy). and Economy). The museum The museum gave gave answers answers to all to kinds all kinds of questions of questions - from- types from types of settlement of settlement to techniques to techniques of building of building houses. houses. The success The success of he of museum he museum led the ledmunicipality the municipality to support to support the museum, the museum, and so andOtto so Otto was able was to able expand to expand the variety the variety of subjects, of subjects, reserving reserving only only one department one department for Housing for Housing and City andPlanning. City Planning.

Marie Marie Neuath Neuath Neur Neur MarieMarie Neurath Neurath (born(born MarieMarie Reidemeister Reidemeister in 1898), in 1898), was was a member a member of theof team the team who who developed developed the Vienna the Vienna Method, Method, and who and was who responsible was responsible for later for later changing changing the name the name of of the method the method to Isotype. to Isotype. She was She also was an alsoauthor an author and aand designer a designer of youngsters of youngsters books. books. She She first met first Otto met Otto Neurath Neurath through through her brother her brother who who was living was living in Vienna in Vienna and had and gotten had gotten to to knowknow him and himhis and wife, his wife, Olga.Olga. In early In early October October 1924,1924, Otto Otto took Marie took Marie roundround the museum. the museum. She was She was very very intrigued intrigued by the bycharts the charts he and he his andteam his team had designed had designed - she -found she found them them 'illuminating' 'illuminating' and 'so andobvious' 'so obvious' - so much - so much that she thataccepted she accepted his offer his offer for her fortoher collaborate to collaborate with him withinhim developing in developing the visual the visual representations. representations. After After finishing finishing her exams her exams in Gottingen, in Gottingen, she began she began working working with Otto with Otto at theatmuseum the museum in early in early 1925.1925. Her job Herwithin job within the institution the institution was 'the was transformer'. 'the transformer'. This involved This involved extracting extracting the necessary the necessary data data givengiven in words in words and and figures figures by thebyexpert the expert of a particular of a particular subject, subject, and putting and putting them them into picture into picture form.form. It wasIt her was her responsibility responsibility to decide to decide what what information information is worth is worth transmitting transmitting to thetopublic the public and how and how to to makemake it understandable it understandable to thetomasses. the masses. She then She then sketched sketched up a up rough a rough 'blueprint' 'blueprint' of theof the chartchart with the withinformation the information needed, needed, the title, the the title,colour the colour key, arrangement, key, arrangement, caption caption etc. etc.

Gerd Arntz

This pictogram is striding forwards and is holding a suitcase decorated with stickers which say international tourism. It communicates a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;post-war travellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The turning up of the collar suggests a migrant worker rather than maybe a tourist.

This chart was designed in 1933, and explains the outcome of the First World War. Unlike usual Isotype charts, the pictograms are arranged isometrically, rather than in horizontal lines. This is most likely devised from traditional stragegic battle plans and shows that the system was adaptable to communicating topics in a different way. The pictograms represent two enemy groups returning home after war - the way they are facing away from eachother gives clues to this. The viewer is able to read the chart in 3 different ways: the size of each group in comparison to eachother, the proportion of classes within each group (of the living, the wounded and the dead), and the proportions of the classes between the groups. The living, the wounded and the dead picotgrams are differentiated by colour - light grey for living, red for wounded and black for the dead. Also between each group there are tiny differnces in detail of the dress and the posture of the soldiers.

Stages of th e design a nd product work shop, ion of an Is Vienna. Arn otype at th tzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design for arrangin e Social an is cut in lin g onto a ch d Economic oleum and art, along an easy an Museum th en printed w it h d fast way ty p o multiple tim g ra phic eleme of producin whole proce es ready n ts g . A m t u th ltiple copie ss to be ca e time, lino s of the sam rried out w -cutting wa ithin their st e image. It s udio. also enable d the

The aim of the method was to organise information and statistics in a way that could be widely understood by the proletariat, using consistent graphic pictograms which were aesthetically attractive and memorable. He intended the museum to address common people and for it's educational purposes, he trusted the effect of these pictograms be greater than the effect of words. According to Neurath, 'A picture produced after the rules of the Viennese Method shows the most important details of the object at first glance, apparent differences must strike the eye immediately. At second glance, it should be possible to distinguish the more important details, and at third glance, whatever other details are to be seen. If a picture gives further information at a fourth or fifth glance, it should be rejected as pedagogically unsuitable according to the Viennese School'. The team's philosophy was 'form follows function'. 'When we started, single symbols were drawn rather realistically, but by using a new technique they soon became simplified with our becoming less self-explanatory'. They learnt that minimalism and simplicity was a key quality of the pictograms. They should communicate a piece of data without any distracting detail - what counts is the general idea - precise details are not important. 'We cut out the symbols - little silhouettes of cows, goats, potatoes, ploughs and human beings - from coloured paper, so reducing the outlines to a minimum and of course avoiding internal lines where possible. This simplification led us to prepare little blocks from which we printed the symbols that we wanted to paste onto the charts we were exhibiting'. 'It is an essential element of Isotype that the design of the symbols in themselves, as well as their arrangement, should be attractive. LIne, colour and shade are used purely for informative purposes'. The pictograms were designed to be put in relation with each other in 'Isotype charts'. Eventually, these pictograms will be designed to specific rules, and therefore function as a 'picture language'.

'From the mid 1930's, Isotype pictograms increasingly 'From the mid 1930's, Isotype pictograms werewere increasingly produced as photo-engraved blocks rather as linocuts. produced as photo-engraved blocks rather thanthan as linocuts. blocks to print in multiples paper, The The blocks werewere usedused to print in multiples ontoonto paper, for for in creating photo-mechanical 'artwork' charts. use use in creating photo-mechanical 'artwork' for for charts. Surplus prints stored a numbered envelope ready Surplus prints werewere stored in ainnumbered envelope ready for later Photoengravure is intaglio an intaglio printmaking for later use'.use'. Photoengravure is an printmaking process whereby a copper (or zinc) is coated process whereby a copper (or zinc) plateplate is coated withwith a a light-sensitive gelatine tissue which exposed light-sensitive gelatine tissue which had had beenbeen exposed to a to a positive etched'. film film positive and and thenthen etched'.

cut out 'We'We cut out the the symbols - little symbols - little silhouettes of cows, silhouettes of cows, goats, potatoes, goats, potatoes, ploughs human ploughs andand human beings - from beings - from coloured paper, coloured paper, so so reducing reducing the the outlines outlines to ato a minimum minimum andand of of course avoiding course avoiding internal where internal lineslines where possible. possible. ThisThis simplification simplification led led us us to prepare to prepare littlelittle blocks which blocks fromfrom which we printed we printed the the symbols symbols thatthat we we wanted to paste wanted to paste the charts ontoonto the charts we we were exhibiting'. were exhibiting'.

Colour Colour Primary Colours Primary Colours Black Black

White White

Yellow Yellow

RedRed

Green Green

BlueBlue

Brown Brown

GreyGrey

Secondary Colours Secondary Colours Orange Orange

Purple Purple

‘There are many problems and difficulties. for instance, ‘There are many problems and difficulties. If, forIf,instance, we want to indicate the word we represent can represent we want to indicate the word ’man’’man’ we can it by it by indefinite drawing, still to hashave to have a somesome very very indefinite drawing, but itbut stillit has a certain colour. The colours black, white, brown certain colour. The colours black, white, red, red, brown and and yellow for indicating certain human groups, yellow are are used used for indicating certain human groups, therefore it is advisable to used or blue therefore it is advisable to used grey,grey, greengreen or blue whenwhen to speak of human beings in general. tryingtrying to speak of human beings in general. BlackBlack may may be be because it is neutralised by being as the usedused too, too, because it is neutralised by being used used as the printing colour’ usualusual printing colour’

Quantity A popular picture statistics method, devised by Michael George Mulhall, was published in 1893 as 'Dictionary of Statistics'. However his approach of representing quantities by means of smaller or larger images was heavily criticised. Among the critics was Williard C. Brinton, who in 1914 published 'Graphic Methods for Presenting Facts', and whose work may have directly influenced Neurath in developing the idea to show quantities through a serialisation of images of consistent size, instead of enlarging the size of the image. This became a crucial principle of the then called Vienna Method. Otto stated: 'In all statistical charts, we represented larger numbers of animals, vegetables and men by means of a larger number of same sized symbols, not by bigger symbolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. 'I remember a public health exhibition in which a chart showed a very big Red Indian and a very small European. The written explanation informed one that there is a much higher mortality rate from tuberculosis amongst Red Indians than amongst Europeans. Yet the bigger symbol does not tell you whether to look at it's height, it's area or it's volume. In some techniques, double the amount of population is represented by a person of double the height, but such a figure has more than twice the area and even more than twice the volume of the smaller one'.

Combination 'The pictograms of Isotype may be combined in different ways to represent different things. Some are more or less fixed to certain rules, others may be adapted to cases as they arise. For example, a symbol for 'worker' and one for 'agriculture may be combined to make one for 'agricultural worker'.

Anton Van Dalen

‘All my work in its style was influenced by knowledge of Isotype’

‘I myself, as a youngster, studied at the Amsterdamse Grafische School in my native Holland. I now teach at the School of Visual Arts here in New York City.’ My first job I got soon after my immigration to Toronto Canada at age sixteen. Television was then new, with a tiny screen and only in black and white. The artwork had to be visually extremely readable and its contend understood at a glance. It taught me how to cram maximum content with minimal imagery. Always strove for a knock out immediacy, like a traffic sign - so people would visually read it without thinking about it.

Image Sources

OttO Otto Neurath

All his life Neurath was interested in presenting 'factual information by means of visual aids'. His association decided to inform the general public about the housing and garden plot movement, and so they arranged an exhibition in the centre of Vienna. Real, fully-furnished transportable houses were erected on the square, and within the city hall, further information was displayed. They depicted the results of their work on big wall charts - they showed the increase of poultry-keeping in gardens and yards by designing charts. For double the amount of poultry kept, double the number of arranged bird drawings were shown. Ground plans were exhibited as well as new garden cities. 'Neurath recognised something crucial to the theory of communication, through creating icons of objectivity. Since a considerable part of the information to which an individual is exposed is optically processed, as Gestalt Theory and perceptual psychology were able to demonstrate at the end of the 19th century, it can be conclusive that information must be visualised or data must be transformed into pictures in order to be perceived at all'. This was the start of the 'Vienna Method' later to

Otto Neurath was born in Vienna in 1840. He studied mathematics and gained a pHd in Political Science and Statistics. He went on to teach political economy at the Neue Wiener Handelsakademie. He then directed the Department of War Economy in the War Ministry. Around 1917, he became director of the German Museum of War Economy at Leipzig. Neurath then joined the German Social Democratic Party in from 1918 -1919 and ran an office for central economic planning in Munich. When the Bavarian Soviet Republic was defeated, Neurath was imprisoned but returned to Austria after intervention from the Austrian government.

become 'Isotype'.

He joined the Social Democrats in Red Vienna (nickname of Vienna between 1918 and 1935 when the Social Democrats had the majority and the city was democratically governed for the first time. There he became secretary general of the Austrian Association of Co-operative Housing and Garden Allotment Societies. Not only was did he have to work within the central body that directed the organisation, but was also in charge of the dissemination of information and education.

http://www.holywellhousepublishing.co.uk/Neurath.html

Marie NeurNeuath

As the exhibition proved hugely popular, Neurath decided to keep some of it and use it as a nucleus of a museum for Housing and city planning, which he became director of in 1923. He named it 'Gesellschaefts-und

Wirtschaftsmuseum' (Museum of Society and Economy). The museum gave answers to all kinds of questions - from types of settlement to techniques of building houses. The success of he museum led the municipality to support the museum, and so Otto was able to expand the variety of subjects, reserving only one department for Housing and City Planning.

http://isotyperevisited.org/2009/09/gesellschaft-und-wirtschaft.html

Gerd Arntz This pictogram is striding forwards and is holding a suitcase decorated with stickers which say international tourism. It communicates a ‘post-war

Marie Neurath (born Marie Reidemeister in 1898), was a member of the team who developed the Vienna Method, and who was responsible for later changing the name of the method to Isotype. She was also an author and a designer of youngsters books. She first met Otto Neurath through her brother who was living in Vienna and had gotten to know him and his wife, Olga. In early October 1924, Otto took Marie round the museum. She was very intrigued by the charts he and his team had designed - she found transformer'. This involved extracting the necessary data given in words and figures by the expert of a particular subject, and putting them into picture form. It was her responsibility to decide what information is worth transmitting to the public and how to make it understandable to the masses. She then sketched up a rough 'blueprint' of the chart with the information needed, the title, the colour key, arrangement, caption etc.

them

http://dc226.4shared.com/doc/ZwQmn0t9/preview.html

'illuminating' and 'so obvious' - so much that she accepted his offer for her to collaborate with him in developing the visual representations. After finishing her exams in Gottingen, she began working with Otto at the museum in early 1925. Her job within the institution was 'the

The turning up of the collar suggests a migrant worker rather than maybe a tourist.

http://www.holywellhousepublishing.co.uk/Neurath.html http://ospublish.constantvzw.org/blog/texts/the-transformer

http://isotyperevisited.org/2012/08/introduction.html http://www.dieselpunks.org/profiles/blogs/the-secret-of-isotype

'We cut out the symbols - little silhouettes of cows, goats, potatoes, ploughs and human beings - from coloured paper, so reducing the outlines to a minimum and of course avoiding internal lines where possible. This simplification led us to prepare little blocks from which we printed the symbols that we wanted to paste onto the charts we were exhibiting'.

Stages of the design and production work shop, of an Isotype Vienna. Arntz’s at the Social ready for design is arranging and Economi onto a chart, cut in linoleum and c Museum lino-cutting then printed was along with multiple times typographic It also enabled an easy and fast way elements. of producin the whole At the time, g multiple process to copies of the be carried out within their same image. studio.

'To remember simplified pictures is better than to forget accurate figures'

'From the mid 1930's, Isotype pictograms were increasingly produced as photo-engraved blocks rather than as linocuts. The blocks were used to print in multiples onto paper, for use in creating photo-mechanical 'artwork' for charts. Surplus prints were stored in a numbered envelope ready for later use'. Photoengravure is an intaglio printmaking process whereby a copper (or zinc) plate is coated with a light-sensitive gelatine tissue which had been exposed to a film positive and then

http://vis4.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ http://www.creativereview.co.uk/back-issues/creative-review/ 2011/march/gerd-arntz

Quantity A popular picture statistics method, devised by Michael George Mulhall, was published in 1893 as 'Dictionary of Statistics'. However his approach of representing quantities by means of smaller or larger images was heavily criticised. Among the critics was Williard C. Brinton, who in 1914 published 'Graphic Methods for Presenting Facts', and whose work may have directly influenced Neurath in developing the idea to show quantities through a serialisation of images of consistent size, instead of enlarging the size of the image. This became a crucial principle of the then called Vienna Method. Otto stated: 'In all statistical charts, we represented larger numbers of animals, vegetables and men by means of a larger number of same sized symbols, not by bigger symbols’. 'I remember a public health exhibition in which a chart showed a very big Red Indian and a very small European. The written explanation informed one that there is a much higher mortality rate from tuberculosis amongst Red Indians than amongst Europeans. Yet the bigger symbol does not tell you whether to look at it's height, it's area or it's volume. In some techniques, double the amount of population is represented by a person of double the height, but such a figure has more than twice the area and

Otto Neurath

http://isotyperevisited.org/2012/08/society-and-economy.html http://www.stroom.nl/webdossiers/webdossier.php?wd_ id=2615745

http://isotyperevisited.org/2012/08/society-and-economy.html http://isotyperevisited.org/2009/09/neurath-on-maps.html http://www.midcenturia.com/2011/09/augustin-tschinkel-isotype-art.html

Essay Sources Book:

‘From Hieroglyphics to Isotype’ Otto Neurath ‘Principles of Isotype’ Marie Neurath Website: www.thisistomorrow.info/viewArticle.aspx?artld=508 www.gerdarntz.org/isotype www.isotyperevisitied.org www.confessionsofadesigngeek.com/2011/02/19/out-and-about-isotype www.vostokstudio.com/blog/2011/02/isotype-how-words-divide-and-pictures-unite/ www.homepage.univie.ac.at/frank.hartmann/texte/neurath.html Anton Van Dalen sent me photographs personally. All pictograms: www.gerdarntz.org