Transformer, The:
Principles of Making Isotype Charts
Marie Neurath , Robin Kinross

Isotype (International System of Typographic Picture Education) is a system of pictograms designed to commu-nicate complex information in a nonverbal way. Developed in 1936 by a team of sociologists lead by Otto and Marie Neurath, this process of "transforming" data into visual form has strongly influenced the fields of graphic design. The Transformer: Principles of Making Isotype Charts< is the first English-language primer on Isotype—the foundation of the modern-day pictographic signals found in airports, train stations, highway signs, and computer interfaces. Featuring illustrated examples and essays, including a previously unpublished essay by Marie Neurath, The Transformer is a long-overdue appreciation of an important moment in the history of visual communication.


Marie Neurath (1898–1986), worked with Otto Neurath, the founder of Isotype, from 1925 to his death in 1945. She continued this work after 1945 until her retirement in 1971.

Robin Kinross completed a postgraduate dissertation on Isotype at the University of Reading in 1979; afterwards he worked with

Marie Neurath on translations and editions of Otto Neurath's writings, as well as publishing essays on Otto Neurath and Isotype.

This book is a long-delayed outcome of his Isotype activity.
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