Output details

The linguistic status of Isotype

It is ironic that Otto Neurath, one of those responsible for the ‘linguistic turn’ in philosophy of the twentieth century, should have been concerned during the last twenty years of his life with developing a ‘picture language’, as he sometimes called it. By using simplified pictograms as components, the Vienna Method of Pictorial Statistics (later named Isotype) bypassed verbal language to a great extent, creating the potential for international understanding of biological, social and economic correlations. However, despite its consistency and rigour, Isotype was not a complete language, and Neurath knew that it never could be. This research examines the linguistic characteristics of Isotype, informed by a close reading of archival correspondence between Neurath and the philosopher Rudolf Carnap, the semiotician Charles Morris, and the educationalist Patrick Meredith. Neurath's statements articulate a deliberate resistance on the part of Isotype's creators to develop a full theory behind what remained a pragmatic and adaptable method of graphic design.