ASOTYPE
Introduction
ASOTYPE is an innovation in graphics, images, and text in motion that communicates vital information in a compelling and involving way. ASOTYPE stands for Animated System Of Typographic Picture Education and was inspired by the Otto Neurath's world famous ISOTYPEs. ISOTYPE is an acronym for the International System Of Typographic Picture Education, and were developed in the 1920s to harness the power of visual communication in a world of ever-increasing complexity and interaction. The most famous ISOTYPE is probably the silhouettes found on lavatories around the world - an instant visual cue to the presence and appropriateness of a rest facility. In 1945, Otto Neurath stated
" The ordinary citizen ought to be able to get information freely about all subjects in which he is interested, just as he can get geographical knowledge from maps and atlases. There is no field where humanization of knowledge through the eye would not be possible."
At that time, the idea of creating ISOTYPEs as an alternative to written script was appropriate. It became successful and its success coincided with the enormous increase in international travels in the following decade. However, ISOTYPEs were never one hundred percent successful because they could not visualize all subjects and could not communicate their information fully to every culture and incorporate every custom. While intending to be international, they were hardly universally legible. As a result, people now memorize what signs mean rather than reading them, turning signs into symbols. In that respect, the ASOTYPE is not symbolic but readable, its animated characteristics rendering it both more intuitive and more communicative. It is my contention that ASOTYPES can communicate complex information and meaning more effectively in many situations than ISOTYPEs.
visit at www.asotype.com