Visual communication

Abstract

In all Austrtan and Hungarran medta, from graphrcs to the dlgttal, there has been crucial emphasis on the simplified visual presentation of complicated contents of communication, as well as on the simplificaton of visual communication itself, esoeciallv In the public realm Herbert Bayer, born and educated in Austria, immigrated to Germany at the age of twenty. He later taught at the Bauhaus and was one of the most successful communications designers in the world. His abilities in design were universal, extending from the design of a typefont (Universal Type) to the organization of exhibitions. Bayer’s graphic language was brilliant, especially in print media. Some of his photo montages have become standard international symbols. Joseph Binder is another Austrian artist who made an international contribution to public communications graphic design. Less doubtful than Bayer’s repertoir (Rolf Sachsse), which could be applied to all contents and ideologies, is the visual program developed by Otto Neurath, the organizational motor of the Vienna Circle (Angela Jansen). As a socialist, he was interested more in pictorial pedagogy than pictorial art. The education of the masses and adult education were his concerns, which is why he developed an informational graphic system that makes it possible to visually grasp the essential parts of a piece of information at first glance: the Viannese method of picture statistics (1925). This “International System of Typographic Picture Education,” or ISOTYPE, combined from two Greek terms (“iso” means “same”), established itself internationally in the age of mass media. In today’s information society, where people are constantly confronted with visual information everywhere, from public buildings to electronic media, the job of the info-graphic designer is increasingly important: the portrayal of complex facts in an attractive and simplified way. Bayer developed a typographic system for capita, goods, and products. Neurath developed a typographic system for enlightenment, information, and education. Ecke Bonk elevated typography to a form of thought, called typosophy, which calls on “in⇔formation.”