Abstract
ONE of the characteristics of scientific management in modern industry is the use which is made of graphical methods. The importance of the pictorial representation of facts and data has also been widely realised by the various movements aiming at the prevention of accidents whether in industry or in the streets. It is, however, only within the last ten years that pictorial representations have been fashioned on definite scientific principles, and the value of the pioneer work of the Mundaneum Institute, Vienna, is now becoming widely recognised. During the last decade, under the leadership of Dr. Otto Neurath, basic principles for visual presentation have been developed. Charts or illustrations constructed on these lines reveal what is most essential at a first glance; the important details stand out on a second glance and more exact details are evident to a third glance. The method has been applied with conspicuous success to technical and to social facts and data, and the work of the Mundaneum has become known through a series of publications such as Gesellschaft und Wirtschaft, Technik und Menschhiet, Die Bunte Welt and Bildstatistik. Branches have now been established in Amsterdam and London (c/o World Association for Adult Education, 16, Russell Square, W.C.I) through which the services offered, including the preparation of charts, the loan of exhibits, issue of publications and provision of material, and advice on principles of visual presentation may be more accessible. The new technique provides an international cultural factor of high importance, but if its full advantages are to be reaped, its introduction into different countries should proceed on uniform lines under the guidance of the Mundaneum itself.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pictorial Representation of Data. Nature 132, 849 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/132849b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/132849b0