Isotype
アイソタイプ / 1920s–1940s / Layout / Information Design
Translates quantity into repeated same-size symbols, making comparison readable before language.
At a glance
Visual cues
- Unified pictograms
- Repetition of signs
- Axes of comparison
- Restricted color
Best used for
- Statistics comparable without expertise
- Basic guidance and education across languages
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Dictionary entry
- Type
- Short labels and clear figures; prose stays outside the chart
- Composition
- Fix the unit per symbol; show change by count, never by size
- Material
- Few meaningful colors, equal line weights, aligned baselines
- Caution
- Never scale one big symbol to show a difference. Always show unit, base and source.
- Further study
- Otto Neurath / Gerd Arntz / Marie Neurath
Related entries
- Swiss (スイス・スタイル)Shared effects: Trust.Compare Isotype and Swiss
- Flat Design / Vector Minimalism (フラットデザイン / ベクターミニマリズム)Shared effects: Trust / Intimacy.Compare Isotype and Flat Design / Vector Minimalism
Often confused with
More from Information Design
Continue through styles in the same Information Design family, prioritised by shared effects.
- Bento Grid (ベントーグリッド)Shared effects: Trust / Intimacy / Technique.
- Schematic Transit Diagram (スキーマティック路線図)Shared effects: Trust / Technique.
- Stamen Map Styles (Toner, Terrain, Watercolor) (スタメンの地図様式)Shared effects: Technique.
Browse all Information Design entries
Cite this entry
The dictionary is meant to be linked to. Take whichever form fits where you are writing.
- Link
- https://indexstyle.org/styles/isotype
- Markdown
- [Isotype — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/isotype)
- HTML
- <a href="https://indexstyle.org/styles/isotype">Isotype — IndexStyle</a>