ASOTYPE: Animated System of Typographic Picture Education

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.

Case 1: ASOTYPEs on the way to the airport
Let's assume that a person drives to the airport. On the freeway, he or she sees traffic signs along with an airport sign. When you near the airport you see two different signs pointing to, "departures" and "arrivals" however, you miss the turn to the "departures" section. On the road, signs have to be easy to read with clear meanings. It is not that the words on the signs are hard to understand but because there are so many traffic signs providing a bevy of information. People on the road often miss their turns because of confusing or misunderstanding signs. Currently, visual signs on the roads are static. If signs are animated they will provide us clearer information. If the arrival sign appeared to be like an airplane arriving, there would not be confusion. The existing arrival sign on the road is a static shape of an airplane's side view and the head aimed toward the ground. This is an accurate scene of an airplane landing but it requires time to think about what the visual means while driving. The problem is that people on the roads do not have time to analyze what these signs mean.

Case 2: signal light asotype at a crosswalk
Communication via signage is based on function and purpose. The traffic signal is a good example of how a single color communicates without further explanation. When people cross a street they press the button on the traffic signal column. Then, the signal turns red to green in the crosswalk as the signal for the drivers turn green to red. In this case the human shape in the crosswalk signal is quite unnecessary because the effect is not the form but the color. A way to improve the efficiency of the form, the green light should show a human shape actually walking and the red light should show the shape stopping. In addition, since the signal lights on streets already implement a form of animation, blinking, adding simple motion to the existing system is not far from present practice. Some crosswalks have signal lights with an additional panel indicating how many seconds people have to cross the street. Numbers are universal but numerals symbols are not. In an extreme case, if a person does not know a numeral system they are just a bunch of odd shapes.

In Asia, some crosswalks have signal lights with reducing light bars from top to bottom. In both systems, a signal light shows a static a green human shape along with how many seconds a person has to cross the street. The recognition of counting down numbers is less effective than an animated bar with the signal. In other words, animated numbers just change their forms without decreasing their pixels or the density of light while an animated pixel or light bar visually shows time reducing. Inspired by these two examples, the ASOTYPE signal light maintains the human form and shows time reducing within the human, an intuitive cue. Therefore, form becomes function with the help of animation. With this improved system of crosswalk signals, people are able to react quickly and cross safely.

Case 3: Public toilets asotype
The most recognized sign in the world is the restroom sign. The forms of these signs are based on simplified outlines of a male and female. They are outfitted in traditional concepts of how men and women should be clothed. The male symbol "wears" pants while the female symbol "wears" a dress, despite the fact that men wear skirts in some countries and women wear both pants and skirts. From an educational viewpoint, these restroom signs give us inaccurate information and guide us to a misconception about men and women's real appearances. Nevertheless, these signs work for us because we are taught to memorize certain information and incorporate this information into experience.

If a sign works, one might question why it needs to change. The answer is as people evolve socially our perception of representation must also change. This sign can be improved visually, functionally and intellectually. Why is it better to use an abstract form instead of using an outline of a male who wears pants and a female wears a skirt? Because these signs are widely spread in the world they give people the wrong perceptions, namely that a woman who does not wear a skirt is not a woman. Personally, this was a major annoyance when I grew up in Asia. One might think that this concept is formed by cultural backgrounds as opposed to a problem of restroom signs. I agree that this is an example that might not relate to restroom signs but, think about how many times we see these signs in our lives. I cannot even dare to count. We live in a visual world and most people depend on what they see. Our eyes perceive information and digest it through our brains and we accept it as true. These signs are not just a single visual they are the most influential visual ever made in design history. The sad thing about the form of a female wearing a skirt is that I am sure someone in the world looks at the sign and automatically associates wearing a skirt with being a woman.

ASOTYPE's main purpose is to give people accurate information. The public toilet sign has gone beyond its original function of giving information. Instead, it now serves as an incorrect universal representation of men and women. These new abstract forms will be beneficial in terms of sexual equality, social goods and psychological understanding about human life.

Case 4: sports asotype

The existing Olympic pictograms were created by a German graphic designer, Otl Aicher for the Munich Olympics in 1972. When the Olympic pictograms were used in Munich, they were extremely successful. At the following Olympics in Montreal they were used again. Even today, the very same pictogram is used in different styles. Over the course of time, the look of the Olympic pictograms has changed and several pictograms have been added and created for the new Olympic sports. Softball is one game that has been added to the Olympic games since 1996. Softball has similar game rules as baseball. As you see there is not much of a difference between baseball and softball. In fact, there is no clue to distinguish these pictograms causing confusion between the two. In this respect, baseball and softball ASOTYPEs not only show, but also demonstrate the difference between the two. The distinct characteristic of softball is the pitcher's underhand motion when she throws the ball.

In the case of the existing modern pentathlon and triathlon, the pictograms exhibit five circles above a human shape and three circles above a human shape respectively. The five circles represent shooting, fencing, swimming, horse riding and running in the pentathlon, while the three circles represent swimming, running and cycling in the triathlon. However, if people do not know these sports these circles could mean anything games, potentially activities, tools, facilities or people. The variations are endless and the pictograms do successfully serve their function. The improved pentathlon and triathlon ASOTYPEs reveal the content of these games and give people the information about what the events consist of. Ultimately, sports ASOTYPE demonstrates how motion helps to communicate the lack of visual information of the existing Olympic Pictograms.

NOTE: I initiated my ASOTYPE project due to my personal frustrations with the public toilet signs. While I developed the ASOTYPE I had many reactions to the public toilets ASOTYPE. One of the reactions was why do we need to change the public toilet sign since it seems to work so well. I know that the public toilet ASOTYPE has a different idea than other ASOTYPE examples in terms of the need of changing an already widely accepted form and function of sign. Although, the sensors that provided information on availability might have initially confused the audience, I believe that the message was an attempt at changing the existent perceptions of female stereotypes. I would hope this public toilette ASOTYPE challenges people to think differently and openly about why we distinguish some things based on our gender.

The existing sign system works well in our society and I do not necessarily believe that every sign should be in animation form. I think that there exists the need to improve the usability of tools, how information could be clearly conveyed and understood as well as how information is visualized in physical and virtual environments. Organizing information can facilitate our communication with people and things around us. I believe that design can make our lives richer and easier. I hope that ASOTYPE will allow for more of these possibilities. visit at www.asotype.com to see the samples.