Handbook of Pictorial Symbols

It's a must have if you care for icons. Wish it was hardcover.

An excellent source of images that can be used for making charts, website buttons, newsletters. The designs are clean and can easily be modified. I personally enjoy just looking through the images as they are very inspiring.

HANDBOOK OF PICTORIAL SYMBOLS (1976) is an expanded, updated version of Modley's earlier book, 1000 PICTORIAL SYMBOLS (1942). Like its predecessor, the HANDBOOK shows us that a truly pioneering, insightful mind actually can see the way the future looks. // In his introduction, Modley argues that pictorial symbols are in some respects superior to words as a form of communication because they can be understood by people from around the world. In a globalized economy, he predicts, such symbols will ultimately supplant "Men," "Women," "Hotel," "Taxi," and "Camping," among many other words. This is the world we live in now. Modley could have actually strengthened his Case For Symbols by pointing out that such pictures can be recognized by children literally years before they learn to read, and that symbols can be recognized more quickly than words, making them especially useful in situations where fast reactions are necessary (e.g., control panels in airplanes.) // Most of the HANDBOOK is a collection of pictorial symbols, some created by Modley himself and others devised by various bureaucratic organizations, including the International Olympic Committee. If anything stands out about these symbols, it is that Modley's own are richer and more interesting than anyone else's. They have a thirties-modern look that has more charm than anything the British Airports Authority could come up with.

Rudolf Modley, symbolman and graphic designer, was a student of Otto Neurath [ISOTYPE]. One of the best examples of the application of this material is his _A History of the War in Maps, Pictographs, and Words_ [1943] which is out of print but easy to find.