Visual Language: Global Communication for the 21st Century

by Robert E. Horn

In this book, Bob Horn has brought together the depth of his years of experience in information design with a wealth of research on the history and practice of visual languages. The result is a new a way of thinking about visual language that integrates and extends the different elements on which he draws. It may come to be, as he predicts, the starting point for a new field of study that develops the "global language for the 21st century."

Genres: Design, Communication, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Art

270 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Joey Wiley]

Full of a lot of good information, but very difficult to read because it was so cluttered. For a book about visual language, this book broke a lot of the rules in making something visually appealing. It lacked the ability to effectively communicate visually because of all the cluttered drawings, etc. It's a shame because the concept and content were good.

[Andromeda Yelton]

Could not finish. Full of visuals but they seemed gimmicky and distracting, not illustrative - a problem given the subject. Seemed to be one guy's pet grand theory, not well-situated in any scholarly discourse. Wondered why the editing seemed so poor until I realized the author owned the publishing imprint.

[Joe]

a lot of interesting research recorded in one place, but not the theoretically cohesive work i was hoping for. the drawings were also very "clip-art" style, which lacked...what?...something like a literary voice.

[Jerry]

Bob has enumerated and illustrated the many ways in which we communicate visually.