We are delighted to announce our first in-person conference in combination with IIID Vision+2026
*Conference will also be streamed live. Remote tickets available.
Symbol ’26: Neurath@90:
A Case for International Picture Language
Examining Inclusivity, Diversity and Universality in Visual Languages
27 May 2026
Designforum Austria, Vienna (Austria)
In 1936 Otto Neurath published ‘International Picture Language’, his seminal statement on Isotype, introducing Isotype to an international audience. The book epitomised his belief in a universal picture language that could communicate across borders, educational and social levels and clearly set out the mature iteration of the principles of Isotype which had been developing since he began work at the newly founded Social and Economic Museum in Vienna a decade earlier.
Today, Isotype is seen as one of the cornerstones of contemporary information design and echoes of Neurath’s work can be observed in standardised icon systems that are crucially important in the navigation of public and virtual spaces, and in their purest form, in the invention of new visual languages.
Symbol ’26: The Case for International Picture Language will seek to explore these echoes of Neurath’s system in contemporary society.
27 May: Conference Programme
09:00
Welcome to Symbol'26: Neurath@90
SESSION 1: ISOTYPE
09:10
KEYNOTE: Günther Sandner:
‘Knowledge for All. ISOTYPE – the picture language from Vienna’ (Reflections on an exhibition)
09:40
María del Mar Navarro:
‘Otto Neurath’s Theory of Well Being: Felicitology and the International Picture Language’
10:10
Enrico Bravi:
‘International Graphic Code: Julius Klinger and the Promise of Visual Universality’
10:20
Eliyahu Elad Yana:
‘The Mosiac of Equality – Neurath’s Visual Solution to Vienna’s Babel’
10:30
Sue Perks:
‘How different were Otto Neurath’s and Henry Dreyfuss’s dreams of an International Picture Language?’
10:40
Q&A Discussion
10:50
BREAK
SESSION 2: Monitoring Health
11:20
Gabi Schaffzin:
‘Face-based pain scales are tools for evaluating patients’ self-reported physical pain’
11:50
Haya Sheffer:
‘From Neurath’s Pictorial Language to Self - Tracking Apps: Visual Positivism as a Contemporary Regime'
12:20
Geanina Turcanu:
‘How is the data in sustainability app interfaces visualised to power behavioral impact? Case Study: Too Good to Go’ (food saving app)
12:30
Karel van der Waarde, Mandar Rane & Juli Gudehus:
‘The ibuproject – translating medicine information from text to visual signs’
12:40
Q&A Discussion
12:50
LUNCH
SESSION 3: The Human Body/Gender
13:50
Pia Pedersen:
‘The Human Body in Pictograms’
14:20
José Allard:
‘Reflecting on Neurath’s legacy through the results of a one-week academic workshop’
14:50
Sibylle Schlaich:
‘Neutral is not neutral’
15:00
Hisayasu Ihara & Mao Kudo:
‘Two Problems in Representing Genders in Pictograms After Isotype’
15:10
Q&A Discussion
SESSION 4: Universalism/Adaptive
15:20
Rodrigo Ramírez:
‘Beyond Universalism: Exploring Interpretations of Icons during and after COVID Crisis’
15:50
Mike Zender:
‘How access and inclusion relate to current icon customization and standardization’
16:20
Holger Ziemann:
‘The Goal of “Adaptive Semiotics” is to explore the possibilities of adapting systems to the users graphical literacy’
16:30
Q&A Discussion
16:40
BREAK
SESSION 5: Creativity/Humanity
17:00
Yoav Lorch:
‘Zlango: a unique effort to build the language and the technical structure’
17:15
GK VanPatter:
‘Roots of inclusion: Neurath meets Guilford’
17:30
Nigel Holmes:
‘The artist who brought humanity to Isotype’
17:45
DAY ENDS FINAL REMARKS CHARITY RAFFLE
Contact thesymbolgroup@gmail.com for any further information
International Picture Language by Otto Neurath
Click pdf icon to view the International Picture Language PDF in a new tab
