Rudolf Modley

Rudolf Modley (November 3, 1906 – September 28, 1976)[1][2] was an Austrian-American research executive, graphic designer, management consultant and author, who founded Pictorial Statistics Inc. in 1934.

Modley introduced and popularized the Isotype picture language in the United States,[3][4][5] whereby he developed an own version of pictorial statistics.

[13] The company was set up as "a non-profit organization that offered to draw charts, including Isotypes, for any editor or publisher interested in illustrating economic and social articles.

[2] In his monograph Pictographs and Graphs,[17] Modley summarized his belief that a symbol should: In the late 1930s, the work of Otto Neurath and his method of picture statistics—first called the Vienna method and later by the acronymic nickname "Isotype" from the project's full title: International System of Typographic Picture Education[18]—had become influential, and with it Modley was a rising star.

It's Doctor Neurath's (and Mr. Modley's) theory that the strain of present-day prose is a little too much for the average man, and that if you want to be sure he grasps an idea you'd better resort to pictures...[21] The article concluded that this was "discouraging, but probably true.