Reinventing the Wheel

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Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 2002, English

Nonfiction, Graphic Design

ISBN: 9781568983387

From the Publisher. As inventive as instructive, information wheels—or volvelles—have been used since the 14th century to measure, record, predict, and calculate everything form time and space to military history and recipes. In this book, Helfand offers and in-depth look at these unique artifacts, which are not only clever and amusing—where else could you dial-in ingredients to concoct “Creamed Oysters and Celery”?—but, Helfand argues, relevant as a model for modern interactive design. From circular mathematical slide rules to Captain Marvel phonetic decoders; from nuclear bomb blast calculators to gestational breeding planners; and from astronomical planispheres to presidential trivia plotters, Reinventing the Wheel demonstrates the astonishing range and remarkable utility of these ingenious “interactive” tools.

On 3 book lists

Gail Anderson

On Gail Anderson’s Current Reading list

—February 2012.

Dan Formosa

On Dan Formosa’s Book List

I’m a big fan of wheel charts. Jessica Helfand’s book contains brilliant examples.

Jessica Helfand

On list of Books by Jessica Helfand

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