Signs of the Times: Breaking the Language Barrier
In soliciting information about symbols from people and organizations around the globe, Henry Dreyfuss sent out two articles that expressed his vision for symbols' potential to transcend written or spoken language.
Signs of the Times: A Reminder about Isotype
While researching for the Symbol Sourcebook, Henry Dreyfuss was reminded of an important set of symbols from earlier in the 20th century.
Page from the book the Symbol Sourcebook showing black text and black and grey imagery on a white background; “HOME ECONOMICS” at top left with “Dressmaking and Tailoring” below to indicate three rows of symbols including a pair of pants with two parallel stripes on the left leg with “TAKE IN PANTS LEG” below.
Signs of the Times: Questions for Vogue
Henry Dreyfuss worked to get the Symbol Sourcebook promoted on the pages of the magazine to an unexpected result.
Evolving Digital Collections and Their Stewardship: Stamen’s Watercolor Maps
A curator, a conservator, and a designer discuss the continual maintenance of Watercolor Maps, a born-digital mapping tool in Cooper Hewitt's digital collection.
Signs of the Times: Context Is Everything
Sue Perks analyzes the various symbols that have stood for "poison" or "danger" and proves that in communication design context is everything.
A white, rounded-square ashtray featuring a red outline of a triangle with a black vertical line in it.
Signs of the Times: Neiman Marcus’s Symbol Merchandise
As part of a broad promotional push for the Symbol Sourcebook, Henry Dreyfuss worked with Neiman Marcus to produce a bold selection of merchandise related to symbols.
Page one of a handwritten timeline on yellow line paper with text written neatly in black with red underlining. Full transcript of the document at the bottom of the webpage.
Signs of the Times: Symbol Sourcebook Chronology
Paul Clifton, project manager of the Symbol Sourcebook, compiled a chronology documenting key moments in the development of the project.
Synthetic Material Identification in Dorothy Liebes Textile Samples
In preparation for the exhibition "A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes," textile conservators analyzed textile samples to better understand and care for the objects.
From the Collection: Queer Modernisms and Beyond
In observance of Pride month, Cooper Hewitt’s curatorial departments have selected a group of objects with LGBTQ+ stories to feature on the museum’s collection site. These objects are loosely connected by the theme of queer modernisms and are by LGBTQ+ designers.