Reinventing the Wheel

From circular slide rules to Captain Marvel decoders, Helfand's collection exhibits the variety and remarkable usefulness of these ingenious and beautifully designed tools. Helfand writes, "these paper artifacts are somehow philosophically united in their unique approach to information design." Pretty AND useful. Yay!

by Amy

This thoroughly unusual book will delight graphic, information, and book designers. It will equally fascinate those interested in intellectual history, history of technology, and popular culture.a a Library Journal

Now available in paperback, this delightful book spins the history of the information wheel, as inventive and instructive as intriguing, that has been used since the fourteenth century to measure, record, predict, and calculate everything from time and space to military history to recipes. In this fascinating book, designer and critic Jessica Helfand offers and in-depth look at these unique artifacts, which are not only clever and amusing but, Helfand argues, relevant as a model for modern interactive design. From circular mathematical slide rules to Captain Marvel phonetic decoders, Reinventing the Wheel demonstrates the astonishing range and remarkable utility of these ingenious interactivea tools.