Preface

Further indication of our interest in visual aspects of engineering/scientific communication is our introduction of a cover illustration for the TRANSACTIONS. This line drawing was created by Art Appel and Joan Musgrave using an experimental program at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. After creating a single arrow (or other object, symbol, or design), the artist can change its size, rotate it about any axis, replicate it, and superimpose images with the “hidden” lines being eliminated. If we view this assemblage of arrows not as a graphic design but as an ambiguous indicator of direction, we can immediately understand Wolf Von Eckardt´s concern (page 63) with signs that don´t guide and words that don´t inform.