Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsmuseum

The Austrian Museum of Society and Economy in Vienna's Margareten district was founded in Red Vienna in 1924 and is closely tied to the philosopher and social scientist Otto Neurath. With graphic designer Gerd Arntz, Neurath developed here the Vienna Method of Pictorial Statistics, later called Isotype, an ancestor of every modern pictogram from road signs to smartphone icons. After being shut down in the 1930s the institution was refounded in 1948 and now sits on Vogelsanggasse with an extension in the neighbouring residential building. Its exhibitions explain complex social and economic ideas with clear, often startling graphics. For anyone interested in design history or data visualisation, this small museum is an unusually rewarding find.