Wordless Diagrams

by Nigel Holmes

Award-winning illustrator and graphic designer Nigel Holmes depicts the things we do every day like you've never seen them before.

Pruning a rose or building a sandcastle might seem like common activities, but when you see them visualized on paper in wordless, step-by-step diagrams, you'll discover them anew. From how to tie a knot in a cherry stem with your tongue to how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, from how to carve a turkey to how to change a diaper, Nigel Holmes's striking diagrams will entertain and educate. Wordless Diagrams will win you over without saying a word.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art Design, Design, Art

160 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2005

Reviews

[Loyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wordless Diagrams is a slim book of drawings that show you how to do a bunch of really obvious actions, like how to throw a bouquet or how to sit in front of a computer, the latter with which I'm sure Holmes has plenty of experience. These "diagrams" (really pictograms) are amusing, but leave you pretty empty, like a parlor trick. While I appreciate Holmes' effort in Time magazine and elsewhere to clarify complicated statistics or opaque processes, these computer-drawings feel like something done after work to chill down before going home. The "diagram" of how to tie a cherry stem into a knot is kind of droll, but most of the actions represented are just kind of pointless, even as fun.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great coffee table book and teaching tool--I'll be using these as writing prompts for composition classes: write a "how-to" essay based on a diagram pictured in the book.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book includes information both helpful and silly. I didn't know citrus peels could be used to deter moths! However, I did know that the proper way to use a cell phone while driving is "don't." While a lot of the information amounted to nothing more useful than interesting trivia for me - how to remove a horseshoe, for instance - it's still a fun read! And there are diagrams that would make good reference sheets around the home, in places like the kitchen or laundry room.

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received it for Christmas. I thought it was going to be better. I was hoping for more in depth infographics. A disappointment, especially since I've had it on my list for so long.

[Stephanie Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book of pictorial instructions should be clear and easy to understand this was not. Not sure if it is meant to be a joke or a useful tool but it achieved neither.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

An amusing throw away. Holmes’ humour comes through well in some of the diagrams (VCR, frisbee, cherry knot etc), but overall this book of wordless diagrams just shows that diagram are often better with … words. The author knows this and mentions it many times in ‘On Information Design’ so the book I best taken as a bit of fun.

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can't expect much from a tiny book of miscellaneous diagrams. Some of these were well executed, and some were pretty ho-hum. Something interesting to page through quickly in a bookstore (as was the case with me), but not something worth rereading or purchasing.

[Nat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned how to defend myself by grabbing my assailant's hand and then punching him in the face and how to tie a scarf "European" style.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Currently reading" is a bit of a misnomer since this is a book of diagrams, but so far I'm fascinated. I've learned how to pierce a tongue in a few easy steps...who's up for it?

[Andrew Tatge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, painless, sometimes funny. Worth reading at library, not do much a purchase