Like da Vinci drawings for today?s designers, these references are analog tools for a digital age Another classic design manual has joined the rush of lost publications being reintroduced to a new generation of creators via crowdfunding. But this time, the publishers believe they?re not just providing an inspiration, but also a valuable tool.
Released by IA Collaborative, a Chicago-based global design consultancy, the Humanscale Manuals, a set of three books and nine measurement selectors being reissued via the firm?s new Kickstarter campaign, place important information about human anatomy and movement at a designers? fingertips. Broken down in easy-to-access charts and manuals meant for industrial designers, architects, planners and others, these information-rich resources for both activity and ergonomics offer important analog tools in a digital design age. The dozens, even hundreds, of choices about size and dimensions designers have to make are placed within their hands. ?The analog nature of these guides lets us as designers look at things together and be inspired, resolve disagreements, and solve problems,? says Luke Westra, design engineering director at IA Collaborative and the project lead for the Humanscale reissue.

The Humanscale manuals were the brainchild of Henry Dreyfuss Associates, a famous design firm that helped pioneer human-centered methodology and collaborated on the creation of iconic products such as the modern telephone, the ...