Fuzzy Caterpillar Identification Chart

By drawing a simple line for each item between two parallel axes, it provides a crystal-clear picture of which items have risen, which have fallen, and which have crossed over. The card catalog, like the commercial catalog that would follow and perfect its methods, was a tool for making a vast and overwhelming collection legible, navigable, and accessible. Tangible, non-cash rewards, like a sticker on a chart or a small prize, are often more effective than monetary ones because they are not mentally lumped in with salary or allowances and feel more personal and meaningful, making the printable chart a masterfully simple application of complex behavioral psychology. It solved all the foundational, repetitive decisions so that designers could focus their energy on the bigger, more complex problems. The craft community also embraces printable technology. I was witnessing the clumsy, awkward birth of an entirely new one.