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Envisioning Information
The celebrated design professor here tackles the question of how best to communicate real-life experience in a two-degree format, whether on the printed page or the computer screen. The Whole Earth Review called Envisioning Information a "passionate, elegant revelation."
126 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1990
About the author
Edward R. Tufte
14 books662 followersEdward Rolf Tufte (born 1942 in Kansas City, Missouri to Virginia and Edward E. Tufte), a professor emeritus of statistics, graphic design, and political economy at Yale University has been described by The New York Times as "the Leonardo da Vinci of Data". He is an expert in the presentation of informational graphics such as charts and diagrams, and is a fellow of the American Statistical Association. Tufte has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciences.
Tufte currently resides in Cheshire, Connecticut. He periodically travels around the United States to offer one-day workshops on data presentation and information graphics.
Note: Some books by this author have been published under the name Edward Tufte.
Tufte currently resides in Cheshire, Connecticut. He periodically travels around the United States to offer one-day workshops on data presentation and information graphics.
Note: Some books by this author have been published under the name Edward Tufte.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews
April 12, 2009
This makes the third and last of Edward Tufte's books I have (and most likely, will ever) read. I hear he's working on a fifth, but I can't really see the point. He just doesn't seem to have anything new to say. Per my earlier reviews, I found his first book (especially the first 50 pages, which contain almost all the content) to be terrific. His third, a bit lame. This one (the shortest of the three) is simply a confounding, rambling disaster.
I have three reasons to offer here. First, he continues to repeat his graphic design examples. Hello? Been there, read that, and frankly, the third time is not remotely charming.
Second, this one sentence-paragraph from page 50, which I was simply stunned to find in a published (even a self-published) work:
Third, this book reveals Tufte’s bizarre obsession with train schedules. The cover of his first book touted one of these visually impenetrable (and dull) examples, noteworthy for the date of its creation (sometime in the 19th century), its compression of a myriad of daily destinations, arrivals, and departures into a single image, and (I think) the fact that it’s French. Fine, so noted. But fully 1/10 of his second book is devoted to other train schedules (that’s merely by page count, in fact Tufte devotes 1 of 7 chapters to this). Scattered throughout this book are (by my count) 23 different train timetables, of which 6 are stylistically identical to the early French example that decorated his first work. Cumulatively, this significantly undermines the impact of any individual example, to say nothing of his point about using quality graphics to impart a density of information.
Not that there aren’t great moments in this volume: analyses of the effectiveness of the Vietnam War Memorial (and Maya Lin’s stalwart adherence to her vision in the face of initial bureaucratic “improvers”), the reproduction of a two-page essay by Calvin Tomkins which deconstructs Roy Lichtenstein’s Mural with Blue Brushstroke (a work which will be repeated in Tufte’s third book, albeit to make a new point about revelation of scale), and the harrowing reproduction of David Hellerstein’s Harper’s visual essay, “The Slow, Costly Death of Mrs. K____” to name but three. And Tufte is to be commended for self-publishing his books on graphical integrity so he can assure that his own work exemplifies his ideals for communication and graphic-to-text information density. I grant him his well-deserved chops and reputation based if nothing else on the influence and excellence demonstrated in his first book. Still, this book and its successor are evidence that even self-published visionaries are in need of a good editor.
I have three reasons to offer here. First, he continues to repeat his graphic design examples. Hello? Been there, read that, and frankly, the third time is not remotely charming.
Second, this one sentence-paragraph from page 50, which I was simply stunned to find in a published (even a self-published) work:
We thrive in information-thick worlds because of our marvelous and everyday capacities to select, edit, single out, structure, highlight, group, pair, merge, harmonize, synthesize, focus, organize, condense, reduce, boil down, choose, categorized, catalog, classify, list, abstract, scan, look into, idealize, isolate, discriminate, distinguish, screen, pigeonhole, pick over, sort, integrate, blend, inspect, filter, lump, skip, smooth, chunk, average, approximate, cluster, aggregate, outline, summarize, itemize, review, dip into, flip through, browse, glance into, leaf through, skim, refine, enumerate, glean, synopsize, winnow the wheat from the chaff, and separate the sheep from the goats.Well, now that I’ve met the author’s thesaurus, I’d appreciate him looking up the word “irony.”
Third, this book reveals Tufte’s bizarre obsession with train schedules. The cover of his first book touted one of these visually impenetrable (and dull) examples, noteworthy for the date of its creation (sometime in the 19th century), its compression of a myriad of daily destinations, arrivals, and departures into a single image, and (I think) the fact that it’s French. Fine, so noted. But fully 1/10 of his second book is devoted to other train schedules (that’s merely by page count, in fact Tufte devotes 1 of 7 chapters to this). Scattered throughout this book are (by my count) 23 different train timetables, of which 6 are stylistically identical to the early French example that decorated his first work. Cumulatively, this significantly undermines the impact of any individual example, to say nothing of his point about using quality graphics to impart a density of information.
Not that there aren’t great moments in this volume: analyses of the effectiveness of the Vietnam War Memorial (and Maya Lin’s stalwart adherence to her vision in the face of initial bureaucratic “improvers”), the reproduction of a two-page essay by Calvin Tomkins which deconstructs Roy Lichtenstein’s Mural with Blue Brushstroke (a work which will be repeated in Tufte’s third book, albeit to make a new point about revelation of scale), and the harrowing reproduction of David Hellerstein’s Harper’s visual essay, “The Slow, Costly Death of Mrs. K____” to name but three. And Tufte is to be commended for self-publishing his books on graphical integrity so he can assure that his own work exemplifies his ideals for communication and graphic-to-text information density. I grant him his well-deserved chops and reputation based if nothing else on the influence and excellence demonstrated in his first book. Still, this book and its successor are evidence that even self-published visionaries are in need of a good editor.
August 11, 2016
I think I had the wrong expectations for this book, so I was left disappointed. "Information" is not quite the same as data. If you're all about data visualization, try Nathan Yau. Tufte had good tips that are generalizable but I didn't find the examples very applicable to the type of things I work with.
June 18, 2012
While this work is full of brilliant principles & illuminating examples, the prose itself is incredibly disconnected. You can tell that Tufte designed the book page by page & not section by section, or even chapter by chapter. On the one hand, that means that the layouts are often excellent, but on the other merely flipping a page can be a jarring experience as the preceding paragraph fails to relate to the present one. A few times, I even had difficulty telling that the chapter had changed. Even the book's ending is abrupt, as if Tufte had simply run out of examples or said all he wanted to say.
All that aside, there were several interesting design principles in Envisioning Information that I had never considered, or had some inchoate knowledge of but that Tufte solidified. Among them: use light grids, avoid the "1 + 1 = 3 or more" effect ( basically, think of | |...while I mean it to be two black lines, the white space in between becomes a third item & clutters the display), "clutter is a property of design, not data", be careful with misleading applications of color. I found the most illustrative bits to be when an item is displayed, critiqued, & then redrawn, which truly highlights the power of thoughtful design. I also enjoyed Tufte's wide-ranging sources of inspiration, from Galileo to Italo Calvino. Overall, the book was very enjoyable but so lacking in structure or flow that I was left a little disappointed.
All that aside, there were several interesting design principles in Envisioning Information that I had never considered, or had some inchoate knowledge of but that Tufte solidified. Among them: use light grids, avoid the "1 + 1 = 3 or more" effect ( basically, think of | |...while I mean it to be two black lines, the white space in between becomes a third item & clutters the display), "clutter is a property of design, not data", be careful with misleading applications of color. I found the most illustrative bits to be when an item is displayed, critiqued, & then redrawn, which truly highlights the power of thoughtful design. I also enjoyed Tufte's wide-ranging sources of inspiration, from Galileo to Italo Calvino. Overall, the book was very enjoyable but so lacking in structure or flow that I was left a little disappointed.
March 20, 2012
This is a classic work in the field of information design. Today, you will more often hear the phrase “information visualization” (aka, infovis) to describe the act of representing abstract data in a visual format. The goal is to make the data more accessible to a human, allowing them to gain insights from the information.
The book was written in 1990 and lacks any description of information design for the web save for a few descriptions of color and graphical interfaces. Instead, Tufte focuses on “flatland,” the static, flat world of paper. His exploration of how people “represent the rich visual world of experience and measurement on mere flatland” ranges across time and space to bring examples of both good and bad designs.
The first chapter, Escaping Flatland, should be a quick introduction to the topic that invites the reader in to the work. It doesn’t quite work that way, though, due mainly to Tufte’s technical language and his quick transitions of topics and examples. In the first six pages alone he jumps from a Japanese shrine map, the shed skin of a toad, alternate designs for the periodic table, examples of three-dimensional representation, orreries, and stereoscopic images. You can tell Tufte is passionate about the topic and the first chapter is full of that excitement.
Luckily, the remaining chapters are calmer and more direct. He discusses Micro/Macro Readings next, then Layering and Separation, Small Multiples, Color and Information, and finally Narratives of Space and Time. Each chapter is an interesting examination of one aspect of information design. Examples range from Galileo’s notebooks, to train schedules, to modern art, to dance instructions. It all makes for a very stimulating read that can keep most anyone’s interest.
This is an excellent book to learn about how our design choices affect the wider world. It can be especially useful for anyone tasked with role of transforming information into visual displays like PowerPoint slides or reports.
The book was written in 1990 and lacks any description of information design for the web save for a few descriptions of color and graphical interfaces. Instead, Tufte focuses on “flatland,” the static, flat world of paper. His exploration of how people “represent the rich visual world of experience and measurement on mere flatland” ranges across time and space to bring examples of both good and bad designs.
The first chapter, Escaping Flatland, should be a quick introduction to the topic that invites the reader in to the work. It doesn’t quite work that way, though, due mainly to Tufte’s technical language and his quick transitions of topics and examples. In the first six pages alone he jumps from a Japanese shrine map, the shed skin of a toad, alternate designs for the periodic table, examples of three-dimensional representation, orreries, and stereoscopic images. You can tell Tufte is passionate about the topic and the first chapter is full of that excitement.
Luckily, the remaining chapters are calmer and more direct. He discusses Micro/Macro Readings next, then Layering and Separation, Small Multiples, Color and Information, and finally Narratives of Space and Time. Each chapter is an interesting examination of one aspect of information design. Examples range from Galileo’s notebooks, to train schedules, to modern art, to dance instructions. It all makes for a very stimulating read that can keep most anyone’s interest.
This is an excellent book to learn about how our design choices affect the wider world. It can be especially useful for anyone tasked with role of transforming information into visual displays like PowerPoint slides or reports.
June 9, 2021
This book is supposed to be by a master of visualizations.
The book is a collection of visual examples that have little to no context or explanation as to how to read them, what they did right, and what they did wrong.
Buried behind these graphics was poorly written narrative that has occasional sparks of insight.
The book ends so abruptly that you have to check it twice.
The book is a collection of visual examples that have little to no context or explanation as to how to read them, what they did right, and what they did wrong.
Buried behind these graphics was poorly written narrative that has occasional sparks of insight.
The book ends so abruptly that you have to check it twice.
April 14, 2007
If you can't present data in a way that communicates your thoughts or the emergent information, there is no reason to present the data. This book and other Tufte books are fundamental.
August 29, 2010
The book led was one of the most enlightening books that I've every read. I've always had a penchant for using numbers, images, and heuristics to explain, and began taking Edward Tufte's courses when the opportunity arose, starting in 1998. He held them in hotel ballrooms throughout the United States, and his followers attended with cult-like repetition, sometimes registering for the same course 6 times in one year.
Edward Tufte is one of the most elegant designers of information alive today, the book was the beginning of my devotion to his philosophy of the visual articulation of facts, figures, and abstract concepts. This book, as well as professor Tufte's academic publishing, have influenced the world around us in so many ways. From the eloquent graphical explanations in the New York Times, to the vibrant digital displays of political elections on Fox News, and the historical statistics of hurricanes put forth on Weather Channel - all of this traces its heritage back to Edward Tufte and his award winning books.
If you want to escape the two-dimensional hell of explanation that is the improper use of Powerpoint, this books and its two companions, provide safe passage to the promised land of clear, robust, graphical discourses of complex ideas.
Edward Tufte is one of the most elegant designers of information alive today, the book was the beginning of my devotion to his philosophy of the visual articulation of facts, figures, and abstract concepts. This book, as well as professor Tufte's academic publishing, have influenced the world around us in so many ways. From the eloquent graphical explanations in the New York Times, to the vibrant digital displays of political elections on Fox News, and the historical statistics of hurricanes put forth on Weather Channel - all of this traces its heritage back to Edward Tufte and his award winning books.
If you want to escape the two-dimensional hell of explanation that is the improper use of Powerpoint, this books and its two companions, provide safe passage to the promised land of clear, robust, graphical discourses of complex ideas.
July 22, 2017
If ever you could judge a book by its cover, it's this one. Literally, the six main topics are listed on the cover. Of course, you don't know what they really mean yet, but you could probably take a guess and get really close. This book has even fewer operational insights than his "Visual Display of Quantitative Information" book did, and a lot of the content seems to be borrowed from that book but cast in a slightly different light. I think Tufte makes justifiable summaries of good visualization trends, but nothing that really stood out to me as different enough to justify another book.
Most disappointing to me was the that the connection from principle to practice just wasn't present. If this book included just one use case where someone has a bunch of raw data and then Tufte walks through the six principles to see what applies and how to bring them in then that would make this book much more relevant than it is to practitioners. Instead, images that (mostly) exemplify a specific principle are taken from some historical source and touted as a nice way of displaying that information. Great, but how did that designer know to do that? What were some unrefined versions of displaying that data? I suppose there are some data graphics that are redesigned by Tufte scattered around these pages, but they tend to be alterations of the prior design rather than a ground-up example of how to go from raw data to a principled finished data visualization.
If you want some perspective on designs that are both aesthetically pleasing and display some data, then this book might work for you. If you want to actually get a good design going for data you have, well, keep looking.
Most disappointing to me was the that the connection from principle to practice just wasn't present. If this book included just one use case where someone has a bunch of raw data and then Tufte walks through the six principles to see what applies and how to bring them in then that would make this book much more relevant than it is to practitioners. Instead, images that (mostly) exemplify a specific principle are taken from some historical source and touted as a nice way of displaying that information. Great, but how did that designer know to do that? What were some unrefined versions of displaying that data? I suppose there are some data graphics that are redesigned by Tufte scattered around these pages, but they tend to be alterations of the prior design rather than a ground-up example of how to go from raw data to a principled finished data visualization.
If you want some perspective on designs that are both aesthetically pleasing and display some data, then this book might work for you. If you want to actually get a good design going for data you have, well, keep looking.
June 17, 2020
As a novice into the world of Data Science and Information Design, I thoroughly enjoyed poring through this book its illustrations. From a structural standpoint, it's designed beautifully, taking into consideration the points that Tufte hammers home throughout the book:
* Consider the user's field of view e.g. don't include text about a diagram that was on the previous page — the user will lose context easily.
* Use multiple examples of the same idea, approached from a different lens to better provide context.
...
The book itself is broken up into six chapters that represent fields of information design.
1) "Escape Flatland" by properly displaying multi-dimensional data on a two-dimensional surface.
2) "Micro / Macro Readings" are used to display a high-level overview of the information alongside the actual relevant information.
3) "Layering and Separation" help strip away the clutter that plagues many graphics.
4) "Color and Information" help us properly utilize color to show multiple dimensions and nuance.
5) "Small Multiples" to show how having multiple variations of a single data can be useful.
6) "Narratives of Space and Time" shows how to tell stories in data that span over the complex dimension of time.
Tufte whimsically flows from example to example, precisely explaining in these contexts what each example is doing right and wrong. Envisioning Information doesn't have a particularly consistent narrative throughout, but it doesn't need to. The examples and illustrations from history speak for themselves and provide an intuitive understanding of what good information design looks like.
* Consider the user's field of view e.g. don't include text about a diagram that was on the previous page — the user will lose context easily.
* Use multiple examples of the same idea, approached from a different lens to better provide context.
...
The book itself is broken up into six chapters that represent fields of information design.
1) "Escape Flatland" by properly displaying multi-dimensional data on a two-dimensional surface.
2) "Micro / Macro Readings" are used to display a high-level overview of the information alongside the actual relevant information.
3) "Layering and Separation" help strip away the clutter that plagues many graphics.
4) "Color and Information" help us properly utilize color to show multiple dimensions and nuance.
5) "Small Multiples" to show how having multiple variations of a single data can be useful.
6) "Narratives of Space and Time" shows how to tell stories in data that span over the complex dimension of time.
Tufte whimsically flows from example to example, precisely explaining in these contexts what each example is doing right and wrong. Envisioning Information doesn't have a particularly consistent narrative throughout, but it doesn't need to. The examples and illustrations from history speak for themselves and provide an intuitive understanding of what good information design looks like.
January 8, 2012
This is the second book that was picked for the UX book club at work.
I've only seriously read two of Tufte's books. I've skimmed the other two and his pamphlets and taking bits and pieces from them that were convenient for what I was looking for. So when Tufte was brought up in the book club I was happy to push for this one that I hadn't had a chance to read as thoroughly as I would have liked.
Information is just about the cornerstone of the work that I do. The people I design software for have more information than then really know what to do. Add to that the difficulties that the interfaces tend to be outdated, running on computers that are old, and that projects tend to be "stovepiped", and there is a critical problem in trying to get information clearly and meaningfully to my "clients".
Tufte does a great job of putting the argument for meaningful envisioning of information. He does more than explain how a difficult to read graph is harmful, but then goes on to point out how information could be displayed.
My favorite quote (which is particularly resonant with some of the issues I have when arguing my designs) is "... the operating moral premise of information design should be that our readers are alert and caring; they may be busy, eager to get on with it, but they are not stupid" (p. 34).
I've only seriously read two of Tufte's books. I've skimmed the other two and his pamphlets and taking bits and pieces from them that were convenient for what I was looking for. So when Tufte was brought up in the book club I was happy to push for this one that I hadn't had a chance to read as thoroughly as I would have liked.
Information is just about the cornerstone of the work that I do. The people I design software for have more information than then really know what to do. Add to that the difficulties that the interfaces tend to be outdated, running on computers that are old, and that projects tend to be "stovepiped", and there is a critical problem in trying to get information clearly and meaningfully to my "clients".
Tufte does a great job of putting the argument for meaningful envisioning of information. He does more than explain how a difficult to read graph is harmful, but then goes on to point out how information could be displayed.
My favorite quote (which is particularly resonant with some of the issues I have when arguing my designs) is "... the operating moral premise of information design should be that our readers are alert and caring; they may be busy, eager to get on with it, but they are not stupid" (p. 34).
April 19, 2007
A helpful marketing guide on how to write, draw and give lectures in regards to descriptions of meaningful figures and diagrams that piques both the audience's retina as well as their neural cells where information is swallowed and later dissolved into their jugular veins where internally the audience can know what is being described in their own words and understanding :)
March 8, 2021
The world is information, which to be shared must be mapped onto a page or screen. How do we capture complex, dynamic phenomena in what the author calls "flatland"? His review of best practices across time and space is a perfect complement to histories of data visualization.
May 15, 2020
Graphic design concepts from 1990.
Why I picked it up: On the Navy's Professional Reading list.
Why I finished it: Dated and while I think that same design is timeless... this isn't it. Computer graphics have changed the way that we can share and interpret visual data. And we are not limited to printing it out any more... just consider all the information that is shared/conveyed by super-imposing one photo on another. The classic before and after with the slide bar...
Why I picked it up: On the Navy's Professional Reading list.
Why I finished it: Dated and while I think that same design is timeless... this isn't it. Computer graphics have changed the way that we can share and interpret visual data. And we are not limited to printing it out any more... just consider all the information that is shared/conveyed by super-imposing one photo on another. The classic before and after with the slide bar...
December 22, 2020
If you look at this book and think “this might not be for me”, you’re right.
June 19, 2022
Книга о визуальном представлении информации. Хуже его прочих книг - хаотичная и не очень понятная
June 8, 2015
Tufte follows up his debut classic with an even more beautiful piece of graphic art disguised as a guide to ways to display three (and more) dimensions on a flat surface.
While even more beautifully crafted than The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition, it has less in the way of practical guidance. Tufte's principle here can be reduced to this far-reaching but not so simply-implemented statement: increase the resolution of "flatland" (paper or computer screen) to show more data to increase clarity.
As usual, the principle is lavishly illustrated with beautifully-reproduced examples of good and bad ways of envisioning information. In fact, I have found Tufte's principle and illustrations are useful ways of thinking about how to improve my own graphics, but I find my ability to implement them frustrated by the limitations of the design tools I use most: Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Word, wikis. That is a negative reflection on the tools, not on Tufte.
In any case, enjoy Tufte's books now for the portable affordable art that they are, and hope for the tools to catch up soon
While even more beautifully crafted than The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition, it has less in the way of practical guidance. Tufte's principle here can be reduced to this far-reaching but not so simply-implemented statement: increase the resolution of "flatland" (paper or computer screen) to show more data to increase clarity.
As usual, the principle is lavishly illustrated with beautifully-reproduced examples of good and bad ways of envisioning information. In fact, I have found Tufte's principle and illustrations are useful ways of thinking about how to improve my own graphics, but I find my ability to implement them frustrated by the limitations of the design tools I use most: Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Word, wikis. That is a negative reflection on the tools, not on Tufte.
In any case, enjoy Tufte's books now for the portable affordable art that they are, and hope for the tools to catch up soon
October 28, 2019
Even though there are several anachronisms in this book owing to the date of publication, particularly when discussing the limitations of computerized plotting, it is still shockingly relevant. I'm not sure I 100% agree with his thesis on visualization, which sometimes results in very noisy plots, even with all of his attempts to reduce the noise. This is especially evident in some of the transit figures, like the shinkansen schedule for planning purposes. That being said, the emphasis on appropriate use of white space, gray tones, and reduced line weight was eye-opening.
My main gripe with this book comes from the nearly complete omission of design criteria for individuals with color-blindness, and dyslexia. Color-blindness is only mentioned once in the chapter on use of color, and nowhere else in the book. There is little discussion of design for dyslexia or other visual cognition ailments, though one could argue that his emphasis on 1+1=3 effects is a way of addressing this.
Overall, an excellent text with many superb examples, both of positive and negative visual design for quantitative information. Highly recommended, especially since the length is very reasonable.
My main gripe with this book comes from the nearly complete omission of design criteria for individuals with color-blindness, and dyslexia. Color-blindness is only mentioned once in the chapter on use of color, and nowhere else in the book. There is little discussion of design for dyslexia or other visual cognition ailments, though one could argue that his emphasis on 1+1=3 effects is a way of addressing this.
Overall, an excellent text with many superb examples, both of positive and negative visual design for quantitative information. Highly recommended, especially since the length is very reasonable.
May 29, 2009
dulu beli untuk perpustakaan.
kagak ngarti apa pentingnya buku ini, selain cuma sekadar mendorong agar kita bisa membnuat presentasi yang memikat.
ternyata,
ketika kita harus sering presentasi, buku ini sangat bermanfaat.
idenya cuma agar kita mempresentasikan gagasan secara jernih, terbuka, padat, cepat. untuk itu perlu keahliann memilih medium presentasi kita, mengenal audiens, menyajikan presentasi lebih visual, menyentuh indera...
siip!
kagak ngarti apa pentingnya buku ini, selain cuma sekadar mendorong agar kita bisa membnuat presentasi yang memikat.
ternyata,
ketika kita harus sering presentasi, buku ini sangat bermanfaat.
idenya cuma agar kita mempresentasikan gagasan secara jernih, terbuka, padat, cepat. untuk itu perlu keahliann memilih medium presentasi kita, mengenal audiens, menyajikan presentasi lebih visual, menyentuh indera...
siip!
July 14, 2016
Very interesting book. Beautifully typeset and printed, and in that way an absolute example of how to visually present your work or information in general.
However, and quite contradictory in that sense, in my opinion it lacks a clear structure and hence it didn't entirely succeed to get its message across. After reading it a first time (I am planning to reread it sometime), I remembered some "tips & tricks", but no clear set of take-away messages.
However, and quite contradictory in that sense, in my opinion it lacks a clear structure and hence it didn't entirely succeed to get its message across. After reading it a first time (I am planning to reread it sometime), I remembered some "tips & tricks", but no clear set of take-away messages.
May 20, 2010
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who works with the visual representation of information. The book itself is beautiful, the writing is clear, and the drawings work seamlessly to create a comprehensive understanding of different categories of information. I look forward to reading more Edward Tufte.
April 10, 2019
Quick perusal of this book. Why is Tufte writing more and more books? Of course, they are printed on wonderful paper, I love the layout, I love the pictures, but it's the same thing over and over again. Does he need more validation? All of these follow-up books are like appendices, or reminders, of his seminal work The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.
September 12, 2011
Fundamental concepts, usually ignored in practice. The point is that presenting information meaningfully is challenging and takes real thought. Simplicity does not create clarity by itself.
January 7, 2016
Classic
July 14, 2016
I didn't find it to have a particularly strong or clear argument, but plenty of interesting examples and points.
October 3, 2023
Another read for work. This is the third Tufte I've read and they certainly have diminishing returns. I found The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd Ed. dated, but worthwhile in its approach to data. Then Beautiful Evidence to be more of a coffee table book repeating some strong opinions from Tufte that have not survived their aging.
This is more of the same. Tufte loves complexity - in several of these books he cites archaic handmade train schedules. These are prettier to look at than to use, and they're not the prettiest things to look at to begin with. Tufte often talks about simplicity being essential, but then also repeats statements something like: "you can't treat your audience as if they're stupid, uncaring, or obtuse." It feels like he makes those statements to get away with overly complex graphics.
He highlights a projection of the Rockefeller Center surroundings by Constantine Anderson as a great joy of visualizing information, noting that it goes so far as to depict individual windows. What is the point of identifying individual windows on a map? There really isn't one. Tufte notes that Anderson spent 20 years on this map, and then it becomes clear that this is an art piece, not a utility.
I would be interested in seeing a modern version of these books, using modern examples and modern design language. These have been rather left in the past, and I can't imagine anything but the first book being useful to the practicing data scientist or designer. I think Rastersysteme für die visuelle Gestaltung - Grid systems in Graphic Design is an excellent design reference for layout and much more practical, having read it over 10 years ago, anyway. Page 82 of the Tufte cites Die neue Typografie which I haven't read, but the excerpt/graphic from that seems in the same design language as Muller's work and so is probably the most practical thing I took away.
This is more of the same. Tufte loves complexity - in several of these books he cites archaic handmade train schedules. These are prettier to look at than to use, and they're not the prettiest things to look at to begin with. Tufte often talks about simplicity being essential, but then also repeats statements something like: "you can't treat your audience as if they're stupid, uncaring, or obtuse." It feels like he makes those statements to get away with overly complex graphics.
He highlights a projection of the Rockefeller Center surroundings by Constantine Anderson as a great joy of visualizing information, noting that it goes so far as to depict individual windows. What is the point of identifying individual windows on a map? There really isn't one. Tufte notes that Anderson spent 20 years on this map, and then it becomes clear that this is an art piece, not a utility.
I would be interested in seeing a modern version of these books, using modern examples and modern design language. These have been rather left in the past, and I can't imagine anything but the first book being useful to the practicing data scientist or designer. I think Rastersysteme für die visuelle Gestaltung - Grid systems in Graphic Design is an excellent design reference for layout and much more practical, having read it over 10 years ago, anyway. Page 82 of the Tufte cites Die neue Typografie which I haven't read, but the excerpt/graphic from that seems in the same design language as Muller's work and so is probably the most practical thing I took away.
March 28, 2019
«Мы визуализируем информацию с целью так или иначе осмыслить её, коммуницировать некое сообщение, задокументировать и сохранить знание — действия, которые практически всегда сопутствуют работе с бумажными или компьютерными данными. Бегство от плоскости и увеличение плотности информации — вот клю��евые задачи информационного дизайна»
Эдвард Тафти американский статистик, профессор статистики, политологии и компьютерных наук Йельского университета, известный своими работами по информационному дизайну. Книг на тему дизайна у него множество и все считаются обязательны к прочтению, если вы хотите качественно и понятно уметь предоставлять данные.
Например, знали ли вы, что сследования в области офтальмологии показали, что чем больше буквы отличаются между собой, тем легче читать?)
Книга крутая, в ней множества разных примеров того, как объяснить сложный материал визуальными средствами. Автор показывает основные приёмы на картах и схемах, таблицах, статистических графиках и даже на «танцевальных схемах».
Визуальное представление информации поощр��ет разнообразие индивидуального восприятия, анализа и понимания ситуации. Оформление таблиц и графиков не всегда простая задача, в этой книге вы сможете почерпнуть новые идеи.
Несколько основных выводов :
1 - данные не нужно украшать
2 - не надо делать из данных графический беспорядок
3 - параллельное изложение — очень хороший прием
4 - нужно избегать сеток в таблицах
5 - детализировать нужно в меру
6 - избегайте рамок вокруг текста. Как только текст оказывается в рамке, белое пространство между ним и этой рамкой начинает жить своей жизнью.
7 - нужно играть с цветами, беспроигрышная стратегия — использовать природные цвета, особенно светлые, оттенков голубого, жёлтого и серого. Такие цвета не раздражают глаз. Природная цветовая палитра помогает избежать слишком яркого, безвкусного цветового барахла. Нужное выделяем, подчёркиваем, остальное – приглушаем.
«Сопоставление и выбор — вот два наиболее часто производимых над массивами данных действия. И именно под эти действия и оптимизированы малые множества как форма представления информации. Количество элементов малого множества, их размер и расположение делают процесс сравнения более удобным, ведь сравнивать элементы, расположенные рядом гораздо легче, чем если бы, например, они располагались на разных страницах»
«Хаотичность и путаность — это не свойства информации, это дизайнерский провал. Не надо пенять на сложность данных, надо искать такие приемы и методы, которые помогут четко и ясно эти данные представить»
Эдвард Тафти американский статистик, профессор статистики, политологии и компьютерных наук Йельского университета, известный своими работами по информационному дизайну. Книг на тему дизайна у него множество и все считаются обязательны к прочтению, если вы хотите качественно и понятно уметь предоставлять данные.
Например, знали ли вы, что сследования в области офтальмологии показали, что чем больше буквы отличаются между собой, тем легче читать?)
Книга крутая, в ней множества разных примеров того, как объяснить сложный материал визуальными средствами. Автор показывает основные приёмы на картах и схемах, таблицах, статистических графиках и даже на «танцевальных схемах».
Визуальное представление информации поощр��ет разнообразие индивидуального восприятия, анализа и понимания ситуации. Оформление таблиц и графиков не всегда простая задача, в этой книге вы сможете почерпнуть новые идеи.
Несколько основных выводов :
1 - данные не нужно украшать
2 - не надо делать из данных графический беспорядок
3 - параллельное изложение — очень хороший прием
4 - нужно избегать сеток в таблицах
5 - детализировать нужно в меру
6 - избегайте рамок вокруг текста. Как только текст оказывается в рамке, белое пространство между ним и этой рамкой начинает жить своей жизнью.
7 - нужно играть с цветами, беспроигрышная стратегия — использовать природные цвета, особенно светлые, оттенков голубого, жёлтого и серого. Такие цвета не раздражают глаз. Природная цветовая палитра помогает избежать слишком яркого, безвкусного цветового барахла. Нужное выделяем, подчёркиваем, остальное – приглушаем.
«Сопоставление и выбор — вот два наиболее часто производимых над массивами данных действия. И именно под эти действия и оптимизированы малые множества как форма представления информации. Количество элементов малого множества, их размер и расположение делают процесс сравнения более удобным, ведь сравнивать элементы, расположенные рядом гораздо легче, чем если бы, например, они располагались на разных страницах»
«Хаотичность и путаность — это не свойства информации, это дизайнерский провал. Не надо пенять на сложность данных, надо искать такие приемы и методы, которые помогут четко и ясно эти данные представить»
May 26, 2017
This book is not really too different from Edward R. Tufte's first work, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.
That is not really a bad thing though, if you appreciate it for what it is: a beautifully-arranged collection of fascinating illustrations of data from different eras and all over the globe. The amount of archival research that must have gone into this book is truly impressive: there are images from as early as the 1600s all the way up until the 1980s, and from places as far apart as the Colonial Dutch East Indies and Midtown Manhattan. The secret Japanese military maps of Java's railway system in the 1930s are so obscure, I don't even know how he would have ever stumbled upon them. For his exposition of these unusual nuggets of wisdom alone, I would recommend the book.
Beyond being a collection of anecdotes, the author does attempt to provide a higher level of structure and understanding to the design and effectiveness of data graphics. The book is broken up into six chapters, and an epilogue.
"Escaping Flatland" explores how best to represent multi-dimensional data on a two-dimensional surface; the story of how sunspots were recorded and represented over time is especially interesting. "Micro/Macro Readings" addresses how to elegantly display an overview or summary alongside the data that make it up. "Layering and Separation" and "Color and Information" try to show how to strip away clutter and most effectively communicate a core narrative: the discussion of map-making and Oliver Byrne's visual proofs of Euclid's Geometry were, respectively my favorite parts of those chapters. Finally, "Small Multiples" shows how showing multiple cases in a single data graphic can be particularly effective, and "Narratives of Space and Time" approaches how to tell longer stories in data graphics.
Like his previous book, this is not a how-to book, and won't take long to read. But it should serve as a good reference of what is possible, and is a pleasant book to read even by itself.
That is not really a bad thing though, if you appreciate it for what it is: a beautifully-arranged collection of fascinating illustrations of data from different eras and all over the globe. The amount of archival research that must have gone into this book is truly impressive: there are images from as early as the 1600s all the way up until the 1980s, and from places as far apart as the Colonial Dutch East Indies and Midtown Manhattan. The secret Japanese military maps of Java's railway system in the 1930s are so obscure, I don't even know how he would have ever stumbled upon them. For his exposition of these unusual nuggets of wisdom alone, I would recommend the book.
Beyond being a collection of anecdotes, the author does attempt to provide a higher level of structure and understanding to the design and effectiveness of data graphics. The book is broken up into six chapters, and an epilogue.
"Escaping Flatland" explores how best to represent multi-dimensional data on a two-dimensional surface; the story of how sunspots were recorded and represented over time is especially interesting. "Micro/Macro Readings" addresses how to elegantly display an overview or summary alongside the data that make it up. "Layering and Separation" and "Color and Information" try to show how to strip away clutter and most effectively communicate a core narrative: the discussion of map-making and Oliver Byrne's visual proofs of Euclid's Geometry were, respectively my favorite parts of those chapters. Finally, "Small Multiples" shows how showing multiple cases in a single data graphic can be particularly effective, and "Narratives of Space and Time" approaches how to tell longer stories in data graphics.
Like his previous book, this is not a how-to book, and won't take long to read. But it should serve as a good reference of what is possible, and is a pleasant book to read even by itself.
Want to read
June 28, 2017ABSTRACT: How to Design Information, Communicate effectively, powerfully (like a nuclear-warhead) using data analysis and how to make it so people can comprehend it; Intro to How to use Data Analysis,
" "This book celebrates escapes from the flatlands of both paper and computer screen, showing superb displays of high-dimensional complex data. The most design-oriented of Edward Tufte's books, Envisioning Information shows maps, charts, scientific presentations, diagrams, computer interfaces, statistical graphics and tables, stereo photographs, guidebooks, courtroom exhibits, timetables, use of color, a pop-up, and many other wonderful displays of information. The book provides practical advice about how to explain complex material by visual means, with extraordinary examples to illustrate the fundamental principles of information displays. Topics include escaping flatland, color and information, micro/macro designs, layering and separation, small multiples, and narratives. Winner of 17 awards for design and content. 400 illustrations with exquisite 6- to 12-color printing throughout. Highest quality design and production." "
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT:
Tufte shows how to examine data for quality and "truthiness". Tufte also shows how to "design" information to turn meaningless data into meaningful, usable information--which could improve your business communications to nuclear-strength, or help the war on "Fake News".
Due to the cost-cutting elimination of many fact-checkers and overseers of information quality & ethics in newsagencies, corporations, and schools, many people are losing important teachers and tools for critical thinking ie. being able to tell or comprehend "real truths" versus "fake" information. This affects everybody's freedom (that we really DON'T think to protect) by manipulating the public, voting, and whether they can protect themselves from fraudsters.
eBook found at: Internet Archive Open Library which works in partnership with public libraries: https://openlibrary.org
" "This book celebrates escapes from the flatlands of both paper and computer screen, showing superb displays of high-dimensional complex data. The most design-oriented of Edward Tufte's books, Envisioning Information shows maps, charts, scientific presentations, diagrams, computer interfaces, statistical graphics and tables, stereo photographs, guidebooks, courtroom exhibits, timetables, use of color, a pop-up, and many other wonderful displays of information. The book provides practical advice about how to explain complex material by visual means, with extraordinary examples to illustrate the fundamental principles of information displays. Topics include escaping flatland, color and information, micro/macro designs, layering and separation, small multiples, and narratives. Winner of 17 awards for design and content. 400 illustrations with exquisite 6- to 12-color printing throughout. Highest quality design and production." "
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT:
Tufte shows how to examine data for quality and "truthiness". Tufte also shows how to "design" information to turn meaningless data into meaningful, usable information--which could improve your business communications to nuclear-strength, or help the war on "Fake News".
Due to the cost-cutting elimination of many fact-checkers and overseers of information quality & ethics in newsagencies, corporations, and schools, many people are losing important teachers and tools for critical thinking ie. being able to tell or comprehend "real truths" versus "fake" information. This affects everybody's freedom (that we really DON'T think to protect) by manipulating the public, voting, and whether they can protect themselves from fraudsters.
eBook found at: Internet Archive Open Library which works in partnership with public libraries: https://openlibrary.org
July 26, 2021
This book begins a little more robust in the explanations than The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, and then still mires itself in unnecessary minutiae. It is a collection of some fine graphical representations (and also some rather detailed historical perspective...such as a fully quoted translated passage of Galileo’s observations on sunspots). And despite the pretty pictures, it can be tedious. Quite. I’m coming to grips with having to filter this trilogy for a paltry handful of nuggets to file. So many of the maps and constructed images chosen to illustrate a point are more of a burden than an illustration (of the point; they’re all obviously illustrations). Not much to pull from this one:
The E.B. White quote on writing was reused.
And on design and decoration:
Escaping this flatland is the essential task of envisioning information — for all the interesting worlds (physical, biological, imaginary, human) that we seek to understand are inevitably and happily multivariate in nature. Not flatlands.
The E.B. White quote on writing was reused.
And on design and decoration:
Chartjunk has come to corrupt all sorts of information exhibits and computer interfaces, just like the "ducks" of modern architecture:There must be function to go with form.
When Modern architects righteously abandoned ornament on buildings, they unconsciously designed buildings that were ornament. In promoting Space and Articulation over symbolism and ornament, they distorted the whole building into a duck. They substituted for the innocent and inexpensive practice of applied decoration on a conventional shed the rather cynical and expensive distortion of program and structure to promote a duck.... It is now time to reevaluate the once-horrifying statement of John Ruskin that architecture is the decoration of construction, but we should append the warning of Pugin: It is all right to
decorate construction but never construct decoration.
April 1, 2022
A very beautiful book, an elegant presentation of lessons in the layout of graphical and textual information. Anyone who is doing presentation of complex information, particularly people aiming for visual style on Web pages, should read this book. I was disappointed at first that the book isn't a manual for graphic design, but once I realized that wasn't Tufte's goal that was ok. Instead, Tufte points out interesting examples, showing what works and what doesn't. I really like his phrase "information prison" to refer to a presentation that has too many heavy grid lines. I was also impressed with how beautiful the book itself is, high quality heavy paper, excellent illustrations, nice font (Bembo), excellent layout of tables. I guess one would expect that for a book on graphic design, but still quite a pleasure.
I've also flipped through Tufte's earlier book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. It's got much the same feel as Envisioning Information, examples and analysis of examples of graphical design. Quantitative Information, though, is only about presenting numerical data, a peculiar focus that shows that data doesn't have to be boring. Also fun reading.
Reading this book, and looking at a few web pages that actually look good, have made me think about casting off the restraints of proper, boring HTML 2.0 to do some pages that look spiffy. Danger! I wish Tufte would write something about display on low bandwidth devices: computer screens, web pages. The most beautiful examples presented in his books require very high resolution display. Fine for paper, but not clear how to apply these lessons to on-screen design.
I've also flipped through Tufte's earlier book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. It's got much the same feel as Envisioning Information, examples and analysis of examples of graphical design. Quantitative Information, though, is only about presenting numerical data, a peculiar focus that shows that data doesn't have to be boring. Also fun reading.
Reading this book, and looking at a few web pages that actually look good, have made me think about casting off the restraints of proper, boring HTML 2.0 to do some pages that look spiffy. Danger! I wish Tufte would write something about display on low bandwidth devices: computer screens, web pages. The most beautiful examples presented in his books require very high resolution display. Fine for paper, but not clear how to apply these lessons to on-screen design.
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