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Loading... Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative (edition 1997)by Edward R. TufteI got a lot less out of this than I did from The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, which is to say still a fair amount. I thought it was an enjoyable read nonetheless and certainly worth spending a few evenings on. The main thrust of the book seemed to be that it's important to show the reader information in a way that maximally enhances their understanding. Beyond that there's a list of examples of what to do and not do, and I'll remember those down the line when I'm looking at or making pictures. Wow, is this an excellent book. It helped my presentation of data skills, and beefed up the Power Point approach as well. I abhor presentations, as the facts are what I am after. The ability to marry up prose with data and present, this is an important skill for all today. The nicest surprise was the ability to understand how to maximize color in a presentation of information. It's been a while since I read anything by Tufte; luckily, this volume lives up to the fond remembrance I have of his earlier works. As with his other books, this work explores various aspects of the visual display of quantitative (or otherwise factual) infomation. More than a style guide, this book seeks to be an archetypal instance of the qualities praised within it - it succeeds with aplomb, and is invaluable to anyone who cares about honest, high-quality visual work. The three seminal books by Edward Tufte all address visual information presentation with a focus on accessibility and usefulness. The first addresses presentation of numeric data and different diagramming techniques. The second has a broader scope, including maps and other kinds of information, with a fine discussion of strategies for visual design. The third book is about visual representations of processes, causes and explanations. All three are unusually beautiful and well designed by the author, thus serving as good examples of their own topics. Anyone, in any field, that requires them to convey information to others, should read all of Tufte's books on information design. Book 3, Visual Explanations (how to convey "verbs", companion to "numbers" and "nouns") demonstrates through both good and bad examples, how to distill ideas down to convey the maximum amount of information with the least amount of ink in a manner that not only gets your point across, but does so in a visually pleasing and artistic manner. Tufte practices what he preaches, too. Unhappy with the way various publishers proposed to print his manuscript, he self-publishes all of his books to incorporate his theories on information design. The result is an incredibly easy to read and understand book with footnotes and diagrams that meld seamlessly with the text. The troublesome part of Visual Explanations (and all of Tufte's books really) is that it's so pleasurable you forget that you're supposed to be learning something. As distinct from the other two books in the series, Visual Explanations focuses on the manner in which images can tell a story and thereby render "reading and seeing and thinking identical". The images selected for the book are delightful and engaging - I've never before wanted to hang a data chart on my wall for the sheer artistry of it! Though it should be noted that Tufte has forever dispelled any remaining belief I harbored in magic. As a series, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Envisioning Information and Visual Explanations largely cover the same material - some illustrations are even discussed in multiple books - and the differences are really a matter of the degree of emphasis. If they weren't all so enchanting my advice would be to just pick one, but... they're just THAT good The third of Tufte's series on information display, this book centers on visually explaining things (in Tufte's words, "pictures of verbs".) Often quoted as indispensable in the field, it doesn't disappoint. The content is, of course, fantastic, but the book reaches much farther beyond. Every page is carefully crafted to provide itself the best example of the explained concepts. The text flows together with the images in a way not seen in any other book (forget computer algorithms to position images, either smart -LaTeX- or bad ones -Word-). Illustrations perfectly integrate into the text and are carefully reproduced without being restricted by page size or text, footnotes are transformed to "sidenotes" so that the flow of reading is not disturbed... every detail is *designed* and *crafted*, unlike so many books on design that break most rules they are themselves advocating. Each chapter is devoted to a single or a few related ideas, but they are presented and explained using wonderful, memorable, stories. Thus, beatifully illustrated examples replace long academic paragraphs, resulting in vivid descriptions that shall not be forgotten. And although these examples show Tufte's erudition, they are wonderfully presented so that everyone can follow and understand the principles. The author follows its own recommendations for presenting: go to the specific, then to the general, then back to the specific. The best comes when a given illustration is redesigned to provide a better explanation of the displayed information. Wow. A book to remember and re-read from time to time. 5 stars. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)302.23Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Social Interaction Communication Media (Means of communication)LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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