Visual Explanations (Book Review)
Edward Tufte is both a design icon and an authority on the effective display of information. After reading Beautiful Evidence earlier in the year my opportunity to read his earlier book Visual Explanations was savoured as a holiday treat. I was not disappointed, nor did I ever expect to be. A recent email reply from Seth Godin simply said Tufte is an icon
. That appears to be a consistent response across the fold of design professions.
In the introduction to Visual Explanations Tufte explains the book as being
… about pictures of verbs, the representation of mechanism and motion, of process and dynamics, of causes and effects, of explanation and narrative. Since such display sare often used to reach conclusions and make decisions, there is a special concern with the integrity of the content and the design.Edward Tufte
Throughout Visual Explanations the emphasis is very similar to that found in Beautiful Evidence, the clear transmission of message to the receiver through the design. He discusses the problem with ill conceived or maligned statistical representation – beware that the statistics aren’t made to fit the facts of the case being pushed forward. Move a date here or there and the information appears to dramatically change. Use chart junk and your message disappears into the noise of extra lines. Use the smallest differences and your message will be louder and clearer. Use parallelism, multiples in space and time, and understand the power of visual confections. How we display information affects the interpretation. Sometimes, if displayed badly, there can be dire consequences.
The best parts about reading Tufte are always the stories and scenarios he puts forth. In this world of vicarious experience he takes you from the issues surrounding the 1854 cholera epidemic in London and the Challenger disaster a century and a half later through to the world of the illusionist, the landscaper, the sculptor and the typographer. The visual display of information is a study over thousands of years and involves an almost unending devotion to the study of history and life. Yes I know these are bold claims, but I already told you that Tufte is an icon.
If you’re a designer, an architect, a writer, an artist or a deep thinker about the why of things and the how of things you should read Tufte when the opportunity arises. His books are personally designed with hard covers and extremely interesting page layouts. Design is about communication of ideas and not just pretty pictures. None say it better than Tufte. An excellent and well researched literary masterpiece that belongs in my professional library (if only I could afford one).
