Envisioning Information
1994 • 126 pages
Ratings14
Average rating4.6
15
Ratings14
Average rating4.6
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.
**Review:**
The Whole Earth Review called Envisioning Information a "passionate, elegant revelation.
Reviews with the most likes.
I've come to view this book as a “coffee table” book of data viz examples. There is a solid amount of good advice to keep in mind as you embark in visually communicating information but at times it can get off track.
As I read this I found it to be a bit dismissive towards the “user” (or the person viewing the data). Tufte frequently goes off into the weeds about how beautiful data is and how diving deep into it is one of the main draws of the content. At the same time he also talks about not being condescending towards the “user” either, because making data look appealing or aesthetically interesting is downplaying the information.
I think he clearly loves detail and loves to parse information but I don't think you can unequivocally say that “simpleness is an aesthetic preference, not a data strategy”—there is value in making data palatable.
As with most things, take the advise in stride and apply it loosely.
