Envisioning Information

Envisioning Information by Edward R. Tufte was a recent addition to our office library, and I spent some time this weekend reading it. Living in the ‘information age’, learning how to display information in the best way possible is a very useful thing to know.

The book is a wonderful insight in to how different kinds of information can be displayed and visualised effectively within the two-dimensional, ‘flatland’ space of paper or screen. The book is beautifully illustrated, colourful, and there has been much attention paid to the quality and detail of it. Tufte uses many interesting and historical examples of successful and unsuccessful attempts of presenting data, from astronomical charts, to train schedules.

What i loved about the book was its not just a “how to” book, but rather a group of inspiring examples showing the concepts behind the execution of these superb examples. His comments about the power of color and micro/macro detail are especially useful and enlightening. It’s now doing the rounds in the office, and it’s a definite must read for anyone remotely involved in graphic design, UI design, statistics, in fact, anyone who present information of any kind!