Nine great Books about information visualization

Nine great Books about information visualization

Maybe it's anachronistic to celebrate static, printed books if so many of us love and create interactive data displays. I don ' t care. I Love books.

Edward Tufte, the patron saint of information visualization, haspublished four legendary books. Here is nine more indispensable favorites about visualizing information. I ' ve limited myself to books I ' ve actually read; If you find a favorite missing, leave a response! Let's start with:

Now your See It

by Steven Few

Steven Few is an unsung hero of information visualization. Steadily he toils in the shadow of the Great and Wonderful Tufte as the vanguard of business intelligence dashboards. Few writes practical, clear, no-nonsense advice about information-dense dashboards. He focuses on execution, not theory, and for that, the He most popular title, now-see It, is great foundational Reading.

Few highlights the power of visualizations to help us ' think with our eyes ' and overcome the limits of human memory (see T He magical number Seven). From small multiples to brushing data on dashboards, he emphasizes externalizing information processing to help the brain Do-it does best?—? recognize patterns.

Few also covers a surprising amount of data analysis in now you see It. The book provides a approachable introduction to data science, from navigating data to common patterns in time-series, de Viation, distribution, correlation, and multivariate data. The below graphic is a great example of Few ' s approach:here, Few regroups data by month to correct for periodicity and ad DS an average to help the reader see the patterns in the data.

Semiology of Graphics

by Jacques Bertin

Make no mistake: This is the ur-book of information visualization. Bertin ' s masterpiece, published in 1967, outlines a systemic approach to the creation of information graphics as no other Book have, before or since. In fact, Bertin provides a simple table this ties together math, music, and graphics, right on the second page of Semi Ology of Graphics:

This table exemplifies Bertin's approach to visualizing information:break a problem into its constituent elements them, then examine and define each intersection. Bertin presents a whole system in semiologyof the Graphics: he begins with retinal variables, such as size and color , which express planar dimensions, such as association, order, and quantity. Watch Bertin demonstrate the distinct graphic opportunities that the retinal variables provide for solving the same visual Problem:

After addressing fundamentals, Bertin dives into theory. He covers the three questions every visualization should answer, as well as the three functions of Visualization:recordin g, communicating, and processing information?—? here, by using the his infamous "contingency table" and "reorderable matrix." B Ertin covers maps, graphics, and so much more in semiology?—? Though dense, a read pays dividends.

WSJ Guide to Information Graphics

by Dona M. Wong

Wong's Reference book, the Guide to the information Graphics, is the rarely far from my desk. Even after years of designing visualizations, I-still turn to page-a quick check on his guidelines for ordering wed Ges in a pie chart?—? on the rare occasion I ' m Designing a pie chart, which is.

If you think this ' s a simple and useful diagram, Wong's book offers many more:140 pages of ready reference for the Workin G Visualization Designer. Guide to information Graphics goes beyond chart fundamentals, too?—? The book also provides tips for math and copy Writing, as well as a fun (and helpful) chapter titled "Tricky Situations".

Visualize This

by Nathan Yau

Nathan Yau ' s visualize This was a fantastic book for beginners ready to move beyond Out-of-the-box visualization t Ools and to create their own work.

Yau breaks processes to create essential visualizations like bar graphs and U.S. maps. Using R to create visualizations, or taking rough graphs from Excel into Illustrator, is methods I use often, even today. For example, in a few clearly explained pages, Yau teaches how to transform a table of information into an excellent smal L-multiples visualization like this:

Information visualization

by Colin Ware

fair Warning:i felt mislead by the title of this book. Though I expected another book on colors, shapes, bar graphs, line charts and the like, I found instead hardware Specif Ication for your eyes and brain. information visualization  explains How our minds process visual Information. It's all there, from an in-depth explanation of what eyes seek edges and patterns, to-color theory, to-space perception, an D even a chapter on the limits of memory.

By the example, a nugget of knowledge I learned from information visualization: extend your arm and hold U P your thumb?—? your thumbnail represents the extent of your focus, or more specifically, your fovea, where the vast majori Ty of the cones that provide color vision cluster. Beyond your thumbnail, your brain is far more responsive to motion than to detail, which helps explain why animation can B E incredibly powerful for visualizations and pre-attentive processing.

Designing Interfaces

by Jenifer Tidwell

though Tidwell ' s designing Interfaces  is hardly the only book on its subject, it's perhaps the best book I ve read about common web design patterns. Anyone interested in designing interactive information visualizations would does well to familiarize herself with these comm On patterns. Though some forms, such as bar graphs and line graphs, May has matured, interaction with these forms still provides many Opportunities for every designer.

In the book, Tidwell provides a practical overview of fundamental interface patterns, from site architecture to forms and Controls. Tidwell also describes when to use specifc patterns, framed by the problems these patterns solve and their benefi TS for users. I was delighted to discover that Chapter 7 specifically addresses "Showing Complex Data"?—? She's writing for us! Designing Interfaces is a excellent resource for new designers and great reference for those with experience.

The Visual miscellaneum

by David McCandless

I picked up the first edition of David McCandless's book, the Visual miscellaneum, after a-to-a exhibit at The Cooper Hewitt Design Museum. Bar None, this is the book, which convinced me to make information visualization my professional focus.

I fell in love with McCandless's playful and unpretentious approach to visualizing data and information on the World AR Ound us, from budgets to beards. The enthusiasm that welcomed he work made me believe that I could find a place in the world visualizing information. I turn to its book for inspiration, usually to see this frequently consulted graphic:

World Geographic Atlas

by Herbert Bayer

My Favorite Book of inspirational data graphics are, naturally, out of print and in demand. I watched EBay for months until I found a slightly damaged copy of the World geographic Atlas for less than four Figu Res. It was worth it.

In 1953, the Container Corporation of America commissioned Bauhaus designer Herbert Bayer to create a atlas to Commemorat E The company's 25th year's business. Alongside three other accomplished designers, Bayer worked for five years on a oversize (11.5 "x 15.5") Book of 368 pages , featuring over 2,200 diagrams. The results is stunning and, to my eye, yet unmatched. Just take a look at this rich spread on the kingdom and the Scandinavian countries:

From color choice to icon design, to illustrations, to topographic choropleth maps, this book literally have it al L. Find a copy if you can, or, take a few minutes to watch this video.

Metropolitan World Atlas

by Joost Grootens

joost grootens is a Dutch graphic designer. Although Themetropolitan World Atlas  is not his only  Covetable book, it is certainly my favorite. Grooten's style is spare?—? he designs with only a few colors, one or both typefaces, and repeats, repeats, and repeats Stru Cture. This restraint lets he data?—? geographic or otherwise?—? take center stage.

Metropolitan World Atlas maps major global cities at the same scale with consistent visualizations of data abo UT those cities, including economic and population factors. It's strangely difficult to find all examples of a scaled comparison of major cities, let alone examples the BE Autiful and useful. Grootens takes advantage of the physical affordances of the book?—? Comparing and cities are as easy as flipping pages back and forth:

Sadly, Metropolitan World Atlas is another out-of-print treasure. If you can find one, being sure to scoop it up!

Nine great Books about information visualization