Dr. Edward R Tufte - San Francisco State University

A before-and-after graphical redesign example
from Envisioning Information, p63.
This Information Design Index Card, number 04 created by Rae
Chu-Colwell, is part of a set of 24 cards created by the students of DAI
523, Information Design 1 during the Fall semester of 2009. This set,
conceived by Instructor Pino Trogu, covers a range of Information Design
topic areas, chosen and researched by each student. DAI 523 is a fourthyear
design course within the Design and Industry Department at San
Francisco State University. DAI 523 provides students with an introduction
to the field of information design, covering stand-alone and system applications
across print, interactive (digital), and environmental mediums.
04
INFORMATION DESIGN INDEX CARDS
Dr. Edward R Tufte
the Leonardo da Vinci of data
Brief Biography
“The Leonardo da Vinci of data,” as the New York Times calls him, Edward
Tufte (pronounced TUFF-tee) has written several books on information design
and using statistics to analyze political issues. He writes, designs, and self-publishes
his books on analytical design, which have received more than 40 awards
for content and design. He is Professor Emeritus at Yale University, where he
taught courses in statistical evidence, information design, and interface design.
Tufte has successfully drawn the attention of countless people to issues of
information design. Tufte presents a devastating critique of the way information
is usually pictured to us. Bad graphics, according to Tufte, lie by distortion,
obfuscate by omission and confuse by decoration. We have grown accustomed
to awful information.
A Simple Approach
Tufte’s approach is deceptively simple. He teaches by visual example. Next to
a bad example of a graph, he positions a sublimely clear treatment, often using
the same data. Simple and effective.
DAI 523
“There STUDENT is no such thing as
PICTURE
Information Design 1
HERE
Design and Industry Department
information San Francisco overload,
State University
1600 Holloway Ave,
California 94132, USA
there is only Information bad Design Index design.
Card
No. 04 – October 2009
Printed by _____________
Reduce the clutter.”

Tufte’s Top 5 List
1
Data-Ink
Tufte uses the term “data-ink ratio” to argue against including non-informative
decoration in visual displays of quantitative information, and says that all ink
not used to convey and display data should be eliminated.
2
Chart Junk
In dismantling some of the worst habits of two-dimensional design, he has
framed a new analytical term, “chart junk,” it includes the ubiquitous,
unneeded words and addenda that crowds the page, from PowerPoint to
project management charts and financial reports. Most of this junk can be
removed without diminishing understanding. “Clutter is a failure of design,
not an attribute of information,” Envisioning Information.
3
Sparklines
Tufte innovated “sparklines,” they are intense, simple, word-size Graphics.
“They can be embedded in-line in a sentence, summarizing millions of points of
data in the space of a word,” says Tufte.
4The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint
“PowerPoint is evil” – PowerPoint is a competent slide manager and projector.
But rather than supplementing a presentation, it has become a substitute for
it. Such misuse ignores the most important rule of speaking: Respect your
audience.
5
Escaping Flatland
“We envision information in order to reason about, communicate, document, and
preserve that knowledge, activities nearly always carried out on two-dimensional
paper and computer screen. Escaping this flatland and enriching the density of data
displays are the essential tasks of information design.” Envisioning Information.
Must reads by Tufte: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Envisioning Information, Visual Explanations, and Beautiful Evidence.
Information Design Index Cards is a set of cards designed and produced by the
students of DAI 523, Information Design 1, a fourth-year course in the Design
and Industry Department, San Francisco State University, Fall 2009. The set, by
no means complete, is composed of 1+22 cards on Information Design topics.
Coordinated by instructor Pino Trogu, each topic was chosen and researched
by the students. DAI 523 provides students with an introduction to the field
of information design, covering a variety of applications across print, screen
and environmental media. This is card number 04 and it was designed by
Rae Chu-Colwell.
“Don’t ask
how
visualization
techniques
can help
display data.
Ask
how data
can be best
represented.”
sources: Graphics Press LLC www.edwardtufte.com
DAI 523
Information Design I
Design and Industry Department
College of Creative Arts
San Francisco State University
California, USA – October 2009
Information Design Index Card
No.04
Printed by JASK Digital Printing