presenting and exploringthe two sides of information graphics and visualization

www.thefunctionalart.comTWITTER: @albertocairo

In the past, information graphics were about presenting highly edited summaries of data.

In many cases, they summarized too much and didn’t allow readers to dig into the complexity of the original sets of data.

This style is still ingood shape today.

Today, an opposite trend is gaining momentum: because data is increasingly available and easy to access, designers seem to think that

just throwing numbers at readers is enough

http://www.chrisharrison.net

Cross-references in the Bible

My first reaction: This is very cool!

My first reaction: This is very cool!

On a second thought: So what?

The amount of data is so overwhelming that, once you quench the curiosity of seeing your own neighborhood, other possible

comparisons and stories are difficult to get

My first reaction: This is very cool!

On a second thought: So what?

We are forcing readers to become their own reporters and editors: they have to look into the data, explore it, and then extract

conclusions. We must help with that

My first reaction: This is very cool!

On a second thought: So what?

Presentation and exploration are complementary

We must embrace complexity but we also have to give readers clues to understand that complexity

The Visual Information-Seeking Mantra

Ben Shneiderman (1996)“Overview first, zoom and filter, then details-on-demand”

http://revistaepoca.globo.com/diagrama/noticia/2011/10/diagrama-298-anos-de-falacao.html

alberto.cairo@gmail.comTwitter : @albertocairo

www.thefunctionalart.comwww.visualopolis.com

thank you