A couple weeks ago I attended a one-day course on presenting data and information taught by Edward Tufte. It was a thought provoking course with lots of useful tips for effectively presenting information. Here are just a few I jotted down in my notes.
- Don’t pre specifiy data sources or methods before creating an infographic. Instead approach the graphic by using the “whatever it takes” approach to answer the question presented.
- Respect your audience. Think of your audience as busy, not stupid.
- When creating a flow chart, remember that the items are the nouns and the arrows are the verbs and the main reason for presenting information in a flow chart is to understand causality.
- People think at their best at 12”-24”. Dedicate more time to your handout than your PowerPoint.
- You should never need a legend for your graph. Instead put all the needed information for interpretation on the graph.
- A graphic shouldn’t show one data point.
- Find good examples and copy them.
- Check out the sports or financial sections in the newspaper to find good examples of how to present lots of numbers in a table.
- The principles of analytical design are the same as analytical thinking. Show causality. Show comparison. Show multivariate data. Integrate evidence. Document work. Assist thinking. Content counts most of all.
- There is no such thing as information overload, only bad design.
If you don’t know who Edward Tufte is, here’s his quick bio from his website:
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Edward Tufte has written seven books, including Beautiful Evidence, Visual Explanations, Envisioning Information, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, and Data Analysis for Politics and Policy. 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. His current work includes landscape sculpture, printmaking, video and a new book.”
In honor of Earth Day, I am passing along a link to a website that “is dedicated to helping the graphic design community grow into a more sustainable industry.”
