The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition

One of the great advances which has made the Information Age possible has been the development of easy-to-use graphing software to swiftly create charts which used to take skilled draftsmen days to produce.

Unfortunately, the commoditization and automation of this once-dear skill set has resulted in the proliferation of lies, damned lies, and lousy statistics.

Tufte, a Princeton professor and polymath with passionate interest in statistics, information design, and public policy, offers up a thorough diagnosis of what ails our data-rich, information poor society:

- Poor graphical integrity, where the visual proportions are out of synch with the data's proportions

- Chartjunk, unnecessary clutter which reduces the proportion of data-ink in a graphic

- Poor labeling, which robs data of context

- Low-density presentations, where complex and nuanced data are "dumbed down" for the sake of a fleeting aesthetic

Fear not---Dr. Tufte also provides the reader with a course of treatment (called "Graphical Excellence") thoroughly illuminated with real-world examples drawn throughout history.

This is one of those rare works which feeds both your right and left brain. It is a closely-argued work on behalf of clean and clear communications. It is also a wonderful art book depicting the evolution of an often-misunderstood art form.

Whether you're an engineer, a statistician, a businessman, or a teacher, this beautifully-designed book will help you become a more effective communicator.


Changed my style   June 10, 2006
Jeffrey Jones (Ann Arbor, MI United States)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

I was one of those chart-makers who used color just because I could, even when it was unnecessary or even inappropriate. This book changed the way I looked at graph-making. His concepts of data per unit of ink (which should be maximized), and trying to make each droplet of ink convey something useful were extremely helpful, as were his suggestions to minimize distractions and phony 3-d effects.

This, and his second book, "Envisioning Information" are must-reads for anyone designing computer statistical tools (like I was) or simply trying to convert raw data into meaningful graphs, maps, etc.


How to Create Clear Decisions from Clear Data   February 4, 2001
F. Lybrand (Chapel Hill, NC US)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Mr. Tufte recently gave a full day seminar on the concepts he expounds in his three books (he is working on a fourth), which I was able to attend. This, his first book, is really the foundation for understanding the principles he puts forth in the next two, and present a clear template on how to do the best possible job when presenting data visually. This book explains how to clearly and elegantly design data for presentation in order to maximize its efficiency. While there are several fields where this is directly applicable, web design, finance and any other area requiring significant quantiative analysis, it is difficult to envision any field which would not benefit from Mr. Tufte's very insightful and educational opinions.

This book is divided into two parts, a history and guide to "Graphical Practice" and a section describing the "Theory of Data Graphics." In the first, the author describes what makes for good visual data and outlines the history of the visual presentation of data. In the second part the author discusses many specific techniques for evaluating the efficiency of graphics and methods for ensuring that graphics are created in an intelligent and thoughtful manner. The whole of the book is full of wonderful historical examples of good and bad graphics. Every page has a graphic, and every graphic has been thoughtfully chosen and tells a wonderful story. If you were to purchase this book and merely look at the charts and figures it would be a worthwhile purchase, if you take the time to read the back up text the book truly is a masterpiece. The author does an exceptional job of clearly presenting his points at the conclusion of the chapters and provides a large number of well selected examples of his points.

Mr. Tufte's theories are clear, (1) charts are not just a way of livening up 'boring' data, (2) no chart can overcome poor content, (3) charts should contain as much relevant data as possible, and (4) charts should not be livenend up with 'chartjunk' just for the sake of displaying nifty graphics capabilities. This is an excellent book, which is well thought out and clearly illustrates the author's point - but given the subject matter, that is exactly what you should expect.


Never look at a graphic the same way   June 4, 2003
W. Sean McLaughlin (Alexandria, VA)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information is a rather dry title for what turns out to be a supremely interesting and innovative study of how graphics can explain quantitative information.

Tufte is the pre-eminent scholar of graphical representation and this book is a clear example of why. The book outlines Tufte's theories for better displaying data in graphical forms. According to Tufte's well-argued point of view, simpler is often better--good graphics are able to convey multiple levels of information with minimal ink. He rails against unnecessary "chartjunk" which merely takes up space without conveying any information and he is quick to note that "pretty" graphics are often the least informative. Tufte's theories for achieving graphical success are presented in a straightforward manner and are always highlighted by examples. Some of the most interesting sections of the book show how Tufte would transform an otherwise ordinary graphic into a more powerful one--these sections clearly illustrate Tufte's theories and enable the reader to learn from the mistakes of other designers.

Tufte's book is extremely well researched and he consistently uses graphics from various time periods to highlight the points of his argument and to illustrate the good and bad of graphic design. He writes quite passionately about his "favorite" graphic (Charles Minard's time series map of Napoleon's march into Russia) and is equally passionate about exposing the lack of data within bad graphics (he calls one "the worst graphic ever to find its way into print").

Tufte is a clear and compact writer and is very good at explaining complex ideas both in words and in graphical form. While the book sounds very academic, it is certainly accessible to the general reader. This is a must read for graphic designers and those who seek to present quantitative information successfully (e.g. scientists, statisticians, students, businesspeople, etc.). Tufte's ideas are simple and broad enough to translate into a wide range of graphical areas--readers will be able to conceptualize and present data much more effectively after reading this book. Readers will also have a much sharper eye when viewing other's graphics. In a time when computer programs have largely automated graph-making (usually with bad results), Tufte's book is a helpful guide to making graphs and charts as effective and informative as they can be.


Excellence in graphical work   February 17, 2005
A. J. CORNISH-BOWDEN (Marseilles, France)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

If you buy just one of Edward Tufte's three wonderful books on good graphical practice (soon to be four, incidentally: watch out for Beautiful Evidence, expected later this year), then it has to be this one, because it is here that he sets out the principles that underlie all of his later work. It is a book that everyone who uses graphs for displaying information needs to read and read again. Every page contains something of interest and importance, and sometimes something entertaining as well.

So, what are these principles that define a good graphic? First of all, the presentation must be honest. So far as deliberate dishonesty is concerned this is obvious, but often graphical dishonesty results from incompetence rather than bad intentions. A frequent error of this kind is to vary the linear dimensions of little drawings intended to represent the relative magnitudes of different things. It is common, for example, when one quantity has double the magnitude of another to represent this with a drawing that not only has double the length but also double the width of the other, forgetting that this means that it has four times the area. In more elaborate illustrations where the drawings imply three dimensions, i.e. depth as well as length and width, doubling the linear size implies multiplying the volume by eight.

To this point Tufte's arguments are surely uncontroversial, but he goes on to discuss other principles that excellent graphics display and bad ones do not, and here he may part company with some of his readers. He dislikes meaningless decoration -- flourishes intended to make "dry statistics" more interesting. However, as he rightly says, if the statistics are not interesting in the first place one should not be presenting them, and if they are interesting they don't need decoration to make them more so. Another point -- related to this one, but more extended -- is that good graphics maximize what he calls data ink: as far as possible all of the ink used in printing the graphic should be conveying information about the data. Grids, scale measures, frames and so on should be kept to a minimum and should never be allowed to overwhelm the data they are supporting. A good graphic should be clear, but at the same time contain many details that constantly call the attention back.

The book is fairly repetitive, as certain examples recur during the course of reading it. However, this is deliberate, and probably essential. When we see a truly excellent graphic for the first time, such as the summary of New York City's weather in 1980, which appears in Chapter 1, we can see immediately that it is excellent, but it is less evident what makes it excellent. To understand this we need to have the various features explained and contrasted with some of the truly horrible examples that Tufte also provides: the very large quantity of real information contained in a small space, the simultaneous comparison of numerous different variables, the intelligent (and not garish) use of shading, the explanatory labels within the graphic, and so on. Convincing the reader that all this is desirable, and that gratuitous shading, meaningless bright colours, and so on, are not, requires a leisurely pace and some repetition. Many readers simply don't get it even after it has been explained, and the continued frequency of really bad graphics underlines the necessity of Tufte's books.