Rating: Summary: What a place for ideas! Review: Tufte uses beautiful, old examples to show timeless good design. When I need a "brainbooster" in my work as a multimedia designer, I gravitate to his book(s) and just flip pages. There is always something there that strikes a spark and gets me moving again. Chapter 4: "The Smallest Effective Difference" especially helps me remember to scale down graphic contrivances and let the content shine through. I wouldn't recommend this book for a solid cover-to-cover read, but as an addition to a designer's bookshelf it is definately high on my list.
Rating: Summary: Delightful and Insightful Review: Tufte's third book concentrates on the communication of notions of
change and difference, such as an explaination of processes or sequences of
events.
One of the many delighful aspects of this book is the diverse and intriging sources of examples, ranging from 19th
century bookplates and 20th century art to information kiosks and
scientific visualisation. For me the most memorable section was
his contrasting the visual displays presented to NASA advising them to
abort the disasterous Challanger launch with Frost's investigation into the
colera epidemic in 19th-century London. It might sound vague hand waving,
but Tufte presents his ideas with incredible clarity and insight and his
conclusions are applicable to a wide range of fields, from computer user
interface designs to powerpoint presentations and scientific analysis of
data.
You can probably guess I really enjoyed this book; as well as being
engaging and informative it is beautifully written and stunningly designed.
It's philisophic approach will not immediately appeal to everyone, but I
enthusiasticly
recommend it as essential reading for anyone who needs to communicate
complex ideas visually.
For those of you interested in this subject area, I also recommend
"Information Architects", edited by Richard Saul Wurman, which although
more graphic design oriented has numerous excellent examples of the design
processes behind good visual communication
Rating: Summary: Delightful and Insightful Review: Tufte's third book concentrates on the communication of notions ofchange and difference, such as an explaination of processes or sequences ofevents. One of the many delighful aspects of this book is the diverse and intriging sources of examples, ranging from 19thcentury bookplates and 20th century art to information kiosks andscientific visualisation. For me the most memorable section washis contrasting the visual displays presented to NASA advising them toabort the disasterous Challanger launch with Frost's investigation into thecolera epidemic in 19th-century London. It might sound vague hand waving,but Tufte presents his ideas with incredible clarity and insight and hisconclusions are applicable to a wide range of fields, from computer userinterface designs to powerpoint presentations and scientific analysis ofdata. You can probably guess I really enjoyed this book; as well as beingengaging and informative it is beautifully written and stunningly designed.It's philisophic approach will not immediately appeal to everyone, but Ienthusiasticlyrecommend it as essential reading for anyone who needs to communicatecomplex ideas visually. For those of you interested in this subject area, I also recommend"Information Architects", edited by Richard Saul Wurman, which althoughmore graphic design oriented has numerous excellent examples of the designprocesses behind good visual communication
Rating: Summary: Very worthwhile and readible book for peaceful times Review: Very worthwhile and readible book for peaceful times. This is now the third and last of Tuftes trilogy of design books I read and I still love to read them. I love the enspirement. It needs a peaceful pace and as the author states "it pays you back". I learned a lot, I will read it again in a couple of years, and I Want another one of his books.
Rating: Summary: Tufte is an intellectual giant Review: VISUAL EXPLANATIONS: IMAGES AND QUANTITIES, EVIDENCE AND NARRATIVE represents one volume within a set of three. In this volume, Edward R. Tufte explores the visual and artistic aspects of the assessment of change, dynamics and most importantly cause and effect. In my mind, Edward R. Tufte is one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century. His work is magnificent! He employs a powerful conceptual framework that has had a profound effect on the reader. I own all three volumes. I use VISUAL EXPLANATIONS: IMAGES AND QUANTITIES, EVIDENCE AND NARRATIVE when I teach statistics. Students, but mostly professors, are too caught up with the power of inferential statistics leaving behind or seeing the visual display of data as insignificant or too simple to be introduced in a college course. Even worse, some are just plain ignorant regarding data presentation. To dispel any attitude that inferential statistics are the heart and soul of the study of cause, I use the section about the Challenger space flight to illustrate the importance of graphic illustrations in the field of engineering. The book hits home like no other visual presentation. Students see how decisions are made on the basis of poor quality and high quality graphics. These graphics produce a rare quietness in the classroom. There emerges a respect for the deceased astronauts. Students see how decision-makers employ graphic illustrations to determine a critical (in this case, life-threatening) course of action. The illustrations played an important function in endorsing the liftoff of the doomed Challenger. After students emotionally recover from the trauma of visually understanding the flaw in the O-rings, the graphics lead students to understand the statistical concept of "independence." This statistical concept is initially difficult for undergraduates to grasp. However, the illustrations in VISUAL EXPLANATIONS provide a powerful springboard. On the lighter side, I insist that students turn to page 90-91 to review the graphic that establishes the cause and effect of "rock `n roll." It, like all of Tufte's illustrations, is inspiring. Every professor who teaches statistics should have a copy of this and Tufte's other volume entitled, THE VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION. In addition, every academic library should house all the volumes.
Rating: Summary: Tufte is an intellectual giant Review: VISUAL EXPLANATIONS: IMAGES AND QUANTITIES, EVIDENCE AND NARRATIVE represents one volume within a set of three. In this volume, Edward R. Tufte explores the visual and artistic aspects of the assessment of change, dynamics and most importantly cause and effect. In my mind, Edward R. Tufte is one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century. His work is magnificent! He employs a powerful conceptual framework that has had a profound effect on the reader. I own all three volumes. I use VISUAL EXPLANATIONS: IMAGES AND QUANTITIES, EVIDENCE AND NARRATIVE when I teach statistics. Students, but mostly professors, are too caught up with the power of inferential statistics leaving behind or seeing the visual display of data as insignificant or too simple to be introduced in a college course. Even worse, some are just plain ignorant regarding data presentation. To dispel any attitude that inferential statistics are the heart and soul of the study of cause, I use the section about the Challenger space flight to illustrate the importance of graphic illustrations in the field of engineering. The book hits home like no other visual presentation. Students see how decisions are made on the basis of poor quality and high quality graphics. These graphics produce a rare quietness in the classroom. There emerges a respect for the deceased astronauts. Students see how decision-makers employ graphic illustrations to determine a critical (in this case, life-threatening) course of action. The illustrations played an important function in endorsing the liftoff of the doomed Challenger. After students emotionally recover from the trauma of visually understanding the flaw in the O-rings, the graphics lead students to understand the statistical concept of "independence." This statistical concept is initially difficult for undergraduates to grasp. However, the illustrations in VISUAL EXPLANATIONS provide a powerful springboard. On the lighter side, I insist that students turn to page 90-91 to review the graphic that establishes the cause and effect of "rock 'n roll." It, like all of Tufte's illustrations, is inspiring. Every professor who teaches statistics should have a copy of this and Tufte's other volume entitled, THE VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION. In addition, every academic library should house all the volumes.
Rating: Summary: Powerfully decriptive books Review: When you have read Tufte's books you sit back in shock. He is instructing you to look at the world in a different way; and he's right.
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