The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-18 06:56:45
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Edward R. Tufte
- ISBN：1930824130
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Summary
The classic book on statistical graphics， charts， tables。 Theory and practice in the design of data graphics， 250 illustrations of the best （and a few of the worst） statistical graphics， with detailed analysis of how to display data for precise， effective， quick analysis。 Design of the high-resolution displays， small multiples。 Editing and improving graphics。 The data-ink ratio。 Time-series， relational graphics， data maps， multivariate designs。 Detection of graphical deception: design variation vs。 data variation。 Sources of deception。 Aesthetics and data graphical displays。 This is the second edition of The Visual Display of Quantitative Information。 Recently published， this new edition provides excellent color reproductions of the many graphics of William Playfair， adds color to other images， and includes all the changes and corrections accumulated during 17 printings of the first edition。
Reviews
Kajetan Walczak
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Great stuff full of beautiful data plots。 Especially the first chapter with the history and old examples of data visualization。
Jim Razinha
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Michael Sheremer referenced two of Tufte's trilogy in his Skeptics， but not this one。 Tufte listed it before the other two （he says it is about pictures of numbers; that Envisioning Information is about pictures of nouns - maps， etc。; and that Visual Explanations is about pictures of verbs - motion， processes， etc。） so I thought I had best read it first。 I'll save you the time。 Lots of graphs， a somewhat history of graphical depictions of data， and not a lot of meat。 But， as is usually the case， Michael Sheremer referenced two of Tufte's trilogy in his Skeptics， but not this one。 Tufte listed it before the other two （he says it is about pictures of numbers; that Envisioning Information is about pictures of nouns - maps， etc。; and that Visual Explanations is about pictures of verbs - motion， processes， etc。） so I thought I had best read it first。 I'll save you the time。 Lots of graphs， a somewhat history of graphical depictions of data， and not a lot of meat。 But， as is usually the case， there is substance couched in the details。Selected highlighted notes， which are pretty much the best information this book offers:Principles of Graphical ExcellenceGraphical excellence is the well-designed presentation of interesting data - a matter of substance， if statistics， and of design。Graphical excellence consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity， precision， and efficiency。Graphical excellence is that which gives to the viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink in the smallest space。That last one is gold。"Lying graphics cheapen the graphical art everywhere。" This is true of any field。 Tufte coins something he calls the Lie Factor， which he equates to the size of the effect shown in the graphic， divided by the size of the effect in data。 I don't think it is objectively numerical as he'd like you to think， but it can explain， if subjectively， why some graphs are not all that。He quoted E。B。 White as what he said of writing being also true of statistical graphics （from The Elements of Style: "No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader's intelligence， or whose attitude is patronizing。" Filed away for future quote and citation。 Good stuff。"Data graphics should draw the viewer's attention to the sense and substance of the data， not to something else。" Spot on。 This works for presentations as well。Then there is this， which works for architectural design and， well， any design:"Good design has two key elements: Graphical elegance is often found in simplicity of design and complexity of data。"And "Attractive displays of statistical information"- have a properly chosen format and design- use words， numbers， and drawing together- reflect a balance， a proportion， a sense of relevant scale- display an accessible complexity of detail- often have a narrative quality， a story to tell about the data- are drawn in a professional manner， with the technical details of production done with care- avoid content-free decoration， including chartjunk。Again， works with slide presentations。His list of differences between friendly and unfriendly graphics can be found with a search， and I'll not quote here。， but go find it。 Good stuff。 And now to Envisioning。。。 。。。more
Shalonda
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I can't wait to get my hands on another book written by Edward R。 Tufte。 I can't wait to get my hands on another book written by Edward R。 Tufte。 。。。more
Brian Miracle
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A little professional reading。 I read this to improve the graphics that I use in reports， papers， and procedures。 Some parts， such as the discussions of the more artistic aspects of charts， I would rate a 2。 The discussions on presenting multivariate data and graphic design， particularly the last chapter， I would rate a 4。 This is a relatively quick read and， if your work involves the visual presentation of data in any form， will probably provide some tips to improve that presentation。 3。5 stars A little professional reading。 I read this to improve the graphics that I use in reports， papers， and procedures。 Some parts， such as the discussions of the more artistic aspects of charts， I would rate a 2。 The discussions on presenting multivariate data and graphic design， particularly the last chapter， I would rate a 4。 This is a relatively quick read and， if your work involves the visual presentation of data in any form， will probably provide some tips to improve that presentation。 3。5 stars。 。。。more
Porsha
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I found it fascinating。
Olivier Chabot
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Just a classic。 It is the book to read if you're thinking of working with visualizations。 Easy to read and filled with applicable principles。 Just a classic。 It is the book to read if you're thinking of working with visualizations。 Easy to read and filled with applicable principles。 。。。more
Tom Rivas
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Outdated and misguided in some sections。 It was interesting to see how data representation changed over time but some of the advice is horrible。 Would love to see a modern version of this。
Rebecca
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I had a hard time hitting the pause button。
Gretchen
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Really enjoyed the first few sections that contrasted good vs。 bad data graphics。 The later sections， on technique and the details of executing good graphics， appealed to me less but were still informative。 One minor complaint， though it's largely a case of the book being a product of its time， is that there's almost no consideration given to accessibility of graphics。 There's a brief nod to colorblindness in the last chapter， but other sections work at length from an assumption of a high level Really enjoyed the first few sections that contrasted good vs。 bad data graphics。 The later sections， on technique and the details of executing good graphics， appealed to me less but were still informative。 One minor complaint， though it's largely a case of the book being a product of its time， is that there's almost no consideration given to accessibility of graphics。 There's a brief nod to colorblindness in the last chapter， but other sections work at length from an assumption of a high level of visual acuity。 As a result， some of the "preferred forms" of graphics would be difficult to parse for anyone who didn't have excellent vision。 。。。more
Brad
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Inspiring and engaging！
Michael Finocchiaro
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This was a wonderful， short book about the best ways to present quantitative information。 If it sounds like a boring topic， compared to the Excel manuals it is a gripping read ;-） I thought his suggestions were excellent and it was quite a pleasure to read。 I hope that my own powerpoints and Power BI reports will be positively influenced by this reading。
Kevin Driskill
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This book is wonderful if you like to geek out on infographics。 Part history， part how-to， and filled with practical， easy-to-follow， instructions to improve your skills。 Specifically the good and bad ways to communicate numerical values through graphic design。 Illustration heavy in the best way and easy to read and digest。 There is a great summery at the end of each section that wraps up and rienterates the most important content。
Kevin
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Pithy exploration of the history and some basic design principles of depicting data via graphs
Brendan
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Essentially Elements of Style for data graphics。 This book loses a lot of steam in the last twenty pages or so。 A pretty light read that gets ridiculous when it comes up with mathematical formulas for how much data ink should be used。 Principles are solid if a bit basic。 A useful book that you can knock out in an hour or two and never need to revisit。
Igor
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Beautifully bound and full of inspiring examples。 I enjoyed the author's theory of data graphics and plan to use elements of it in daily life。 I do recommend the book but I felt it dragged on towards the end and became overly oriented towards detail。 Beautifully bound and full of inspiring examples。 I enjoyed the author's theory of data graphics and plan to use elements of it in daily life。 I do recommend the book but I felt it dragged on towards the end and became overly oriented towards detail。 。。。more
Jack O'Hagan
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Magical， beautiful book！
Ha Pham
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Some pieces are useful， and some pieces are dated as the book was written for the time when charts are published on printed materials。 Nevertheless， a good starting point for people practicing data visualization。 Highly recommend https://www。goodreads。com/book/show/2。。。。 Some pieces are useful， and some pieces are dated as the book was written for the time when charts are published on printed materials。 Nevertheless， a good starting point for people practicing data visualization。 Highly recommend https://www。goodreads。com/book/show/2。。。。 。。。more
Amy
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Even though I'm in Data Literacy for my profession， I'm just now getting around to reading this book。 While clearly foundational and incredibly influential， the book feels so dated - particularly since I started with much more recent books。 So many of the things in the book were specific to either the printed medium or functional constraints from the technology of the time。 How long will this book remain relevant？ Should this really be a starting point for people wanting to dip their toes in the Even though I'm in Data Literacy for my profession， I'm just now getting around to reading this book。 While clearly foundational and incredibly influential， the book feels so dated - particularly since I started with much more recent books。 So many of the things in the book were specific to either the printed medium or functional constraints from the technology of the time。 How long will this book remain relevant？ Should this really be a starting point for people wanting to dip their toes in the data visualization pool？ I actually only read it because book club at work picked it， though granted I did recommend it as a choice。 I'm glad that I read it for context， but there were just so many things that I disagreed with in principle throughout。Some points I found valuable and want to implement: - Small multiples for seeing trends and correlations - Reducing chart junk （though my definition of what constitutes junk is pretty different from Tufte's） - Avoiding data distortionSome points I disagreed with: - If you can understand a visual， then your audience can， too。 Nope。 Flies fully in the face of UX principles， and I have seen the opposite in action （with very astute audiences） waaay too many times。 I don't think this is a function of passing time and audiences getting dumber。 I think it was maybe just a lack of being able to put yourself in the audience's shoes effectively。 - Supertables are a good thing。 Gross。 No。 Not in the information overload age。 But maybe on the printed page in 1980。 - His suggestion for replacing bar charts with those hook visuals。 Nope。 Maybe on the printed page， but I find them so hard to read on our current digital screens。 Sometimes more color and pixels really does help improve legibility。Having read Tufte， I can see his influence in so many things today so I'm glad to have read this。 But I would never stop here。 And maybe not even start here。 My next goal is to find a more modern introductory approach to data visualization for the beginner so I can recommend that to people instead。 。。。more
Sumit Anand
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This book is great for everyone in their career who has to visually show data and especially for management consultants。 I find this book a great source of inspiration， and others like it by the author。 It puts a bad practice tag on much of the conventional graphical templates and offers some more unorthodox alternatives， which on second thought actually seem more convincing。 The standard rules for optimizing the data/ink ratio， graphics， and text integration are all spot on and demonstrate how This book is great for everyone in their career who has to visually show data and especially for management consultants。 I find this book a great source of inspiration， and others like it by the author。 It puts a bad practice tag on much of the conventional graphical templates and offers some more unorthodox alternatives， which on second thought actually seem more convincing。 The standard rules for optimizing the data/ink ratio， graphics， and text integration are all spot on and demonstrate how statistics are far from dull when handled correctly。 There is a rich past woven into the pages of the books。 The explanations are so fascinating， that I found myself learning to communicate knowledge with ease。 For example， one of the best graphics ever made for transmitting information is a chart/map tracking the march of Napoleon Bonaparte's army across Europe， which is so amazing that it's hard to explain。 In a very readable， clear， and yet still beautiful way， the graph provides details about the army size， location， and timeline。 The advantages of improved presentation of details should not be underestimated。 As well as explaining the philosophy behind the techniques， the book is a short read and has great examples。 You won't be disappointed。 。。。more
Mark Evans
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Tufte is always worth reading more than once。 And the good thing is， he follows his own advice， i。e。 minimising non-data ink applies to text， not just graphics。 This book can be read in just a few hours， I wish authors of other non-fiction books would follow suit and reduce their information down to only what's actually required。 Tufte is always worth reading more than once。 And the good thing is， he follows his own advice， i。e。 minimising non-data ink applies to text， not just graphics。 This book can be read in just a few hours， I wish authors of other non-fiction books would follow suit and reduce their information down to only what's actually required。 。。。more
José
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I think it is safe to say that two monumental names of data-viz are bound to be recurrently recognised - the eye catching master of data pop-art David McCandless and the creator of beautifully simple and elegant data display Edward Tufte。 Both of these data visualisers have some overlap - both are， after all， incredibly capable of transmitting complex data and information in striking displays - but it is Tufte's love of simplicity and worship of data that renders him a phenomenal graphical visua I think it is safe to say that two monumental names of data-viz are bound to be recurrently recognised - the eye catching master of data pop-art David McCandless and the creator of beautifully simple and elegant data display Edward Tufte。 Both of these data visualisers have some overlap - both are， after all， incredibly capable of transmitting complex data and information in striking displays - but it is Tufte's love of simplicity and worship of data that renders him a phenomenal graphical visualisation composer。 In "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information" he sets out to present some of his more famous inventions for the graphical display of information， namely the range-frame and the dot-dash-plot。 Before presenting these， he sets out several guidelines which are key when producing graphics for the visualisation of any form of data and that hold truthful to this day。 A must-read for anyone looking to make their data visualisations clear， clean and impactful。 。。。more
Barrysmyth
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A classic and well worth a read by anyone with an interest in the data visualisation。 A large book but not a long book， it nonetheless provides an excellent accounting of some of the most important design principles that correlate with good visual design。 Balancing text and discussion with plentiful examples， including many classics of the genre， the pages of this book are filled with vintage charts and graphics， given it an almost coffee-table feel。 It offers as much pleasure as a book to dip i A classic and well worth a read by anyone with an interest in the data visualisation。 A large book but not a long book， it nonetheless provides an excellent accounting of some of the most important design principles that correlate with good visual design。 Balancing text and discussion with plentiful examples， including many classics of the genre， the pages of this book are filled with vintage charts and graphics， given it an almost coffee-table feel。 It offers as much pleasure as a book to dip in and out of as cover-to-cover read by students of its subject matter。 。。。more
M。
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I attended Tufte's seminar about 10 years back。 It was fascinating。 His coverage of Minard's depiction of the Napoleanic Russian campaign and Tufte's supplement showing how visual displays in business and technological decision making scenarios （specifically， the relevant-knowedge-obstructing effects of PowerPoint） directly contributed to the U。S。's Challenger space shuttle disaster， are classics you should not miss。 No serious visual communicator or consumer should be without Tufte's trilogy。 I attended Tufte's seminar about 10 years back。 It was fascinating。 His coverage of Minard's depiction of the Napoleanic Russian campaign and Tufte's supplement showing how visual displays in business and technological decision making scenarios （specifically， the relevant-knowedge-obstructing effects of PowerPoint） directly contributed to the U。S。's Challenger space shuttle disaster， are classics you should not miss。 No serious visual communicator or consumer should be without Tufte's trilogy。 。。。more
Jordan Zagham
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Solid general principles although fairly opinionated。
Shan Zhong
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Definitely my favorite printed book
John Ayers
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This book is a classic。 It presents many examples of effective and ineffective charts。 I found some but not all tips for making effective charts useful。 I found it to not be suitable as a textbook in the university science honors seminar I teach。 Even though the book was published in 1983 and is widely read， many of its design suggestions have not been universally adopted。 Yet its impact on the fields of statistics and data graphics has been large。
Ron
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Unbelievably thought provoking & comprehensive presentation of methods & principles behind effective graphs & charts， from both the present & the past。 Highly recommended。
Bold Batdorj
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lot of data visualization history
Hamish Seamus
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An academic take on dataviz。 Not as practically helpful as other books， but good for historical background。Tuft devises quantitative measures for data visualisation quality: - data-to-ink ratio- lie factor- data densityTuft presents several tables of average measurements of these quantities for various publications。 I wonder what compelled him to do this。 It must have taken an ungodly amount of time and I can't imagine it being of much interest or utility to anyone。 An academic take on dataviz。 Not as practically helpful as other books， but good for historical background。Tuft devises quantitative measures for data visualisation quality: - data-to-ink ratio- lie factor- data densityTuft presents several tables of average measurements of these quantities for various publications。 I wonder what compelled him to do this。 It must have taken an ungodly amount of time and I can't imagine it being of much interest or utility to anyone。 。。。more
Dr
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