Data Flow: Visualising Information in Graphic Design

R. Klanten (Author), (Author), S. Ehmann (Author), F. van Heerden (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

More and more information is being visualised. Diagrams, data and information
graphics are utilised wherever increasingly complex elements are present,
whether it is in magazines, non-fiction books or business reports, packages or
exhibition designs.
Data Flow presents an abundant range of possibilities in visualising data and
information. Today, diagrams are being applied beyond their classical fields
of use. In addition to archetypical diagrams such as pie charts and histograms,
there are manifold types of diagrams developed for use in distinct cases and
categories. These range from chart-like diagrams such as bar, plot, line diagrams
and spider charts, graph-based diagrams including line, matrix, process flow,
and molecular diagrams to extremely complex three-dimensional diagrams.
The more concrete the variables, the more aesthetically elaborate the graphics
sometimes reaching the point of art the more abstract, the simpler the readability.
The abundant examples in Data Flow showcase the various methodologies
behind information design with solutions concerning complexity, simplification,
readability and the (over)production of information. In addition to the examples
shown, the book features explanatory text.
On 256 pages, Data Flow introduces a comprehensive selection of innovatively
designed diagrams. This up-to-date survey provides inspiration and concrete
solutions for designers, and at the same time unlocks a new field of visual codes.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Die Gestalten Verlag (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3899552172
• ISBN-13: 978-3899552171
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,645 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Content, Compromised Design, February 15, 2009

By	Russ Brami (Lexington, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book had such promise and I think that there must be a story in why it is so compromised. The text and choice of images are excellent. The design of the book and execution are a failure. It's as if the author lost control of the book and the manuscript was taken through a process that degraded the very purpose of the book. It is still worth reading but there is a baffling irony in the fact that a book about information design has such mediocre information design.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Let data scream... but where's the data?, December 2, 2008

By	Juhan Sonin (Arlington, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

We're inundated with small data, big data, complex data... lotsa data. And the data is THE story; it should be front and center. Data Flow depicts hundreds of stunning data viz examples. The book is aesthetically beautiful. However, several of the diagrams suffer from low data-to-ink ratios (lots of paint, little useful data)... and many are illegible and printed too small to see or require specific domain knowledge to decrypt.

Where's the data? The book proselytizes the importance of data and there ain't much raw data to be seen (or linked to).

The book designers have forgotten to treat typography as the visual hierarchy for words, the interface design for text. The type treatments and layouts are difficult to read.

Designers, engineers, statisticians, and decision-makers need data viz guidance. This book is not an academic dive into data visualization and needs to follow several of it's own rules for displaying information. But this book provokes your imagination.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book but little Data, February 12, 2009

By	Robi Sen "robi" (falls church, va, usa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a wonderful book that shows numerous examples of Information Aesthetics. My problem with the book is I was hoping for something that showed good examples of how to visualize data and make it aesthetically pleasing. Unfortunately for me the book mostly focused on Aesthetics and some of the examples where actually very poor at communicating the content of the data which would have been great if they were listed as anti patterns.
Regardless of my criticism I am happy I purchased the book and have found some interesting and useful examples. If Amazon allowed half ratings I would have rated it 3.5.