Digital Diagrams: How to Design and Present Statistical Information Effectively [Paperback]

Trevor Bounford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

Diagrams need never be boring again, thanks to this manual showing how to present statistics that carry the right message in a clear, visually entertaining way. Exploring the myriad ways to design diagrams, first the author explains how to assess the information to be conveyed to determine what needs to be stressed within a chosen format. Then readers look at diagram options-pie charts, bars, flows, graphs, and scatter diagrams-to decide which is best for the purpose at hand. For instance, simple data can make an impact in a pie chart with overlaps of shadow or color, while complex information may demand more elaborate choices. Over one hundred examples of today's best diagram design are included.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823015726
• ISBN-13: 978-0823015726
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,692,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A guide for what NOT to do, December 1, 2003

By 

Nicholas Springer "Cartographer" (Crosswicks, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Digital Diagrams: How to Design and Present Statistical Information Effectively (Paperback)

As an experienced information designer I bought this book with great hope. Unfortunately what I saw appalled me. This book turns many of the principles of designing good information graphics on their head. If you have read Ed Tufte's books and appreciate his concepts of reducing "chart junk" this book will astound you in actually suggesting you dress up a graph with pretty background graphics and cute icons.

Not only does this book present questionable aesthetic values, but even promotes the creation of misleading diagrams. One example is the suggestion to just make a 90 degree turn with a bar on a bar chart if that one doesn't fit conveniently.

There are so many bad examples in this book that it is almost useful as a guide for what NOT to do when designing charts and diagrams.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What you can do, not what you should do, September 21, 2002

By 

Michael Osborne (Wellington New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Digital Diagrams: How to Design and Present Statistical Information Effectively (Paperback)

A visually appealing book that shows off many digital effects and possible ways of creating digital diagrams. Whether or not you should do some of the things shown is another matter.

This book is not for the serious Information Architect - but may be useful for a designer or graphic artist.

Read Tufte and Wainer first - but then you won't find much new or useful here.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Erk! I bought it!, April 29, 2005

By 

Peter Mullins (Auckland. New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Digital Diagrams: How to Design and Present Statistical Information Effectively (Paperback)

Well, we all make mistakes - at least it is pretty in parts. A good guide to whether a restaurant chef can actually cook is to order an omelette simple - if it's on your table within a couple of minutes, the chef probably knows what he/she is doing. In the field of statistical graphics, finding out what the author thinks about pie charts is usually a good indicator - in this case, Mr Bounford seems to think they're a good idea, and he even thinks it's a good idea to add some chart junk, distort the information by rotation or to use fake 3D effects, use multiple colours and so on.
I guess a second indicator of quality is to check the index - has this man even read Tufte, Cleveland, Wainer? - it appears not.
This book is appalling!
If you like colouring-in with crayons, but need some guidelines, this is probably the book for you. Actually, if you are looking for new and interesting (read "brightly coloured") ways of mis-representing your data, or for transforming data into mis-information, again, this may be the book for you. Mr Bounford has invented some distortions that have not occurred to me even in my statistical nightmares!
I am, however, keeping my copy - it's a great teaching aid - on what not to do!