Customer Reviews

Digital Diagrams: How to Design and Present Statistical Information Effectively

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

I work in the commmunication field within a large organisation where I work on a range of activities from preparing articles, instruction posters on a host of IT technical and business related issues to advising staff on their communication needs. The work is challenging especially when people fail to see the possibilites that alternative approaches in communications provide.

So I came across this book on one of my regular visits to the local technical bookshop. So what were my impressions?

The book is very professionally layed out, the text clear and concise, the diagrams employ a stong use of colour. (I am normally a bit weary of books that make extensive use of colour because that can be a distraction like eye candy that titulates but leaves you with a empty feeling when you close the cover).

But this book was different.

The book represents a rich resource whether you are looking for a reference book to communicate an idea to a design professional or been given the task on preparing a report. Being published last year, it's very much up to date with currently applications of technology.

As the book cover says (it aims to promote) effective design of presentation of statistical information. This does not mean going overboard with over the top graphic.

Part of my job is advising staff on the power on a well designed digrams for conveying in some instances quite complex data. Even the presentation of a straight forward yearly financial report can be lifted from mediocity by a bit of creativity and inspiration provided by this book. . .

The sections 'Making digrams work' and 'Showcase' were particularly noteworthy. Even a quick flick through these gives you an immediate insight into the range of visual possibilities. Even if you are limited to grey scale and black and white you have options. . .

There are many hundred examples of digram presented from histgrams, to line graphs, pie charts, and even maps and 3D graphics. Each has an accompanying explanatory label highlighting the salient point

I haven't had the opportunity to look at the other book in this series called "Web design www.color Effective use of color for web page design" but if it is up the standard of this one it should be great.

This is an excellent tool for presentation development of statistical information. Generally, business developers have one chance to grab a client's interest, because even the most astute executive's attention will wander while scanning a list of numbers.

Every section in Digital Diagrams is filled with symbols, charts, graphs, and diagrams; and each chapter includes pertinent information regarding the artwork within it. The most important aspect for a technical writer, design engineer, solutions provider, etc. is to show the specific details rather than tell them.

Chapter 1 -- What is a diagram? Since not all numbers are worth a diagram, it is up to the analyst to determine which datum makes sense to display, and what is the best way to show trends, discrepancies, cartography, art, and other forms of information. Illustrative Diagrams include simple icons through in-depth cross sections that are relevant to astronomy, geology, weather patterns, and business concepts. Tables and graphs are used for statistical diagrams and the various forms that can be used to chart changes. This Relational diagrams, such as ocean currents, relate to the physical world and fixed locations. Other diagrams included in this chapter are organizational interrelationships and time charts

Chapter 2 -- Making diagrams work. Information designers develop pictograms that create visual language. In a world that grows smaller through communications, internationally understood symbols, such as a skull and cross bones, speak in every language. Pictorial pieces can comprise such things as the step by step creation of an origami bird, the dissection of any organism, the effects of a volcanic eruption to the land or water masses around it, or K-2 and Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Chapter 3 -- The digital toolbox discusses page layout software. Many office programs such as word processors and spreadsheet have good tools built into them. However, 2-D and 3-D vectoring software provides minute control for a wide range of options. Raster painting programs enhance these designs with textures and depth. Many programs include a library of ready-made, royalty free clipart. This chapter describes the most effective way to use the tools.

Chapter 4 -- show case your work. When someone can look at a diagram and know what is being said, then it works. This chapter is filled with successful artwork.

The introduction and appendix are standard. The dictionary is well laid out and easy to read. It is an excellent reference tool.

Victoria Tarrani

Because of all of the bad reviews on this book, I decided to borrow it from the library instead of buy it. It isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be, and in fact, it's a rather useful resource.

Previous reviews claim that the author suggests the decorate diagrams and presentations with clipart and other garish techniques. Indeed, the author does suggest using symbols, colors, different stylistic techniques. However, he also tells the reader as often as possible, "Don't let the effects impede [the content]" and such. He states very often to use stylistic techniques such as 3D effects and symbols for clarity only if they will serve to add a level of information to the diagram that will facilitate understanding. In fact, he points out repeatedly in the section about how to make symbols - keep them stylistically consistent, keep them simple, keep them clear, and don't add any unnecessary accessories.

I think this book is a good resource as a methodical system of determining which type of diagram to display your information in.

There are some nice example of diagramatic visualizations here. My one concern is that the authors were not discriminating enough in their choices. Mixed in with the powerful graphics are a number of chartjunk examples. In addition, in the "how to" sections a number of techniques (shading, perspective, etc.) were described without any indication that the use of these techniques actually detract from the visual integrity of the visualization.

My suggestion is to pick a copy of Tufte's "Envisioning Information" before this one. After you have read Tufte, you will be able to pick out the good from the bad in this book.

I realize that the reason so many people are disgusted with this book is that the author is far ahead of his time. The book is helpful and useful, chock full of new and innovative ways to present information. I am sure, that somewhere in the near future, the ideas in this book will be the standard for digital architecture. The ideas presented in this book help make charts accessible for everyone, not just the information architecture elite. You can only resist the new way of doing things for so long... Furthermore, this book is a reference, and no one is meant to copy the charts line for line. If you don't want to use purple, orange, and blue on your volume chart, then stick to black and grey while the rest of us ride the wave into the future of information presentation!

I only wish there was an updated version (the last version was 2000), so that I could learn how to create diagrams with today's software.

I work in the commmunication field within a large organisation where I work on a range of activities from preparing articles, instruction posters on a host of IT technical and business related issues to advising staff on their communication needs. The work is challenging especially when people fail to see the possibilites that alternative approaches in communications provide.

So I came across this book on one of my regular visits to the local technical bookshop. So what were my impressions?

The book is very professionally layed out, the text clear and concise, the diagrams employ a stong use of colour. (I am normally a bit weary of books that make extensive use of colour because that can be a distraction like eye candy that titulates but leaves you with a empty feeling when you close the cover).

But this book was different.

The book represents a rich resource whether you are looking for a reference book to communicate an idea to a design professional or been given the task on preparing a report. Being published last year, it's very much up to date with currently applications of technology.

As the book cover says (it aims to promote) effective design of presentation of statistical information. This does not mean going overboard with over the top graphic.

Part of my job is advising staff on the power on a well designed digrams for conveying in some instances quite complex data. Even the presentation of a straight forward yearly financial report can be lifted from mediocity by a bit of creativity and inspiration provided by this book. . .

The sections 'Making digrams work' and 'Showcase' were particularly noteworthy. Even a quick flick through these gives you an immediate insight into the range of visual possibilities. Even if you are limited to grey scale and black and white you have options. . .

There are many hundred examples of digram presented from histgrams, to line graphs, pie charts, and even maps and 3D graphics. Each has an accompanying explanatory label highlighting the salient point

I haven't had the opportunity to look at the other book in this series called "Web design www.color Effective use of color for web page design" but if it is up the standard of this one it should be great.

I found this book to be a very useful resource for creating visually interesting informational graphics. I'm a technical communicator for a marketing-oriented company working in a number of different media, including print and web, and it is important to be able to attract and keep people's attention while conveying information. It may be that some of the methods provided in this book contradict E.Tufte's doctrines, but an ivory-tower nose-in-the-air approach ain't gonna move no product! Maybe I'm not a "serious Information Architect" -- That being said, I found the author's presentation and descriptions of the various types of charts and graphs helpful, and some of his layout ideas will be immediately valuable to me in my work.