Envisioning Information (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A remarkable range of examples for the idea of visual thinking, with beautifully printed pages. A real treat for all who reason and learn by means of images. -- Rudolf Arnheim

Review

A beautiful, magnificent sequel to his classic,

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information -- American Mathematical Society

A beautifully illustrated, well-argued volume. -- Scientific American

Product Details

• Hardcover: 126 pages
• Publisher: Graphics Press; 4th Printing edition (May 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0961392118
• ISBN-13: 978-0961392116
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,086 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

210 of 213 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tour De Fource of Information Design, April 28, 2000

By	Matthew G. Belge (Lincoln, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

To me, this is Tufte's best book, although they are all really good. Although its visually gorgeous, its not a coffee table book to just flip through. You have to be willing to spend time with it, and if you do the rewards are tremendous.

Tufte presents a collection of some the best examples of information design ever invented, and some of the worst examples. And then he goes into the underlying principles that make the great ones sing out.

This book will be really helpful to any web page designer, UI designers, statisticians, cartographers, scientists, or anyone concerned with presenting dense information in a clear way.

There is a chapter on presenting multiple dimensional data on a flat, 2D paper that all by itself is worth the price of the book. Then there's the chapter on "Small Multiples" which presents wonderful examples of how to show patterns and changes. But then there's the chapter on layering of information, so the key pieces of data appear first, and the less relevant ones reveal themselves later. And on and on and on. Its just a great book.

To add to it, Tufte is obsessed with quality like nobody else I can think of in the book business. Its printed on 100% rag paper using real lead type because he thinks that all other methods are inferior. Which means the book is costly to make, but its of heirloom quality.

67 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb, inspiring book!, August 5, 1998

By A Customer

Envisioning Information is Tufte's best work. It is a catalog of world class information design examples, culled by the author. He has collected examples from sources as diverse as Gallileo's observations of Saturn, a 3D map of a Japanese shrine, a visual "proof" of Pythagoras' theorem, color studies by the artist Joseph Albers, and a New York train schedule.

This is not a "how to" book, but rather a group of inspiring examples showing any would be information designer the concepts behind the execution of these superb examples.The concepts are painstakingly argued and illustrated. Tufte is obsessed with quality - the book is printed on 100% rag paper using old fashioned lead type because he believes this yields the highest quality results. One of the best books I have ever read when it comes to visual design!

76 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Remarkable, December 18, 2001

By	loce_the_wizard "loce_the_wizard" (Lilburn, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Edward Tufte sees things most of us do not initially, then manages to render his vision in exquisitely illustrated, well-written texts. He identifies the attributes of effective communication of information and then illustrates what works and why in very understandable terms.

For instance, in his chapter "Layering and Separation," Tufte dissects the problems with array of marshaling signals then reworks the presentation and provides a step-by-step explanation of his process. His coining of the wonderful notion of an "information prison" shows that his cleverness extends from the visual to the written.

As Tufte writes in his introduction, "The principles of information design are universal-like mathematics-and are not tied to unique features of a particular language or culture." He proves this point amply by drawing on myriad sources and examples.

His comments and insights of the power of color are especially enlightening, and if you have ever been subjected to a particularly hideous PowerPoint slide show where the presenter got more than a bit carried away with the technology, you will be agreeing more than disagreeing with the ideas here.

Finally, I acknowledge there is bound to be some sticker shock associated with Edward Tufte's books. But if you consider the amount and quality of color (which requires special press runs), the quality of the paper, the amount of press time (Tufte oversees and approves the printing), and the vast scope of timeless information contained in each book, then these books are a deal.