2/18/20101Tufte’s Design Principles CS 4460/7450 - Information VisualizationFebruary 18, 2010John StaskoToday’s AgendaSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 22/18/20102Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 3Graphical Excellence• Principles Graphical excellence is the well-designed presentation of interesting data---a matter of substance, of statistics, and of design Graphical excellence consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision and efficiencyAccording to TufteSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 4Graphical Excellence• Principles 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 Graphical excellence is nearly always multivariate And graphical excellence requires telling the truth about the data2/18/20103Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 5Leveraging Human Capabilities• Data graphics should complement what humans do well“We thrive in information-thick worlds because of our marvelous and everyday capacities to select, edit, single out, focus, organize, condense, reduce, boil down, choose, categorize, catalog, classify, list, abstract, scan, look over, sort, integrate, blend, inspect, filter, lump, skip, smooth, chunk, average, approximate, cluster, aggregate, outline, summarize, itemize, review, dip into, flop through, browse, glance into, leaf through, skim, refine, enumerate, glean, synopsize, winnow the wheat from the chaff, and separate the sheep from the goats.” Vol.2, page 50Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 6Summary• 1. Tell the truth Graphical integrity• 2. Do it effectively with clarity, precision… Design aestheticsLet‟s look at each of these2/18/20104Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 71. Graphical Integrity• Your graphic should tell the truth about your dataSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 8Example20022001200019991998500475450Stock market crash?2/18/20105Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 9Example200220012000199919985002500Show entire scaleSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 10Example200019901980197019605002500Show in context2/18/20106Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 11Chart Integrity• Where‟s baseline?• What‟s scale?• What‟s context?Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 12Vol 1, p. 54 (1) Where‟s 0?Note middle „702/18/20107Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 13Vol 1, p 54 (2)What‟s being compared?Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 14Vol 1, 57Scale?2/18/20108Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 15Vol 1, p. 61Scale?Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 16Vol 1, p. 74Great work!2/18/20109Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 17Vol 1, p. 74AhhhhShow the contextLocal ExampleSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 18A huge rise?Atlanta Journal ConstitutionSummer ‟082/18/201010Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 19Atlanta JournalConstitutionDec. „08More of thedataSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 20Watch Size Coding• Height/width vs. area vs. volume2/18/201011Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 21Vol 1, p. 69area = value?Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 22Vol 1, p. 62volume = value?2/18/201012Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 23Measuring Misrepresentation• Visual attribute value should be directly proportional to data attribute valueSize of effect shown in graphicSize of effect in dataLie factor =42804549.4 =p.62Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 242. Design Aesthetics• Set of principles to help guide designers2/18/201013Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 25Design Principles• Maximize data-ink ratioData ink ratio =Data inkTotal ink used in graphic= proportion of graphic‟s ink devotedto the non-redundant display ofdata-informationSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 26Vol 1, p. 94GoodBad2/18/201014Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 27Vol 1, p. 30OutstandingSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 28More...• Above all else, show the data• Maximize the data-ink ratio• Erase non-data-ink• Erase redundant data-ink• Revise and edit2/18/201015Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 29More...• Maximize data densitydata density of graphic =number of entries in data matrixarea of data graphicQuote …Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 30Maximize Data Density“Data-rich designs give a context and credibility to statistical evidence. Low-information designs are suspect: what is left out, what is hidden, why are we shown so little? High-density graphics help us to compare parts of the data by displaying much information within the view of the eye: we look at one page at a time and the more on the page, the more effective and comparative our eye can be. The principle, then, is:Maximize data density and the size of the data matrix, within reason.” Vol 1, p 1682/18/201016Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 31Redesign charts• Bar chart, scatter plot, box plot(See drawings)Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 32Design Principles• Avoid chartjunk Extraneous visual elements that detract from message2/18/201017Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 33Vol 1, p 108Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 34Vol 2, p.34 A classicDiamonds Were AGirl‟s Best Friend2/18/201018Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 35USA Todayhttp://www.usatoday.com/news/snapshot.htmSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 36Junk Charts Bloghttp://junkcharts.typepad.com/2/18/201019Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 37More ThoughtsGreat narrative: Vol.2, bottom page 33-34Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 38Design Principles• Utilize multifunctioning graphical elements(macro/micro readings) Graphical elements that convey data information and a design function2/18/201020Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 39Vol 1, p 140Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 40Vol 1, p. 141US Army Divisionsgoing to France inWW ILeonard P. AyresThe War with Germany19192/18/201021Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 41Vol 2, p. 36Plan de Paris1739Michel E. TurgotLouis BretzSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 42Vol 2, p. 37Manhattan 1989Manhattan Map Company2/18/201022Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 43Vol 2, p. 42Viet Nam Memorialin Washington D.C.Maya Ying Lin58,000+ dead soldiersSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 44Vol 2, p. 442/18/201023Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 45Vol 2, p. 43Names listed chronologically by deathSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 46Design Principles• Use small multiples Repeat visually similar graphical elements nearby rather than spreading far apart2/18/201024Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 47Vol 1, p. 17023 hours ofLA air pollutionSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 48Vol 1, p. 173Chromosomes ofman, chimpanzee,gorilla & orangutan2/18/201025Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 49Vol 1, p. 174ConsumerReportsSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 50Vol 2, p. 68NY Trains2/18/201026Spring 2010 CS 4460/7450 51Vol 2, p. 68How to draw lettersSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 52Vol 2, p. 69Calligraphy2/18/201027More Recent AdditionsSpring 2010 CS 4460/7450 53SparklinesSmall, repeatedgraphics(frequently linegraphs)Sparkline ExamplesSpring 2010 CS