Being up really early is the only time we seem to have for a conversation, about anything and everything. The search for another preschool for one of our sons, to controlled vocabulary* to Clay Shirky (writer, consultant and teacher on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies), David Nielson, Louis Rosenfeld & Peter Morville (Information Architecture for the World Wide Web), Donald Norman (The Design of Everyday Things), then finally to Edward Tufte — “the Leonardo da Vinci of Data” as has been described by The New York Times.
Edward Tufte wrote one of the best (design) books, Envisioning Information. I was introduced to this book by one of my professors while studying graphic design. The book is about presenting data and information, or the visual communication of information. You’ll see some of the most beautiful graphs and charts. Graphs, charts, stats – they do not need to be boring …
“Make the ideas you are trying to convey worthy of the eye to behold.”
It’s hard to talk about this book; you have to look at it. You’ll see maps, charts, scientific visualizations, diagrams, statistical graphics and tables, stereo photographs, guidebooks, courtroom exhibits, computer screens, timetables. It also provides practical advice about how to explain complex material by visual means, and uses examples to illustrate the fundamental principles of information display.
A good book to keep going back to over and over again … (Mine was borrowed and never returned however.)
He’s also quite famous for his criticism of the way Microsoft PowerPoint is typically used, in his essay “The cognitive style of PowerPoint.” This is quite fun to read: “PowerPoint is Evil“.
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* Controlled Vocabulary – A collection of preferred terms that are used to assist in more precise retrieval of content. Controlled vocabulary terms can be used for categorizing content, building labeling systems, and creating style guides and database schema. One type of a controlled vocabulary is a taxonomy.
Reference: http://www.iawiki.net/ControlledVocabularies
