3. Introduction
David McCandless turns complex data sets (like worldwide military
spending, media buzz, Facebook status updates) into beautiful, simple
diagrams that tease out unseen patterns and connections. Good design, he
suggests, is the best way to navigate information glut — and it may just
change the way we see the world.
4. Data is the new soil
Data is a ubiquitous resource for insights
that can be mined like oil.
Just like soil, data is often only as good as
those who tend it. Information can be well
looked after and turned into beautiful data
visualizations
6. Last image explains what McCandless refers to as the “bandwidth of senses”.
Put simply, the small white dot at the bottom right is what we’re consciously aware
of responding to when we read a piece of information, such as a fund performance
summary. The other sections are color-coded according to which of our senses
we use to interact with the data. Unsurprisingly, taste doesn’t feature too highly!
Sight, on the other hand, has a huge bandwidth. In McCandless’s analogy it’s like
comparing the bandwidth of a computer network to that of a calculator.
It’s like combining two powerful languages that are simultaneously
understood by different parts of our minds in such a strong way that it
becomes much easier to alter understanding, perceptions and behaviour.
8. Data and numbers are
meaningless without context
but visual elements offer a
speedy solution.
Solution-to use boxes scaled
to correlate with the size of
spending they represent and
color coded according to what
the cash is spent on
12. Relative figures are needed
to connect to other data so
we can see a fuller picture
that can lead to us changing
our perspective.
Data can change your
perspective and change
your mind midstream.
13. Design is about
solving problems
and providing
elegant solutions.
Information design is
about solving information
problems.
14. Visualizing information can
give us a very quick solution to
problems. We can get clarity or
the answer to a simple
problem very quickly.
