Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative by Edward R. Tufte (1997)

Anyone, in any field, that requires them to convey information to others, should read all of Tufte's books on information design. Book 3, Visual Explanations (how to convey "verbs", companion to "numbers" and "nouns") demonstrates through both good and bad examples, how to distill ideas down to convey the maximum amount of information with the least amount of ink in a manner that not only gets your point across, but does so in a visually pleasing and artistic manner.

Tufte practices what he preaches, too. Unhappy with the way various publishers proposed to print his manuscript, he self-publishes all of his books to incorporate his theories on information design. The result is an incredibly easy to read and understand book with footnotes and diagrams that meld seamlessly with the text. ( )

interessante, da rivedere ( )

The troublesome part of Visual Explanations (and all of Tufte's books really) is that it's so pleasurable you forget that you're supposed to be learning something. As distinct from the other two books in the series, Visual Explanations focuses on the manner in which images can tell a story and thereby render "reading and seeing and thinking identical". The images selected for the book are delightful and engaging - I've never before wanted to hang a data chart on my wall for the sheer artistry of it! Though it should be noted that Tufte has forever dispelled any remaining belief I harbored in magic.

As a series, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Envisioning Information and Visual Explanations largely cover the same material - some illustrations are even discussed in multiple books - and the differences are really a matter of the degree of emphasis. If they weren't all so enchanting my advice would be to just pick one, but... they're just THAT good ( )

Excellent overview of the art of visual explanations ( )