Data Design: Visualising Quantities, Locations, Connections

Data Design: Visualising quantities, locations, connections is a lively and comprehensive introduction to data visualisation, illustrated with 199 instructive data displays. The book is for designers, journalists, editors, writers and anyone concerned with presenting factual information in a clear and effective way. Data Design highlights the key qualities of good data visualisation: accuracy, simplicity, and clarity. In this spirit, Per Mollerup discusses information design with great clarity. The proposed data displays are as simple as possible, and every graphic element is there to convey meaning. This book is not about data decoration. Data Design can be read from cover to cover, but it doesn’t have to be. It can also serve as a reference guide. Each of the data displays included is explained in such a way as to clarify the problems to be addressed and the method by which to address them, enabling the reader to develop the skills with which to improve their data visualisation designs.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Organizing Knowledge Field of Study Goals Benefits Information Graphics Simplicity Milestones Basics Beware of Visual Displays Research and Common Sense Gestalt Principles of Perception Psychological Principles Colour Notation Reading Visual Displays Choice of Display Visualising Quantities Variables Pie Charts Vertical Bar Charts Histograms Stem-and-leaf Plots Horizontal Bar Charts Divided Bar Charts Stacked Bar Charts Step Charts Bubble Charts Line Charts Layer Charts Radar Charts Scatter Plots Picture Tables Heat Maps Small Multiples Don'ts Visualising Locations Thematic Maps Map Scale Map Projection The Geographical Coordinate System Map Orientation Choropleth Maps Proportional Symbol Maps Isopleth Maps Cartograms Chorochromatic Maps Dot Distribution Maps Transit maps You-Are-Here Maps Visualising Connections Trees Decision Trees Treemaps Mind Maps Positioning Maps Timelines Flow Charts Concept Maps Venn Diagrams Carroll Diagrams Euler Diagrams End Matter Sources Index Acknowledgements Author Bio

About the Author :
Per Mollerup is Professor of Communication Design at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. He previously edited and published Mobilia Design Magazine and Tools Design Journal in Copenhagen, Denmark. From 1984–2009 he was the owner and principal of Designlab in Copenhagen, an award-winning design consultancy specialising in wayshowing and branding. He is the author of several books on design, including Marks of Excellence: The History and Taxonomy of Trademarks (1997, 2013); Collapsibles: A Design Album of Space-Saving Objects (2002); Brandbook: Branding, Feelings, Reason (2008) (in Danish); PowerNotes: Slide Presentations Reconsidered (2011) and Wayshowing>Wayfinding: Basic & Interactive (2013).

Review :
Data Design makes a strong and clear attempt to describe the principles and practices of data visualisation needed to make data easily perceptible ... The book is very practical, no specialist tools are required ... [and it] also supports critical thinking ... A useful reference guide ... both parsimonious and comprehensive. This book is intelligent and wise, clear and beautiful, stimulating and useful. It distills and presents in one place a mountain of research results and tried-and-true best practices. It is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in visual communication. I love the economy of expression in Per Mollerup's writing. He applies the classic Danish design approach (modern but human) to the explanation of design, isolating the essence of a topic, then explaining it simply. This book joins his seminal 'Wayshowing' as an essential text. With the key words communicate, record and understand, Mollerup guides the reader in how to design complex data to facilitate the interpretation act. Generous well-designed visualizations and explanations work together as useful guidelines for anyone that frequently presents quantities, locations and connections.