Design for Information: An Introduction to the Histories, Theories, and Best Practices Behind Effective Information Visualizations

by Isabel Meirelles

The visualization process doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it is grounded in principles and methodologies of design, cognition, perception, and human-computer-interaction that are combined to one’s personal knowledge and creative experiences. Design for Information  critically examines other design solutions —current and historic— helping you gain a larger understanding of how to solve specific problems. This book is designed to help you foster the development of a repertoire of existing methods and concepts to help you overcome design problems. Learn the ins and outs of data visualization with this informative book that provides you with a series of current visualization case studies. The visualizations discussed are analyzed for their design principles and methods, giving you valuable critical and analytical tools to further develop your design process. The case study format of this book is perfect for discussing  the histories, theories and best practices in the field through real-world, effective visualizations. The selection represents a fraction of effective visualizations that we encounter in this burgeoning field, allowing you the opportunity to extend your study to other solutions in your specific field(s) of practice. This book is also helpful to students in other disciplines who are involved with visualizing information, such as those in the digital humanities and most of the sciences.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Art, Reference, Art Design, Technology, Science

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explores theories and best practices in visualizing data by discussing them in the context of case studies. Information-dense, this is a book I'll refer to again and again!

[Manuel Frias · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is full of great graphics and illustrations and the case studies are explained very nicely. I will maybe come back to it in search of inspiration.

However, If you are looking for HOW to do visualizations this is not your book.

[Shimista · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great book for those studying data visualization for networks and maps. If you design graphics without legends that you can understand in seconds, it's not really for you/me. Nice designs!

[Guilherme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good intro to information design.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be a bit more artistic than past books I've read on the topic (Stephen Few, Edward Tufte), but I enjoyed it. It has some great examples of visuals, though may not all be great examples of delivering detailed information.

[Lee Stoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the big-data visualizations.

[Valleri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the best tool I used all semester for my information design course. The case studies were visually stunning and offered creative insight into how to best approach graphic design projects.

[Christopher Dalley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Design for Information is a great overview of the general information design space and its history, but no more than that. It touches on many of the key areas of visualisation from networks through to cartography, doing a great job of conveying the basic taxonomy and lexicon of the information design space. The books real strength is the rich history of visualisation it presents, pulling in examples of the first uses of different types of graphs and great images of how they have evolved to interactive graphics online.

What this book is not is any form of how to guide. It touches on some visual/psychological phenomena and theories around visualisations but does not go any further than that in how to apply those learnings when designing information. Nor does it at all talk about the processes and steps of designing effective information visualisations.

If you are looking for a high level book to orient yourself in the world of data visualisation then this book does a great job. If you are looking for anymore than that or any practical advice, I would look elsewhere.