Tufte, Data and Design – My takeaways

[wikipop]Edward Tufte[/wikipop] gave a seminar in [wikipop]Seattle[/wikipop] on Apri 28th, in which he spoke about his particular bent towards data and design aesthetics as they apply to forming presentations.  Or, in other words, [wikipop]Tufte[/wikipop] vs. Powerpoint 2009.

First off, I did a bit of research before going, and was shocked that I was largely unfamiliar with Tufte before the seminar.  I thrive on the integration of art and business, and for some unexplainable reason I had never been exposed to his teachings.  My preliminary research got me really enthused.  I also believe I got to appreciate from a “from the the fire hose” dissemination, whereas the more informed audience might not have benefited as much, many of whom were merely nodding along as he set up principles they were already eminently familiar with from reading his books…

If like myself, you are new to Tufte, let me sum up the message I received.   He is chiefly concerned with creating the most easily decipherable graphical depictions of useful information (as supported by his very direct book titles) , and excels at communicating very complex and multi-varied data sets in an elegant manner.  He advocates for austerity in form, maximum function, and believing in your audience’s ability to interpret a well formed and properly displayed data set.  I highly recommend reading his books if you are interested in data, design and elegant approaches to work.

Here are my 5 favorite points from the presentation:

1. “Do whatever it takes to explain something.”
2. It’s offensive that we use Powerpoint to present to very intelligent audiences for a number of reasons.
3. The average Powerpoint slide has 12 numbers, the average sports section has 10,000.
4. Use the “smallest effective difference” to make your distinctions.
5. “Talent imitates but genius steals.”  – This line is actually 100% mine

Only two weeks after Tufte’s class I already see a noticeable difference in my approach to design.  I very often use complex Excel spread sheets and I see my tendencies skewing towards subtler conditional formatting and more density.  All in all a great experience.

Talk to you soon.