Data looks better naked

Edward Tufte launched the concept of data-ink in his 1983 primary The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. In it he states “Data-ink is the non-erasable core of the graphic, the non-redundant ink organized in response to variation throughout the numbers represented” (emphasis mine). Tufte asserts that in displaying data we should at all times take away all non-data-ink and redundant data-ink, inside trigger, to increase the data-ink-ratio and create a sound graphical design. Stephen Few convincingly argues that some redundancy is often less complicated and we agree, nonetheless, most graphics don’t battle with understatement. In actuality, most embrace a lovely amount of additional ink (or pixels). Rather than dressing our data up we must be stripping it down.

To illustrate how a lot much less ink is easier, partaking and impactive we put collectively this animated gif. In it we start with a chart, identical to what we’ve seen in plenty of reveals, and vastly improve it with progressive deletions and no additions.

And proper right here is the slide deck for those who want to go at your particular person tempo.

The subsequent time you are trying to boost a chart, take note of what you presumably can take away reasonably than what you presumably can add.

“Perfection is achieved not when there’s nothing additional in order so as to add, nevertheless when there’s nothing left to take away” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Update: We now have Data Looks Better Naked variations for Tables, Pies, and Maps