In The Functional Art, instructor Alberto Cairo explains how information graphics and visualizations are cognitive tools that extend our perception and how we can use them to see beyond lists of numbers, variables, and phenomena to identify patterns and trends that would be invisible otherwise. The book also includes a DVD-ROM containing 90+ minutes of video tutorials that expand on the concepts explained in the book as well as exercises that viewers can use to put their newly found skills to the test.
" Read It. There is really nothing else to say. If you care about how visualization is used to communicate to people, this is the book for you. If you re a journalist, you need to read it. If you re an academic doing visualization research, you really, really need to read it. This is the stuff we ve been missing in visualization for the last 25 years.
Don t trust my opinion? Nick Diakopoulos thinks it will be the standard text for visual journalists going forward, and even Stephen Few likes it. "
- Robert Kosara, EagerEyes
Unlike any time before in our lives, we have access to vast amounts of free information. With the right tools, we can start to make sense of all this data to see patterns and trends that would otherwise be invisible to us. By transforming numbers into graphical shapes, we allow readers to understand the stories those numbers hide. In this practical introduction to understanding and using information graphics, you ll learn how to use data visualizations as tools to see beyond lists of numbers and variables and achieve new insights into the complex world around us. Regardless of the kind of data you re working with business, science, politics, sports, or even your own personal finances this book will show you how to use statistical charts, maps, and explanation diagrams to spot the stories in the data and learn new things from it.
You ll also get to peek into the creative process of some of the world s most talented designers and visual journalists, including Condé Nast Traveler s John Grimwade, National Geographic Magazine s Fernando Baptista, The New York Times Steve Duenes, The Washington Post s Hannah Fairfield, Hans Rosling of the Gapminder Foundation, Stanford s Geoff McGhee, and European superstars Moritz Stefaner, Jan Willem Tulp, Stefanie Posavec, and Gregor Aisch. The book also includes a DVD-ROM containing over 90 minutes of video lessons that expand on core concepts explained within the book and includes even more inspirational information graphics from the world s leading designers.
The first book to offer a broad, hands-on introduction to information graphics and visualization, The Functional Art reveals:
Why data visualization should be thought of as functional art rather than fine art
How to use color, type, and other graphic tools to make your information graphics more effective, not just better looking
The science of how our brains perceive and remember information
Best practices for creating interactive information graphics
A comprehensive look at the creative process behind successful information graphics
An extensive gallery of inspirational work from the world s top designers and visual artists
On the DVD-ROM:
In this introductory video course on information graphics, Alberto Cairo goes into greater detail with even more visual examples of how to create effective information graphics that function as practical tools for aiding perception. You ll learn how to: incorporate basic design principles in your visualizations, create simple interfaces for interactive graphics, and choose the appropriate type of graphic forms for your data. Cairo also deconstructs successful information graphics from The New York Times and National Geographic magazine with sketches and images not shown in the book.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Introduction - What Infographics and Visualizations Are
PART 1 - Foundations
Chapter 1 - Why Visualization - From Data to Wisdom
Chapter 2 - Form and Function - Visualization as a Technology
Chapter 3 - The Beauty Paradox - Art and Communication Efficacy
Chapter 4 - Exposition, Exploration, And the Complexity Challenge
PART 2 - History
Chapter 5 - Here Be Dragons - On the Origins of Maps
Chapter 6 - Lights of Reason - the Dawn of Scientific Illustration
Chapter 7 - A Scottish Engineer And a Century of Revolutions - the History of Charts
PART 3 - Cognition
Chapter 8 - The Eye and the Visual Brain
Chapter 9 - Non-sensed Perception
Chapter 10 - Images in the Brain
PART 4 - Practice
Chapter 11 - The Creation Process in Infographics and Visualization
Chapter 12 - Interactive Graphics and Visualization
APPENDIX - Projects from leading practitioners in the field, explained in detail
