Being someone who does quite a bit of information visualization type stuff for a job this article about “modern approaches” to the craft has popped up on my internet radar several times over the past few weeks. I’d like to have more time to write about this stuff but you know, work etc. suffice it to say the quality is variable. When I’m looking at an info-graphic or a piece of data visualization I always think of this from the first page of the first Tufte book.

Excellence in statistical graphics consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity , precision and efficiency. Graphical displays should

• show data
• induce the viewer to think about the substance rather than about methodology, graphic-design, the technology of production, or something else
• avoid distorting what the data have to say
• make large data sets coherent
• encourage the eye to compare different pieces of data
• reveal the data at several levels of detail, from a broad overview to the fine structure
• serve a reasonably clear purpose: description, exploration, tabulation, or decoration
• be closely integrated with the statistical and verbal descriptions of the dataset.

Graphics reveal data.

Point two is particularly salient. It’s tempting to get caught up in a new toy and I think a lot of examples of the modern approach draw the viewer towards the technology of production rather than the substance of the data. There’s nothing wrong with making nice visual displays but it’s not the same thing as elucidating data, making it accesible or improving peoples understanding of it.