I am especially happy and honoured that four experts on the history of information graphics have contributed to my upcoming book: David Rumsey, Michael Friendly, Michael Stoll, and Scott Klein. This post is a preview of their individual chapters…
Tag: diagram
New Book: “The History of Information Graphics” (June 2019)
In the age of digital distribution, when news travels ever further and faster and media outlets compete for a fleeting … More
Preview: The Early Modern Age in Infographics (June 2019)o
With the early modern age in Europe began a long-term process of intellectual development that brought with it an increasing appreciation of individual expertise as compared to the authority of traditional knowledge. Intellectual culture began to be shaped more and more by thinkers and artists who were devoted to the “study of reality”…
Preview: The 19th Century in Infographics (June 2019)
In the 19th century there was tremendous growth in the use of information graphics, such that by the end of the century a natural proliferation of maps and diagrams can be noted across many areas of media culture…
Input: What is a Dashboard?
I have great admiration for research projects that set out to investigate seemingly obvious things, and then suddenly a whole ocean of questions … More
Preview: The 20th Century in Infographics (June 2019)
My new book with art & design publisher TASCHEN looks at the incredibly rich history of infographics and data visualisation, tracing … More
Summary I: Malofiej 27 summit (Pamplona)
Malofiej is one of the most interesting gatherings in the world of infographics (and some data visualization). Here is a brief … More
Summary II: Malofiej 27 summit (Pamplona)
This is part two of my brief summary of the Malofiej #27 conference (March 27th to March 29th, 2019) in … More
New Book: “The Minard System” (Fall 2018)
Charles-Joseph Minard was the engineer behind THE most famous historical infographic: The flow map tracing the loss in soldiers during … More
History: “The Tree of Virtuous Behavior” (1608)
I stumbled upon this severe beauty of a tree diagram in the Beinecke digital collections and was immediately thrilled about this hidden gem from 1608. Then I never came around to really studying it — until just now…
History: “Notes on Matters Affecting the Health” (1858)
Visualising data on health and mortality has a most up-to-date ring to it, as if it had required the rise of big data and computational tools for something as intricate as visual health statistics to develop. Surprisingly, however, already the mid-19th century saw a huge upsurge…
History: “The Power of Trees” (1855)
This beauty of a diagram is considered to be the first organisational chart ever. The inception of the railways in the mid-19th century must have been a mind-blowing change process…
History: “81 Years of Graphical Excellence” (1874)
81 years of budget data and various categories in three diagrams – the United States Fiscal Chart from the 1870 US census atlas is a real blockbuster in the history of data visualisation. Today, experts from the field like to joke that data visualisation serves as a gateway drug to statistics…
Inspiration: Interactive Network Graph from MoMA
The Museum of Modern Art in New York City is a fascinating brand name in the museum world. Since it … More
