Visualizing Data

What Hacker News says

1. spectramaxJul 2019
   I agree. Infographics and the like are a cancer to the graphics world. I want data in its most simplest form, digest it using simple semiology and graphical grammer and move on. I find Cleveland et. al (Visualizing Data), Jacques Bertin (Semiology of Graphics) and Leland Wilkinson (Grammar of Graphics) much more 'scientific' in their approach than Tufte. Reading Tufte's books is akin to reading Josef Alber's - Interaction of Colors, which btw is the gospel of color theory amongst artists and designers: They provide interesting view of the problem but not the solution to the problem. They are coffee table books in my opinion - bedazzling and extremely interesting but useless in practice. Read Edwin Land (Kodak scientist) if you want to understand color theory.
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2. akg_67Feb 2014
   I will suggest checking out following resources:

   Books

   * Nathan Yau, Data Points Visualization that means something * Stephen Few, Information Dashboard Design The effective communication of data * OReilly, Visualizing Data

   Software

   * Tableau and example visualizations * D3.js and example visualizations

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3. jaysonelliotAug 2011
   The goal of information design and visualization is not "stunning infographics," it's finding ways to visualize data and make it more viscerally understandable.

   Ben Fry is an amazingly talented information designer, and his book Visualizing Data is a must-read for anyone interested in the field.

   Sadly, most of the "infographics" craze right now is focused on being "stunning" rather than being informative. Graphic designers run amok, creating beautiful (or at least cutesy) images that fail to clarify, or worse, confuse with inaccurate scales, inappropriate juxtapositions, or sins of omission.

   Data visualization can be elegant and informative. "Infographics" usually live somewhere on the pages of USA Today or GOOD magazine.

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4. uxpMay 2011
   This is what I got from the article. data.gov has LOADS of datasets for the USA, as well as hundreds of other APIs from different departments that can be used to retrieve that data in real time.

   The problem comes just after you click "download" and realize you have a 600MB XML file listing the Ph levels of groundwater sites around the country for the past 25 years. How in the hell are you going to make that data an interesting draw that users want to read or learn about?

   I have no skill for frontend design, but I've recently begun to learn how to display data in an intelligent manner. If anyone is interested, these books have helped me:

   Information Dashboard Design: http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596100162

   Visualizing Data: http://www.amazon.com/Visualizing-Data-Explaining-Processing...

   Beautiful Data: http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Data-Stories-Elegant-Solutio...

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5. duckApr 2010
   I would check out Visualizing Data - http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596514556

   Also, I enjoy this site http://flowingdata.com.

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6. jscnOct 2009
   Check out Visualizing Data by Ben Fry http://benfry.com/, one of the authors of the Processing language. The book is based on his doctoral dissertation, and has a technical (as opposed to artistic or design) focus, but is easy to understand. The Processing language/environment is Java based.
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