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October 04, 2007
Review: Envisioning Information Ch. 3: Layering and Separation
Tufte's insights on layering really underlined the importance of subtlety in information display. The weights of lines between data content and the supporting structure become a factor that must be balanced. I really identified with his examples of tables, which are deceptively difficult to design. Designing a few rows alone can look very different than designing for large numbers of rows. I have used his advice on use of subtle colors and lighter lines in my own designs.
I also liked the 1+1=3 concept described by Tufte. This third element of the negative space can be used to help the design instead of distract from the design. The historical examples that Tufte uses are rich and descriptive. They helped with comparing how the eye processes data displays with different weights of lines.
Posted by Thomas at October 4, 2007 11:02 AM