1. Be honest, don’t even try to cheat
2. Be effective, maximize information entropy
3. Be artistic, make it beautiful

• Patrick Blackburn
• Edward Tufte
• Giorgia Lupi

In a popular talk about how to give a good talk, given in 2001 at ESSLLI, Patrick Blackburn said some really nice things about communication:

After The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte:

1. Graphical excellence is the well-designed presentation of interesting data – a matter of substance, of statistics, and of design
2. Graphical excellence consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency
3. Graphical excellence is that which gives to the viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink in the smallest space
4. Graphical excellence is nearly always multivariate
5. Graphical excellence requires telling the truth about the data

After Data Humanism, the Revolution will be Visualized by Giorgia Lupi:

1. Embrace complexity
2. Move beyond standards
3. Sneak context in
4. Remember that data is imperfect (as we are)

Complexity is an inherent feature of our existence — the world is rich in information that can be combined in endless ways. Creating new points of view or uncovering something new typically cannot happen at a mere glance; this process of revelation often needs and requires an in-depth investigation of the context.

Sketching with data — so, in a way, removing technology from the equation before bringing it back to finalize the design with digital tools — introduces novel ways of thinking, and leads to designs that are uniquely customized for the specific type of data problems we are working with.

As semiologists have theorized for centuries, language is only a part of the communication process — context is equally important.

Data visualization should embrace imperfection and approximation, allowing us to envision ways to use data to feel more empathic, to connect with ourselves and others at a deeper level.

• A talk by Carin Marzaro on how to communicate