Beautiful Visualization: Looking at Data through the Eyes of Experts (Theory in Practice)

Visualization is the graphic presentation of data –– portrayals meant to reveal complex information at a glance. Think of the familiar map of the New York City subway system, or a diagram of the human brain. Successful visualizations are beautiful not only for their aesthetic design, but also for elegant layers of detail that efficiently generate insight and new understanding.

This book examines the methods of two dozen visualization experts who approach their projects from a variety of perspectives –– as artists, designers, commentators, scientists, analysts, statisticians, and more. Together they demonstrate how visualization can help us make sense of the world.

• Explore the importance of storytelling with a simple visualization exercise
• Learn how color conveys information that our brains recognize before we‘re fully aware of it
• Discover how the books we buy and the people we associate with reveal clues to our deeper selves
• Recognize a method to the madness of air travel with a visualization of civilian air traffic
• Find out how researchers investigate unknown phenomena, from initial sketches to published papers

Contributors include:

Nick Bilton, Michael E. Driscoll, Jonathan Feinberg, Danyel Fisher, Jessica Hagy, Gregor Hochmuth, Todd Holloway, Noah Iliinsky, Eddie Jabbour, Valdean Klump, Aaron Koblin, Robert Kosara, Valdis Krebs, JoAnn Kuchera–Morin et al., Andrew Odewahn, Adam Perer, Anders Persson, Maximilian Schich, Matthias Shapiro, Julie Steele, Moritz Stefaner, Jer Thorp, Fernanda Viegas, Martin Wattenberg, and Michael Young.

Julie Steele is an Editor at O‘Reilly currently working on titles related to Python, SQL, PHP, web frameworks and CMS, databases (relational and non–relational), big data and cloud computing, and data visualization. She‘s also interested in data transparency and open government, and recently completed a master‘s degree in political science at Rutgers University.

Noah Illinsky has spent the last several years thinking about effective approaches to creating diagrams and other types of information visualization. He also works in interface and interaction design, all from a functional and user–centered perspective. Before becoming a designer he was a programmer for several years. He has a master‘s in Technical Communication from the University of Washington, and a bachelor‘s in Physics from Reed College.