Tufte: Chapter 2

This chapter on micro/macro readings was very interesting because it connected informational design/map making to design principles we have seen in earlier reading where we learned about the importance of juxtaposition and contrast that arises from a wholistic view of information. I really liked the example of the conductivity/temperature curve because I find that it is effective at providing a lot of dense information within a small area. At first I didn’t understand what the point of graph was, but after reading the description I think it provides an overaching look at the same experiment conducted over time. I also liked the improvement described about numbering the curves chronologically as opposed to alphabetically because it adds another dimension and creates a story for the graph. think the stem and leaf plot examples are also very interesting because I would have never thought to use them for the purpose of train schedules. However, they were able to effectively use it as a way of preserving characters, improving readability, and saving space. Aestheticaly, I didn’t really like the back to back stem and leaf plot as much.

The chapter overall reinforces the idea that “To clarify, add detail”. The author seems to have a fairly extreme take on this, because they state that simplicity is an aesthetic choice not an information design on. I’m not sure I agree with their statement that “clutter and confusion are failures of design, not attributes of information” because I feel like there are places where the purpose is to convey information quickly. In places where speed of processing information is crucial, having a detailed wholistic view is anineffective information design choice, not just one of aesthetics.