Information Visualization, Second Edition: Perception for Design

Although more technical than most graphic design books, the book "is intended to make [the data from the science and study of visualization] available to the non-specialist." Each chapter focuses on a different facet of human vision, like "Lightness, Brightness, Contrast, and Constancy" in chapter 3, or "Static and Moving Patterns" in chapter 4.

Although the author tries to put a great deal of scientific research data into pedestrian terms, the nature of the subject matter and the papers from which he culls his information make this task an uphill battle from the start. As a result, the book is full of valuable information, but it may not necessarily be right for the average graphic designer looking for a new inspirational spin. Serious interface designers, presentation designers, data analyzers, or any artist tasked with presenting ideas in a visual format, though, should come away from Information Visualization with a clearer understanding of the inner workings of perception. At the very least, they'll be able to explain why yellow text against blue is a good combination. --Mike Caputo

Product Description

This is the first book to combine a strictly scientific approach to
human perception with a practical concern for the rules governing the
effective visual presentation of information. Surveying the research
of leading psychologists and neurophysiologists, the author isolates
key principles at work in vision and perception, and from them, derives
specific, effective visualization techniques, suitable for a wide range
of scenarios. You can apply these principles in ways to optimize how
others perceive visual information-resulting in improved clarity,
utility, and persuasiveness. Likewise, you can apply them to your
own exploratory data analyses to develop display strategies that
make data patterns and their significance easier to discern.

Information Visualization transcends the often-divergent approaches to
visualization taken by individual disciplines. It will prove a
fascinating, practical resource for anyone who uses graphical
presentation as a key to successful analysis and communication:
graphic artists, user interface/interaction designers, financial
analysts, data miners, and managers faced with information-intensive
challenges.

* Brings current scientific insight to the study of data visualization.
* Explains multiple facets of visual perception: color, organization, space, motion, texture, and the relationship between images and words.
* Explores strategies for designing glyphs and icons to optimize a GUI's effectiveness and ease of use.
* Examines the distinctions between word-based and image-based perception and develops guidelines for choosing between verbal and graphical communication approaches.
* Presents successful techniques for displaying geographical and other data in multiple layers.
* Offers rules for designing easily navigable data spaces in VRML.
* Supports points with numerous illustrations, including over thirty color images.

And therein lies the problem. For a single volume book Ware's effort tries to cover too much and some of the chapters are quite weak (chapter 0 and 10). Also, the fact that it was written by a psychologist shows in a good and bad way: human visual cognition is correctly the foundation upon which to build visualisation. Unfortunately the examples and the ideas for implementation are often lacking or poor in quality.

The first edition also has typesetting errors, so be sure to get the second edition.

All in all, it's still a book worth getting if you're in any serious way connected with the practise of visualisation. However, don't expect it to be the bible of the field, as such a thing does not exist (yet).


Excellent, despite its flaws   August 11, 2000
 43 out of 44 found this review helpful

Ware's book provides a technically accurate and well-written overview of the gamut of issues pertaining to information visualization -- from basic visual anatomy and physiology to techniques for creating effective displays from multidimensional data.

Yes, it's "introductory" in nature, but it's the most comprehensive introduction I've seen to this complex and emerging field. It would make an excellent reference or textbook.

The 5-star content gets 4 stars because of the book's numerous editorial flaws. For example, several illustrations in the text reference color plate images that simply don't exist. And at least a half-dozen works cited in the text don't appear on the reference list. All-in-all, a rather slipshod editing job.