Edward R. Tufte’s The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint
The first year of my first real tech job, I gobbled up Tufte’s books like they were the greatest mind candy in existence. Years later, it turns out they were. I owe a great deal to my accidental stumbling upon this man’s work as early in my career as I did and a month doesn’t go by that I don’t recommend one of his books to someone. They are an incredibly articulate body of knowledge about how to effectively display information. It sounds boring, but to me it wasn’t. His books are clearly creations that were given their proper time to mature until they were ready for an audience. Not only are they rich with examples and lessons of intelligent data design, they are works of art. You can sit down with one of his books and simply enjoy the scenery or study to your heart’s content.
The Difficulty of Tufte (or of Being Human)
I must admit though that what is gained from studying something so rich does not necessarily make it easier to apply the observed lessons to your own work. It is no different than an artist studying Monet in a museum. At the end of the day, the artist may be enriched and further educated by the experience of the study, but no more able to create something so inspired.
Deconstucting Everyone’s Favorite Slide Manager
His most recent publication is The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint. I’ve been mulling over writing a review of this essay for some time, but I’m not entirely sure how I could properly advertise my enjoyment of it better than simply pointing out a few highlights that may entice you to pick it up yourself. Tufte brutalizes Microsoft Powerpoint as a viable medium to present data in a twenty-seven page essay that ranges from amusing to enlightening. Highlights include showing why bullet lists make us stupid, how useless it is to show statistical information in PowerPoint, and how it dumbs down two much richer and data-dense mediums: a computer screen and paper. Two fantastic items worth noting are a translation of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address into PowerPoint form and a table of casualties from 1662 so rich in data it begs to be studied.
The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint is only $7 postpaid and comes with a very nicely designed invoice. No, I am not kidding. Also be sure to check out Tufte’s other works as they are not to be missed. They’re a bit on the pricey side, so check with your local library if you don’t feel like splurging sight unseen.
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Comments (2)
Can you recommend one of his other books as a good one to start with? I’ve considered picking one up before, but you’ve convinced me. By the way, I got a flyer in the mail the other day advertising a day of lectures that he’s giving in Boston. Of course, being a student, I can’t afford it, but it looked cool.
To me, these books sort of run together since that’s how I consumed them, but I suppose there’s no fault in tackling them in the order they were created and starting with The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.