History of Data Visualization and Graphic Communication

Data visualization has become an essential tool for understanding complex information, allowing us to see trends and patterns in real-time. It has its origins in the mid-seventeenth century with the creation of the first chart of statistical data, and has since evolved to include line graphs, bar charts, and other visual displays. A History of Data Visualization and Graphic Communication explores the 400-year evolution of an intellectual framework that has become essential to both science and society, reinforcing and advancing a cognitive revolution that recognizes the power of visual thinking to convey information more effectively than words or tables of numbers.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 27 August 2021
Publisher: Harvard University Press

With the abundance of complex information in our daily lives, graphics have become an indispensable tool. Navigation apps provide real-time, interactive traffic data, while color-coded maps display election results down to the county level. Charts communicate stock market trends, government spending, and the risks associated with epidemics.

A History of Data Visualization and Graphic Communication traces the journey of graphics from their exclusive domain in scientific research to their widespread adoption. Michael Friendly and Howard Wainer take us back to the mid-seventeenth century, when Dutch cartographer Michael Florent van Langren created the first chart of statistical data, which depicted estimates of the distance from Rome to Toledo. By 1786, William Playfair had invented the line graph and bar chart to explain trade imports and exports.

In the nineteenth century, the "golden age" of data display, graphics found new applications in tracking disease outbreaks and understanding social issues. Friendly and Wainer argue that the explosion in graphical communication was both reinforced and advanced by a cognitive revolution known as visual thinking. Across disciplines, people recognized that visual displays could convey information more effectively than words or tables of numbers.

Through compelling stories and illustrations, A History of Data Visualization and Graphic Communication provides a detailed account of the 400-year evolution of an intellectual framework that has become essential to both science and society. This comprehensive history highlights the transformative power of graphics in communicating complex ideas and shaping our understanding of the world.

Weight: 700g
Dimension: 165 x 249 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780674975231