Tags: diagrams

The origins of the steam engine

The fascinating pre-history of steam power, illustrated with interactive widgets.

How Florence Nightingale Changed Data Visualization Forever - Scientific American

The design process in action in Victorian England:

Recognizing that few people actually read statistical tables, Nightingale and her team designed graphics to attract attention and engage readers in ways that other media could not. Their diagram designs evolved over two batches of publications, giving them opportunities to react to the efforts of other parties also jockeying for influence. These competitors buried stuffy graphic analysis inside thick books. In contrast, Nightingale packaged her charts in attractive slim folios, integrating diagrams with witty prose. Her charts were accessible and punchy. Instead of building complex arguments that required heavy work from the audience, she focused her narrative lens on specific claims. It was more than data visualization—it was data storytelling.

The Gap

Design engineering explained, with diagrams.

I have never worked anywhere where there wasn’t someone trying to close the gap. This role is often filled in accidentally, and companies are totally unaware of the need. Recruiters have never heard of it, and IT consultancies don’t have the capability in their roster. We now name the role “Design Engineer” because the gap is widening, and the role has become too complex to not exist.

Why I hate the log graph, and you should too - Geek in Sydney

I must admit I’ve been wincing a little every time I see a graph with a logarithmic scale in a news article about COVID-19. It takes quite a bit of cognitive work to translate to a linear scale and get the real story.

An Atlas of Cyberspaces- Historical Maps

These diagrams of early networks feel like manuscripts that you’d half expect to be marked with “Here be dragons” at the edges.

A Helpful Diagram

Blogging through Venn diagrams.

soxiam portfolio - a set on Flickr

A comprehensive set of sketches, diagrams and screenshots from Soxiam showing the evolution and iteration of interfaces on Vimeo and other sites.