Reading Response #2

Few “Communicating Numbers”

Is it wrong for me to say that this whitepaper is now going to be considered an invaluable resource? It’s a struggle with my own ego to say that I have learned more about when to construct a graph verses a table and why type of graph to use, in this article than and any other point in my seemingly endless education.
The clarity that the article is written in, as well as the principles of decluttering a graph are firmly in line with what good data visualization needs. I should go back to my

Tidwell “Showing Complex Data”

Where Communicating numbers leaves off in general graphical layout and design choices, “Showing Complex Data” drills down into the specifics of interactive data visualization. I often find myself in a quandary when I’m trying a new skill or field of inquiry: “What is that and how can I do it?” This leads to scouring of ‘cookbooks’ and overly generalized sources without something as ideal as this reading. Sometimes seeing a good example, along with the advice of when to use them, is better than a direct instruction set of how to do it.