Designing Information

10 Introduction     12 1 Aspects of Information Design  The nature of information     14 The nature of information     16 Self-referential vs. functional     18 When it doesn't work     20 Non-wayfinding cartography     22 Learning from Minard     24 Simple and complex     26 Worlds in collision     28 Dispersed vs. layered     30 Anatomy and function     32 Metaphor and simile     34 Emotional power     36 Is it really urgent?     38 The branding fallacy     40 2 Qualitative Issues  Perceptions, conventions, proximity     42 Lines     44 Unintended consequences of shape     46 (Mis)connotations of form     48 The middle value principle     50 Connotations of color     52 Color constraints     54 Color and monochrome     56 From color to grayscale     58 Generations of labeling     60 Connections among people     62 Connections in products     64 Consistent and mnemonic notation     66 It's about time     68 Point of view     70 Navigation: page and screen     74 Interpretation     76 3 Quantitative Issues  Dimensionality, comparisons, numbers, scale     78 Information overload     80 Too much information     82 Too many numbers     84 Dimensional comparison     86 The pyramid paradox     88 How big?     90 Substitution     92 Numerical integrity     94 Meaningful numbers     96 Perils of geography     98 Escaping geography     102 Data and form     100 Per capita     102 Data and form     104 Apples to apples: data scale consistency     106 Relative and absolute: ratios of change     108 Multi-axiality     110 Measurement and proportion     112 4 Structure, Organization, Type  Hierarchy and visual grammar     114 The grid     116 Organizing response     118 (Dis)organization and proximity     120 Rational hierarchies     122 An intelligible ballot     124 Understanding audience needs     126 Staging information     128 Synecdoche     130 Is a picture worth 1,000 words?     132 Visualizing regulations     134 Focus and distraction     136 Language and grammar     138 Sans serif     140 Serif     142 Font efficiency     144 Typographic differentiation     146 Size matters (weight, too)     148 Legibility     150 Expressive typography     152 5 Finding Your Way?  Movement, orientation, situational geography     154 What   s up? Heads up     156 Signs and arrows     158 Scale and adjacency     160 A movement network genealogy     162 Map or diagram?     164 Guiding the traveler, then and now     166 Information release sequence     170 Isochronics 1     172 Analogies in painting and sculpture     174 The road is really straight     176 Transitions and familiarity     178 Service, naming and addressing     180 (Ir)rational innovation     182 Perils of alphabetization     184 The view from below   or above     186 Urban open space     188 6 Documents  Stories, inventories, notes     190 Credits     214 Inventory: Paris     216 Inventory: Italy     218 Bibliography     221 Gratitude     222 Index     224 About the author