“The Truthful Art” Reflection

In The Truthful Art: data, chart and maps for communication, Alberto Cairo presents techniques for effective data analysis and synthesis as a tool of communication. He starts by discussing the most basic types of statistics that are used to draw conclusions from data; mean, median, mode and range. His goal isn’t to give a lesson on how to calculate these statistics, rather how to use them to convey the most truthful information in the best way possible. Cairo describes these simple statistics and the graphs that come from them as a basing point, not necessarily for viewers, but even for those conducting research to get a better understanding and inspiration for further research and also for constructing infographics. This part of the reading really resonated with me because it completely changed the way I thought about graphs. A graph does not need to be the final product, rather graphs can be just the beginning in diving deep into research and design. This was one of the biggest takeaways I gathered from this reading that will completely change the way I approach data design as a process rather than simply a destination.

From looking at graphs as a tool for the data collector, Cairo shifts to discussing graphs as a tool for presentation and communication to others. He suggests how different styles of graphs are more successful at displaying certain types of information and levels of detail than others. From the basic mean, median, and range line graphs, Cairo provides examples of how they can grow in much more complex manners such into range charts, strip plots, and bean plots.  With presentation in mind, he stresses the importance of truthfulness and completeness of graphs and their connected message. Graphs can be deceitful and taken out of context or create false image of correlation where there really isn’t any. Although some may purposely try to deceive an audience with incomplete information, I think a lot dishonest graphics come from innocent miscommunication or for people who simply don’t know how to present so much data in a single graphic. From a personal standpoint, I sometimes struggle to find ways to tell the full story and not create clutter. Cairo teaches people like me new types of graphs and techniques to do so. For example horizon charts, heat maps, and scatter plot matrixes can all be used to display more complex data in a legible way. 

Cairo also discusses the importance of the artistic side of displaying data. He debunks the notion that graphs are boring and unattractive, showing how they can become a form of art in and of themselves. On page 37 Cairo says, “Aesthetics, playfulness and the exquisite care for typography, color and composition are as important in artistic visualization as they are in the presentation of the analytic results.” For me, it was very inspirational to see how colors and shapes are implemented into graphs to create products that look like works of art. This got me thinking about how I can morph the two in my data design. Art does not have to be abstract to be beautiful, rather it can be derived from science and still be aesthetically pleasing and effective. On the contrary, graphs don’t have to be completely scientific to be accurate and legible, they can also be designed with aesthetics and art in mind. I found this article as a whole to be incredibly useful in informing my data collection and analysis as well as my data presentation.