

Head of Design at DATA4CHANGE. A design-focused non-profit with a network of data, journalism, tech and design professionals dedicated to forging real change.
I totally agree with the idea that the pursuit of elegance can undermine use. If, in your pursuit of elegance, you decide to remove what was a key piece of text because it broke the visual rhythm of a layout, then that is a compromise that will jeopardise the overall effectiveness. Elegance and accessibility are intertwined, positively and negatively. I can think of many examples where so much has been added to help the reader understand a chart, but in doing so the overall elegance was undermined.