Iconic Visionaries of Design — Florence Nightingale
Examining The History of Infographics and Data Visualization
Much can be credited to “the Lady of the Lamp”. Her story began nearly two centuries ago. She born in and named for Florence, in those days a part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Her family spent much of her early life abroad before settling back in England.
This wouldn’t last long. Florence would travel broadly throughout much her life. She dedicated her life to learning and service. Today she is remembered for her role in creating the modern nursing, her social reform, and as a statistician. All that is documented in numerous places, Wikipedia being just one.
Lost in the Legends
Few of us learned about her contribution to the world of infographics and data visualization. At best, these contributions are a footnote to her efforts in the realm of nursing and military reform. In actuality, these diagrams were quite well designed and some of the earliest works of their type. I suppose they simply seem boring in comparison to the other deeds of this legendary lady.
Speaking of legends or the lack there of, our cover photo features her most iconic work. This diagram is sometimes and incorrectly referred to as the coxcomb. This is taken out of context but the diagram is nice enough to deserve a catchy title. Today it is referred to as a polar area diagram, although good luck finding that in your standard Excel install.
While they lack the color of later pre-digital works, her use of space, orientation, and arrangement are excellent. Later versions often substitute a color legend for the paragraph in the lower left but her original work did not include one.
Modernization
The Crimean War, the theatre in which Florence built her legend, was by many accounts the first modern war. It featured rails and telegraphs, indirect artillery and rifles, trenches and even photographs. It was a conflict that inspired massive advances in medicine and the creation of modern nursing. The latter being firmly attributed to our Lady of the Lamp.
But it also inspired modern infographics, though it was not the first war to do so. Well actually there is a bit of technicality here. For some reason mortality rates of major European conflicts, especially those against Russia — just seem to inspire people to data visualization. While Nightingales graphics were first to arrive, Minard would use the earlier Napoleonic Wars as his subject a few decades later. You see how this gets a bit wonky as far as legends go?
Whether obscured or a footnote, Nightingale’s efforts in data visualization were certainly a practical beginning, however small. It is a shame to note that I have not found any further reading on Nightingale’s graphics that I can recommend. If you are aware of any, please share in the comments below. And as always, thanks for reading!
