‘The Truthful Art’: A Must-Read for Mad Times
Graphs are powerful, so designers have a responsibility to make sure that the decisions they make will lead to communication that is as truthful as can be.
When I started my data visualization journey, I focused on understanding and applying the “left brain” aspect of it: human perception, situation awareness, learning to work systematically with tools like Tableau and Power BI, and trying to develop skills in R and Python. Data viz was not an art to me; it was a branch of data science. As I was exposed to terms like data art and data visualization design, I gained a broader perspective on the field. I realized that to take my skills to the next level, I had to learn how to balance the science, design, and art aspects of data visualization. An enticing mission, but where could I begin?
If you read my previous article, you’ll know that the first data viz book I bought was Storytelling Aith Data: A Data visualization Guide for Business Professionals by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic. I often refer back to it and its website when I am looking to improve my work. Since I am also a Google Play Music subscriber (yeah, I know, who does that?), I started listening to the SWD podcast a little over a year ago. That’s where I discovered Alberto Cairo. Listening to his perspective on truthfulness and uncertainty in Episode 7 made me want to learn more about…
