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A 25-minute documentary of the London Underground Diagrammatic Map creation (BBC Four)
This is the title of Dieter Rams’ exhibition at the Design Museum. Rams was in charged of the German consumer electronics manufacturer, Braun, for more than 40 years, developing a synthetic, rigorous and pure visual language for its products. In this exhibition can be appreciated how his principles of design were applied in and followed by his designs.
Below are explained the 10 design principles defined by Dieter Rams:
Good design is innovative.
Good design makes a product useful.
Good design is aesthetic.
Good design makes a product understandable.
Good design is unobtrusive.
Good design is honest.
Good design is long-lasting.
Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
Good design is environmentally friendly.
Good design is as little design as possible.
As a starting point of his designs, Rams applied a clear and well-defined structure (grid?) to organise the elements (information?) before moving on to the creation stage itself.
Design Museum. Dieter Rams' structure used in the creation of his designs to organise elements. (©Photos Sheila Pontis)
Rams’ objective was to create extremely functional objects where irrelevant information had no place. His designs are examples of simplicity and clarity. (see below). Rams also thought that sketching (analysing?) was an essential part of the design process. In addition, for Rams this stage of the process is independently of the media or technology, and cannot be done with computers. This stage is about taking the necessary time to carefully think about what to do, the characteristics and uses of the product/project.
Design Museum. Wall diagram of Dieter Rams' object. (© Photo Sheila Pontis)
Less and More. The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams. 18 November 2009 to 7 March 2010 – Design Museum London
Last Wednesday I attended to one of the RNUAL lectures (UAL) about how to approach writing up problems (essays, papers, chapters, thesis). As a first general conclusion, to approach this problem, the best strategy is to have a clear framework –a plan? – as a starting point. This means, to know exactly what to write and discuss, before start writing and writing without having a define direction. For this, the selection and organisation of raw material is essential.
One of the methods introduced during the lecture was to organise the material/information in columns.
3-column-structure method. This method groups similar information in each column and enables to see new connections between the data. Black lines represent clear data connections, while dot lines represent new data connections, seen as a result of visualising raw material.
I called this method 3-column structure as it classifies raw material in three interconnected columns in a quite useful and clear manner.
So, a possible starting point can be the definition of the main themes (of the chapter/of a paper/of an essay). These are the themes that are key for a subject and that can be used to structure a piece of writing. That is to say, the most relevant issues that will be discussed and explained.
After this, as a second stage, it is important to select the authors related to those themes. This means, who has said/written something significant about that themes. Besides the authors’ names, quotations can also be included into this category. Ideally, each theme should match with one or more authors from the literature and practice review.
A third and last stage would be focussed on defining the specific things of the previous selected themes I would like to write about. For things are understood the individual elements that composed a theme, such as key terms, projects or interviews.
Information/raw material can also be classified following a different stages order. For example, starting with the selection of things and leaving the themes for the end. Or by identifying key authors and then matching them with their main themes and terms. The order of the stages depends on the subject being analysed and the kind of text that has to be written.
Different approaches that the 3-column-structure method can be applied. The stages order depends on the kind of material and the purpose of the task.
In addition, it is important to notice that it was also highlighted during the lecture the importance of using diagrams and mind maps as a way of organising information. This is one of the reasons that this 3-column structure method is useful: it visualises the collected material, emphasising and ordering the important points. Moreover, these diagrammatic structures also show how different parts or components are related and enable to see new points of view that with a traditional organisation (or without it!) are not seen so clear.
Once again, this method shows how powerful tools diagrams are for organising and visualising complex information.
Following this (or any other) way of organising information, as a result ideas and thoughts will be also organised, and the task of writing up (or any other!) would be easier, as there is a previous plan.
Some terms related to diagrams (and also to design) strategies, language, layout, and so on are often misused or misunderstood:
- When is a diagram simple?
- When a diagram is simple is because it has few elements… and when it has more elements it becomes complex and less clear..
- Additional information is useless and complicated the message…
- Is additional information irrelevant?
- To make simpler a diagram, the best solution is to delete elements…
These terms are simplicity, complexity, clarity, additional, and irrelevant.
Simplicity. The Oxford dictionary defines simplicity as something being free from complexity or intricacy and absence of ornament. Shedroff (2007) synthesises these concepts explaining that clarity deals with one particular message or goal at a time, rather than the communication of everything at the same time; and that simplicity is misused producing meaningless messages rather than clarifying them. Referring to the concept of design simplicity, Per Mollerup (2005) talks about minimalism. He explains that minimalism deals with the fact of having few elements: simplicity of elements, number of element types, number of elements, and their size. However, both Bertin (1983) and Tufte (1990) explain that simplicity can be reached with an appropriate information organization, rather than with a low number of elements.
Complexity. Complexity deals with the number of dimensions (informational variables, level of reading, levels of information) that can be represented on a 2D design. Similarly than simplicity, something complex is not related to the number of graphic elements employed in a diagram, but with how they relate to each other.
Tufte (1983) describes a diagram as complex when it contains multiple layers of information that create multiple viewing depths and multiple viewing angles. He adds that complex diagrams need to have at least three viewing levels: 1) general structure: What is seen from a distance as a summary of the content, first level of content analysis; 2) main structure: What is seen up close as the primary idea of the content, second level of content analysis; and 3) hidden structure: What is seen implicitly and is understood besides the diagram itself, third level of content analysis.
High-information graphics combine several layers of close reading with an overview.
Clarity. Clarity is defined as the quality of being clear, distinct and easily perceived or understood and free from ambiguity. Clarity deals with the kind of message that a diagram communicates, focussing on the content, and not in the quantity of elements used to represent that content. The number of elements is not a parameter of clarity. A diagram can have only few elements but if all of them are at the same visual level with equal values, equal textures, equal colours, equal shapes, as a result there would be failed communication. When everything is emphasised, nothing is emphasised. If, on the contrary, a diagram has a high number of elements but well organised and differentiated, the result would be an extremely clear diagram. I believe that Tufte’s (2007) definition about this concept is undeniable. He states that ‘it is not about how much of empty space there is, but rather how it is used. It is not how information there is, but rather how effectively it is arranged’.
Additional. The Oxford English Dictionary defines additional as something extra, something that complements, enriches or improves a main subject. Tufte calls ‘evidence’ the information that adds details and enriches a diagram. A difference of meaningless information, additional information can sum details from multiple sources and levels to a diagram. Diagrams that contain additional information do not rely in one type of data or stay at one level of analysis. Detailed information helps to explain a complex content of a diagram, and makes it easier to understand. Furthermore, additional information enriches reading and amplifies content. Tufte suggests that for clarifying, the answer is to add details.
However, it is important to notice not additional information is considered useful. Mollerup explains what redundancy means. He argues that when additional information is purposefully used, it becomes meaningful information, eventhough it can be redundant. Furthermore, he adds that sometimes a message with no additional information is extremely vulnerable to misunderstanding. Nevertheless, not all additional information qualifies as useful redundant information. Sometimes, much additional information is just useless. As an example, both Mollerup and Wurman (2001) classify fashionable and trendy graphic ideas as additional information that causes graphic noise, has no useful meaning and makes the information less understandable.
Irrelevant. On the contrary, irrelevant is defined as something that is not pertinent or applicable, or not closely connected or appropriate to the matter being considered. Irrelevant elements are unnecessary elements. Moreover, a big difference with additional/detailed information, when unnecessary information is given more than once, it becomes meaningless and redundant.
- Bertin, J. (1983). Semiology of Graphics. Diagrams, Networks, Maps. UK: The University of Wisconsin Press
- Mollerup, Per (2005). Wayshowing : a guide to environmental signage : principles & practices. Baden : Lars Müller
- Shedroff, N. (1994). Information Interaction Design: A Unified Field Theory of Design. http://www.nathan.com/thoughts/unified/index.html [accesed on 14th September, 2009]
- Tufte, E. (2006). Beautiful Evidence. Cheshire, Connecticut, USA: Graphic Press.
- Tufte, E. (1990) Enviosing Information. Cheshire, Connecticut, USA: Graphic Press.
- Tufte, E. (1983). The Visual Display of Quantitative Infornation. Connecticut, USA: Graphic Press.
- Tufte, E. (1998) Visual Explanations. Cheshire, Connecticut, USA: Graphic Press.
- Wurman, R.S. (2001) Information anxiety 2. Expanded & updated ed. Indianapolis, Ind. : Que
Data Store is an interesting section of The Guardian where everyone can submit their own diagrams and information graphics. The aim of this section is to make complex information more accessible to people. Facts and figures are published using accessible tools that enable everyone to download raw information for creating visualisations.
Diagrams can be submitted to the Guardian and can be seen in a new Guardian Data Store Flickr group.
This is an effective manner to bring closer diagrams to the people, and show how powerful tools diagrams can be in terms of visual communication and education, making the complex easier and adding new points of view.
Some visualisations created with information of Data Store can be seen below:
Information graphic created by David McCandless, visualising the factors of airlines crashes. (original size 33x123cm //http://www.flickr.com/photos/25541021@N00/3682749730/)
Diagrammatic map created by Simon Rogers, visualising swine flu cases across the UK. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/datablog/2009/sep/18/uk-swine-flu-cases-data)
Some doubts related to the meaning of diagrams reference elements and their geographical range variable seemed to emerge from the workshops (Barcelona-London). In order to clarify these concepts I will explain their differences and importance with an example of a recent personal experience:
I have just returned from a four-day break in south Spain. As it was my first time in Murcia, I found myself a bit lost and hard to find the correct route to get to the main square, Plaza Circular, from the bus station. So, I decided to ask a policeman from the station how to get there. He explained me the route and gave me some guidelines and references, however, after walked a couple of blocks I preferred to ensure whether I was in the correct direction or not. This time, I asked another random person from the street. As the previous one, she kindly explained me how to arrive to the main square using more or less the same particular words and expressions than the previous man, instead, for example, to common words like street names or a quantity of blocks. Both of them were referring to local directions and coordinates: a hairdresser’s name, a telephone store name, a square, another shop, traffic lights, sidewalks…
Fortunately, this woman noticed that, even though we were both speaking the same language, I wasn’t completely sure about her explanation. So, she took an A4 paper and a pen and drew a quick map of the zone, including all the local references that she considered key and useful to get my destination.
Explanation drew by a local person to go from the bus station to the main square, showing key referential elements: hairdresser, shops, traffic lights, gardens. (Murcia, Spain)
Although, I arrived to the main square, some days after that, I stopped in the tourist office to ask for a tourist map. When I looked for the bus-station-main-square route, I wasn’t surprise at all to find completely different references in that map: street names, blocks, parkings. That is to say, international references.
Map given by the Tourist office. (Murcia, Spain)
Tourists maps are created for tourists and they have to be understood for the more quantity of tourists as possible. They have to employ an international and conventional language, although, they would be harder to read for local people.
Local is defined as something that is understood by a restricted audience from a particular place, country, city… As an example, this means that foreign people would barely understand the references given by both the woman and policeman or would think that this information was meaningless.
Reference elements depict those key devices that enable readers/users to navigate into a diagram. References elements do not have to be always geographic elements. In this case, they are urban-rural references.
Geographical range variable refers to the audience’s degrees of comprehension of those reference elements.
