Tufte

On Tuesday, I had the good fortune to go to a seminar by Edward Tufte. I was interested becasue of his reputation and the amount of design I’ve been doing. Even though my designs are mostly IA-related (wireframes, user flows), I thought the conference would be a good experience. I underestimated it’s impact.

I’ve had Tufte’s book, Visual Experiences and thought that while useful, it seemed to be from a little authoritative and arrogant. After seeing him speak, however, I had to reevaluate my impressions.

Tufte is a good speaker, animated and active. But more than that, his knowledge delivered in a clear, concise way. Suddenly, his books made sense in a way that showed not arrogance but experience through frustrating experiences. From the poor design of Power Point) to his advocacy of good design in all forms of information design, he gave compelling and vibrant examples that supported what I’d often thought about when I had read his books.

The seminar was relatively short (10 – 4:30, with an hour-long lunch), but packed with a lot of good information. The seminar included all four of Tufte’s books, which are beautiful tomes to look through and learn. But coupled with Tufte’s speaking, they were even better – full of great examples, insight and, of course, great design. Tufte is an expert for good reason, and most of his ideas are solid principles that formed the basis for a good number of information designers’ ways of doing things. I didn’t always agree with some of his statements, but there was no denying that he’s probably forgotten more than I ever knew about design.

The seminar would have been worth much more than its $360 cost, and that was made even better by all of the books being included. Additionally, the trip to D.C. to see him gave me the opportunity to have dinner with Blair at Union Station – always a good bonus. I just have to transfer his notes into a presentation for the group now, but it can only help me better understand and use those principles.

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Edward Tufte.com
Upcoming Tufte seminars