“Do not glorify aesthetics”: a manifesto for Data Visualisation?
2nd September 09
We’re moderately obsessed with the world of data visualisaton here at Labs for a number of reasons: the ability to generate fresh insight from extraordinarily complex data sets, the ability to trigger radical reappraisal of familiar problems, the ability to put consumers in control of the vast quantities of personal data they generate every day. Not to mention the extraordinary fusion of technology and creativity it represents.
We firmly believe that data visualisation has a wealth of exciting commercial applications, from communicating in new ways to developing new tools, apps and utilities for clients and consumers alike. So we’ve grown slightly frustrated by the rise of visualisations that are moderately pretty but add little in terms of real insight, utility or illumination.
We’re also, as we may have mentioned, big fans of Manuel Lima here at Labs. So we were intrigued to see that he has authored an “Information Visualisation Manifesto”, a provocative (but characteristically generous and nuanced) take on the future of data visualisation which tackles head on the thorny questions at the heart of this ever-expanding field:
- Art versus Science
- Intrigue versus Immediacy
- Aesthetics versus apprehension.
Manuel comes down firmly on the side of clarity of communication versus visualisation for visualisation’s sake, citing the discipline’s roots in the desire “to facilitate understanding and aid cognition” and a growing frustration with the “eye candy” approach to the craft. Many of his principles are rooted in this utilitarian approach, reading almost like a Bauhaus manifesto (and none the worse for that):
- Form follows Function
- Do not glorify Aesthetics
- Look for relevancy
- Aspire for Knowledge
It’s a bold, purist and punchy vision yet also acknowledges the power of narrative and the role of intrigue. Indeed the question of narrative seems to lie at the heart of this Manifesto; the need to pose a specific question of the data and to weave coherent themes and stories from it. These themes then drive the aesthetic approach. As Manuel puts it:
“Form doesn’t follow data. Data is incongruent by nature. Form follows a purpose, and in the case of Information Visualisation, Form follows Revelation”
This is perhaps the key distinction between Information Visualisation as defined here and what Manuel suggests we start thinking of as “Information Art”. Within this approach, artists will freely allow form to follow data, using the random-ness this creates to add texture and interest. Take, for example, Aaron Koblin’s desire to embrace the random-ness of a data set and indeed the richness and texture added to his famous Radiohead video by “interrupting the data”:
“I think it really gives character, because I think it’s really that kind of intricacy and detail that builds character and in a sense it’s the errors and flaws that make art”.
Incongruity making art: Aaron Koblin's "House of Cards" promo for Radiohead
As ever, then, we need to return to objectives, to ask what we are trying to achieve:
- Do we want to educate around an issue, making complex questions simple?
- To shift perceptions and provoke a response?
- To offer a fresh perspective on an infrastructure question for our clients?
- To offer our consumers better comprehension and control of their behaviours?
Simply put, are we going to offer something that is either very, very useful or very, very beautiful? Either way, greater clarity of intent and greater discipline throughout the industry can only be an advantage in building credibility and engagement. Building that credibiltiy is vital if data viz is going to become not just an entertaining diversion but a vital tool for navigating a world generating more and richer data by the second.
If what we are building is neither very beautiful nor very useful, to Manuel’s final point “Avoid Gratuitous visualisations”: “Simply conveying data in a visual form, without shedding light on the portrayed subject, or even making it more complex, can only be considered a failure”.
Or as William Morris put it: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”.
15 comments on ““Do not glorify aesthetics”: a manifesto for Data Visualisation?”
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Patricia McDonald
I think where you stand on this issue depends on the body of work you are evaluating. So the answer to ‘very, very useful’ or ‘very, very beautiful’ for me is…yes.
When data is being visualized to create clarity of understanding or uncover a new facet of insight then the only evaluative criteria is usefulness.
But when data is being visualized as Aaron did for Radiohead, then its only purpose is breathtaking art, so beauty or some other aesthetic is the criteria.
New interfaces and ways of seeing data have made it similar to wood, or steel or any other material. When wood is used in the frame of a house, its role is utilitarian. When it is shaped and polished by Arne Jacobsen it becomes more.
Perhaps an overly simplistic view but I suppose I’m why they designed those divided dinner plates.
most of the things we create will be all about *filtering*. we’ve setup, created platforms, etc. for communication and data exchange. now we must understand what to do with all of this information, for own sanity. we want signal. and that’s the main point of data viz. as any upcoming and disruptive discipline, data viz is trying to find it’s space - and there’s bunch of it. i think this argument makes all debate whether it’s form or function useless, only for now. we’re in the age of seeing the most beautiful and uselful things altogether, because we never had it before! and we know that it can be both, so my point is instead of making a dichotomy, we must make it *open* for everyone that can aggregate its own expertise. and then in the balance between art or business, we’ll suddenly discover it’s not OR, it’s WHEN.
I think if something is Very Very Beautiful but not useful it should be considered as art, even if the piece was conceived as data, so therefore it can’t really fall into Manuel’s definition of information visualisation.
After all information is data given meaning. Without the meaning it remains only data.
A beautiful piece like House of Cards shouldn’t really be considered information visualisation, it provides no insight, it is only spectacle.
There remains a place for an aesthetic piece using data but shouldn’t really be judged by Manuel’s manifesto because it has no objective to inform.
We will great beautiful data visualisations that will also satisfy Manuel’s manifesto, I these can be judged to be the highest form of the science/art.
I know what you’re saying Stuart, but I disagree, specifically about the Koblin film for Radiohead.
It is data visualized. It is beautiful. It is not useful, per se. But I think it does provide a kind of insight, and that it’s not just spectacle. I think it’s a commentary on culture, on people, on a story (the track behind it) and is therefore insightful. Not in a rational form, but in an emotional form.
I’ll stop before I sound any more like a w*nker. Ah . . . too late.
[...] VC blog >> Information Visualization Manifesto via BBH Labs [...]
Great points, well argued. I guess the question comes done to whether we need to create clear distinctions at this point in the discipline’s evolution or whether we can (and should) live with ambiguity a little longer. I guess there’s also some interesting debate over whether it’s more powerful to be shown what to think or simply to be made to think….
Love Farley’s point about dataviz being effectively a way of pulling the signal out of all the data “noise” out there-which is only going to get noisier. I think this is absolutely at the heart of why this field is so compelling.
Also Greg’s thought about data being a material-Matt Jones at Schulz and Webb has a fantastic presentation on “Data as Seductive Material” along these lines if you haven’t seen it http://bit.ly/3OELk9
[...] but I was particularly pleased to read the supportive posts from Robert Kosara (eagereyes.org), and Patricia McDonald (BBH [...]
Great stuff, compelling post and comments. I’m down in the weeds a bit more than you smarties, so for me I ask “how can data viz be used to help illuminate issues for my clients (or potential clients)?” “How can I use DV instead of a PowerPoint slide with 6 bullet points?”
So, I’m looking at it from a utilitarian viewpoint but I also recognize that it can be a powerful narrative device.
Thanks Rick-far too modest as usual of course, for my money those are absolutely the key questions!
I don’t think the opportunity is just restricted to how we can use data viz for our clients, more importantly it is how we can deploy it for our clients to engage and involve people they are interested in connecting with. Thus data viz is inherently interesting because of its dual function - beauty plus information (separately or simultaneously)
Patricia,
Great post. And a great topic. I love data visualization and bringing numbers to life through the method of visual storytelling. But, a few actually value and can justify the visual pronunciation of research.
This is so powerful:
“The purpose of visualization is insight, not pictures”
Ben Shneiderman (1999)
It is amazing that the manifesto applies to so many other aspects of work that that we do as well.
When hype takes over, purpose becomes the ignored step-sister.
gosh, I think i’m slightly torn on this, but I have a few things I wanna say here (as I too am completely obsessed with the visualisation revolution as it were, for mostly the reasons you outlined in the beginning):
I think your bullet pointed objectives are technically loaded statements. Specifically I don’t think its an either/or when it comes to “reveal insight of the data” vs “make it pretty”. Now I fully understand where the statisticians and “true” viz experts are coming from when they see pretty pictures with terrible data representation passed off as a proper data viz; but on the other hand what intrigues me almost as much as revealing insights IS the fact that this revolution means more minds, hands, talents and skills are being applied to the craft.
This leads to evolution of data viz. This leads to new ways to present the data. This leads to expertise mixing. To me, the opportunities here are analogous to those fun stories where an invention is discovered when someone was trying to do something else (or even mundane - hey there is a loaded statement again).
Ok so to end babbling, this is my point. I think the scientists and info architects need to keep pushing to new ways of displaying data, and searching for that pinnacle achievement of perception shift by making visualisations that tell a 10,000 word story in one image. Also I like that they can do data viz to be neutral but infinately more interesting than the raw data.
On the other hand, those coming from the aesthetics-FIRST! side of things do need to learn some techniques, some foundations, because I also feel strongly that no data viz should lack truth. Cuz then pretty as it might be, its false, and that has potential to be propoganda (”hey, its from the data, the numbers don’t lie!”).
So the wrap it up, I’m not sure EXACTLY what stance manuel takes, but his statement of “Form follows Revelation” is exactly true. But that form should also be as pretty as possible. Not abstract, not absolutely precise to the 1/1000% if it doesnt need to be, but rather enhanced thru design, have some colour theory applied to it, some design sense layered to surround and prop up the revelation. Each has a role to play, revelation and aesthetics - and thats why this “trend” is truly exciting to me.
Many thanks for the comments-fascinating topic.
Matthew, I think you’re absolutely right about the cross-fertilisation of design and statistical skills leading to evolution in the field and that people coming at the problem from either end of the spectrum can learn a lot from each other. As Manuel says in his post, the more aesthetic approach and the more data-driven approach can and should co-exist: “I would even argue that they should, since they can learn a lot from each other and cross-polinate ideas, methods and techniques”.
And of course, where things can be both beautiful and informative, all the better. The beauty is oftenthe lure that engages us in the data.
On balance, though, the key theme that seems to emerge is the importance of letting the story speak-I’m struck by how often the idea of telling stories through data comes up-as Mansi puts it “bringing numbers to life through the method of visual storytelling”. So we should use whatever techniques tell the story in the most engaging, clear and compelling way but if design obscures the story it has perhaps failed in its intent?
hey patricia, I’m siding with you on that last point. Definitely: you make the insight, the information as beautiful as possible (aka as readable and easy to grasp) up to the point that any further artistic input would then diffuse the information presented.
But as you pointed out, and others commented, I think we all here want the art to play a huge role. Though second-fiddle the role may be In this light it is no different than what I think we have done for clients whose products are rational-decision based. Shit, I’d say this comes down to realising the huge similarity in UX design.
That is, in UX design you seek to maximise “the creation of the architecture and interaction models that impact a user’s perception of a device or system.” (wiki ref yea!). And thats what data viz is about isn’t it? the person who is gonna read it. Because the people creating it already understand the data, the significance, the insight. Its being able to communicate that with any reader which is the holy grail. And just as in UX design which incorporates understanding of cognitive science, gfx design, psychology and comms design, so should data viz design 2.0 (as it were).
So it seems we are all in agreement: art has its place, extract the truth from the data, we can’t wait to see how further insights can be developed and displayed simply, and how 10 pages of bullet points can be replaced with one picture.
Oh and Ben, you cut yourself off well into pre-wankish territory, no worries
[...] by Jim Carroll, Chairman, of BBH London that was featured on the BBH Labs site, which also has a great follow-up on Lima’s [...]