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Functional Art, The: An introduction to information graphics and visualization (Voices That Matter) 1st Edition

by Alberto Cairo (Author)

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Part of: Voices That Matter (141 books)

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Unlike any time before in our lives, we have access to vast amounts of free information. With the right tools, we can start to make sense of all this data to see patterns and trends that would otherwise be invisible to us. By transforming numbers into graphical shapes, we allow readers to understand the stories those numbers hide. In this practical introduction to understanding and using information graphics, you’ll learn how to use data visualizations as tools to see beyond lists of numbers and variables and achieve new insights into the complex world around us. Regardless of the kind of data you’re working with–business, science, politics, sports, or even your own personal finances–this book will show you how to use statistical charts, maps, and explanation diagrams to spot the stories in the data and learn new things from it.

You’ll also get to peek into the creative process of some of the world’s most talented designers and visual journalists, including Condé Nast Traveler’s John Grimwade , National Geographic Magazine’s Fernando Baptista, The New York Times’ Steve Duenes, The Washington Post’s Hannah Fairfield, Hans Rosling of the Gapminder Foundation, Stanford’s Geoff McGhee, and European superstars Moritz Stefaner, Jan Willem Tulp, Stefanie Posavec, and Gregor Aisch. The book also includes a DVD-ROM containing over 90 minutes of video lessons that expand on core concepts explained within the book and includes even more inspirational information graphics from the world’s leading designers.

The first book to offer a broad, hands-on introduction to information graphics and visualization, The Functional Art reveals:

• Why data visualization should be thought of as “functional art” rather than fine art
• How to use color, type, and other graphic tools to make your information graphics more effective, not just better looking
• The science of how our brains perceive and remember information
• Best practices for creating interactive information graphics
• A comprehensive look at the creative process behind successful information graphics
• An extensive gallery of inspirational work from the world’s top designers and visual artists

On the DVD-ROM:
In this introductory video course on information graphics, Alberto Cairo goes into greater detail with even more visual examples of how to create effective information graphics that function as practical tools for aiding perception. You’ll learn how to: incorporate basic design principles in your visualizations, create simple interfaces for interactive graphics, and choose the appropriate type of graphic forms for your data. Cairo also deconstructs successful information graphics from The New York Times and National Geographic magazine with sketches and images not shown in the book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Welcome to Alberto’s world. Cairo has done it all in The Functional Art: theory, practice, examples. And he’s done it brilliantly. It is the most comprehensive and sensible book yet on real-world information graphics; we won’t need another one for a long time.” – Nigel Holmes, former graphics director for Time magazine and founder of Explanation Graphics

“If graphic designer Nigel Holmes and data visualizer Edward Tufte had a child, his name would be Alberto Cairo. In The Functional Art, accomplished graphics journalist Cairo injects the chaotic world of infographics with a mature, thoughtful, and scientifically grounded perspective that it sorely needs. With extraordinary grace and clarity, Cairo seamlessly unites infographic form and function in a design philosophy that should endure for generations.”
– Stephen Few, author of Show Me the Numbers

“This book is long overdue. Whether you’re just getting started visualizing information or have been doing it all your life, whether you're looking for a basic understanding of visualization or a detailed how-to reference, this is the book you’re looking for. Alberto Cairo, a professional journalist, information designer, and artist, shows how to visualize anything in a simple, straightforward, and intelligent way.”
– Karl Gude, former infographics director at Newsweek and Graphics Editor in Residence at the School of Journalism, Michigan State University

“ The Functional Art is brilliant, didactic, and entertaining. I own dozens of books on visual information, but Cairo’s is already on the shortlist of five that I recommend–along with those by Edward Tufte, Nigel Holmes, and Richard Saul Wurman–to anybody who wishes to have a career in information graphics. Cairo is one of those rare professionals who has been able to combine real-world experience with the academia.”
– Mario Tascón, director of Spanish consulting firm Prodigioso Volcán

"Read It. There is really nothing else to say. If you care about how visualization is used to communicate to people, this is the book for you. If you’re a journalist, you need to read it. If you’re an academic doing visualization research, you really, really need to read it. This is the stuff we’ve been missing in visualization for the last 25 years."
-Robert Kosara, EagerEyes

"If you’re interested to find the right balance between aesthetics and function in the context of data visualization, you cannot avoid Alberto Cairo’s The Functional Art, probably the best data visualization book published in 2012."
- Jorge Camões, www.excelcharts.com

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0321834739
Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Riders; 1st edition (August 22, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780321834737
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0321834737
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.67 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.1 x 1 x 8.9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #346,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #21 in Desktop Publishing
- #67 in Design & Graphics Software Books
- #70 in Graphics & Multimedia Programming

Customer Reviews:
228 ratings

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Alberto Cairo

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Alberto Cairo is the Knight Chair in Visual Journalism at the University of Miami (UM), and director of the visualization program of UM's Center for Computational Science. He teaches courses on visualization and infographics for effective communication. He also works as an independent data visualization consultant for companies such as Google and Microsoft.

Cairo's latest book is “How Charts Lie: Getting Smarter about Visual Information", published by W.W. Norton in October 2019. Previously he wrote “The Functional Art: an Introduction to Information Graphics and Visualization” (Peachpit Press, 2012), and “The Truthful Art: Data, Charts, and Maps for Communication” (Peachpit Press, 2016)

Cairo has taught in more than 30 countries in the past 20 years, and has extensive experience as a manager of visualization and infographics teams in news organizations in Spain, Brazil, and the United States.

Cairo's website is www.albertocairo.com and his Twitter handle is @albertocairo

Customer reviews

228 global ratings

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Customers find this book to be a must-read for information visualization, with one review noting how it weaves visualization theory and techniques with real applications. The writing is clear and engaging, making it an easy read, and customers appreciate its entertainment value. They value the support materials, and one review highlights the interviews with field experts.

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Visual content Writing quality Content Audience Entertainment value Support material

31 customers mention "Visual content"28 positive3 negative

Customers appreciate the visual content of the book, describing it as a must-read for information visualization, with one customer noting how it weaves visualization theory and techniques with real applications.

"...tenets of good data visualization practice: first, good graphic techniques and strategies (minimal use of pie charts, reducing non-data ink, etc.);..." Read more

"...Visualization presents a visual context, and because most people find it easier to establish themselves visually, it has become an important aid in..." Read more

"I liked the way the content is presented. Alberto reviews multiple aspects related to visualizations, from perception to design...." Read more

"...he makes strong, factual arguments about what makes a successful data or information graphic, without being nasty or dismissive like some other..." Read more

12 customers mention "Writing quality"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well written and easy to read, with one customer noting that the author clearly knows his field well.

"...Alberto Cairo is a very entertaining and thoughtful writer, and the examples and methods he lays out in this book are excellent...." Read more

"...The author appears to be deeply thoughtful, observant, well-read and experienced...." Read more

"...It's an easy read and has a lot of great information...." Read more

"Alberto Cairo is a lighthearted writer and I enjoyed his style. But, ultimately, I found this book to be very fulfilling...." Read more

11 customers mention "Content"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the content of the book excellent, with one describing it as destined to be a classic.

"...away as three main tenets of good data visualization practice: first, good graphic techniques and strategies..." Read more

"...I have to to say the Functional Art is arguably the best book I've ever read about information visualization...." Read more

"...The content is fine, not great because most examples are in Portuguese which leaves a translation between you and understanding the examples...." Read more

"...They are great, intuitive, and cover some important and really timely problems. I would highly recommend this!" Read more

4 customers mention "Audience"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate how the book considers its audience, with one mentioning the inclusion of expert profiles and interviews with field experts.

"...He also profiles some great people in the field that helps to highlight the range of diverse skills and practices that are out there...." Read more

"...immensely to ensure that my creations are well structured and mindful of my audience. Highly recommend any of his books." Read more

"...I love the non-English data visualizations and really enjoyed the expert profiles." Read more

"...I loved all the graphics and interviews with field experts." Read more

4 customers mention "Entertainment value"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining, with one mentioning that Alberto, the author, is engaging.

"...Alberto Cairo is a very entertaining and thoughtful writer, and the examples and methods he lays out in this book are excellent...." Read more

"...Interesting stuff, but again, it doesn't lead to any great insights...." Read more

"...DVD makes for a lecture in your home. Alberto is engaging, and it serves a good second take on the material." Read more

"Well written, useful information, a lot of fun. Excelent." Read more

4 customers mention "Support material"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the support materials of the book, describing them as strong and in great condition.

"...The thing I appreciated most about this book is how he makes strong, factual arguments about what makes a successful data or information graphic,..." Read more

"Book came as described, used with minor highlighting. The book still held together nicely however and was completely legible...." Read more

"This is the first time I have ever loved the support materials that have come with a book...." Read more

"great condition, quick arrival..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

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Lauren Schwabish M.S., CCC-SLP
The Functional Art stands out in the new wave of books about data visualization
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2012
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In The Functional Art, Alberto Cairo has written a real standout in the new wave of books about data visualization. His book weaves visualization theory and techniques with real applications and critiques about existing visualization projects. One of the reasons why I think Cairo's book succeeds is that he has background as both a journalist--specifically, data journalism--and as an academic (at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the University of Miami).

In the first part of the book, Cairo explains what I take away as three main tenets of good data visualization practice: first, good graphic techniques and strategies (minimal use of pie charts, reducing non-data ink, etc.); second, how to create eye-pleasing graphics (how to choose color, fonts, layout, etc.); and, most importantly, how to use data visualization to tell a story. I think this is where The Functional Art really stands out as a great reference--Cairo shows you how to use data visualization not as a way to just show your data or to create a tool for people to explore your data, but as a way to be a storyteller with data.

The second part of the book is more about the eye-brain connection--how we as humans perceive different shapes, colors, etc. Cairo isn't a cognitive scientist, but he's done a great job pulling from the literature and summarizing the issues and, importantly, how to use that knowledge to create better graphics.

These two first parts of the book will be helpful for anyone who has ever created visualizations before or who are just starting out. The graphics used in the book are all excellent and should inspire you to try to similarly create great visualizations.

Finally, in the last part of the book, Cairo profiles 10 prominent data visualization experts and creators. For me, this section wasn't as exciting as the first two parts, but there are definitely nuggets of wisdom from some of the interviews and is something that you really can't find in a single source anywhere else.

Also, just a final note about the DVDs that are included with the book. The DVDs are basically a summary of each of the chapters, but the last two are especially interesting. In lecture 10 (Gay Rights), Cairo discusses a graphic produced by The Guardian magazine and why this particular use of a circle graphic works. Since there is a continuous debate about circles in the data visualization field--see also Chapter 2 in the book--this is a nice video on why circles can work in certain circumstances. In lecture 11 (Obesity and education), Cairo shows how he creates some basic graphics in Adobe Illustrator, which is great if you're not too familiar with that software (though I would never have the patience to make a map in Ai!).

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Paul Denlinger
An excellent overview of the thinking process behind information visualization
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2013
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Information visualization is important now because with so much data around, it really is hard for most people to establish the true context of what is going on. Without this context, more data leads to more confusion, instead of understanding. This is where information visualization comes in.

Visualization presents a visual context, and because most people find it easier to establish themselves visually, it has become an important aid in the learning and understanding process. For this reason, there has been a great deal of demand for information visualization professionals, who can process data, and then distill this information into a clear visual/s which engenders understanding for the intelligent layperson.

With all the interest in the field, there have been several different titles which have come out. What makes this title stand out is that the author, Alberto Cairo, focuses especially on the thinking process behind information visualization. For most of his career, he has worked with journalists in the Spanish- and Portuguese speaking world, and emphasizes the importance of putting oneself in the readers' shoes. For instance, does this graph lead to greater understanding, or does it potentially lead to greater confusion? Are circles helpful, or would bars explain the same better?

He tells how most people new to the field jump too soon to the "look and feel" part, without first asking the right questions. In his eyes, people should first ask about what information to display, how people will want to explore the information (especially when it is interactive), THEN discuss the look and feel.

In the US, a lot of data visualization is done for senior management, CEOs and research academics, instead of the general population. This means that often data visualization is misused, with graphics actually obfuscating instead of leading to greater understanding. Alberto Cairo pleads the case for clear data visualization principles which help readers to gain insights in a complicated world.

In the final third of the book, the author includes several interviews with several information visualization practitioners. These are particularly helpful, as they reveal how they attack different challenges in their projects. He includes a wide spectrum of professionals from the Americas and Europe; it is very interesting to see how journalists work with the information visualization professionals in their teams in leading newspapers.

This is an excellent introduction to the field, and it has opened my eyes to the future of this field.

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Another customer
Good overview of visualizations and infographics
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2014
Verified Purchase
I liked the way the content is presented. Alberto reviews multiple aspects related to visualizations, from perception to design. The only thing I didn't like was that the profiles section was a little long. Also, I would have expected a "where to go form here" section at the end. Anyways, I think I would recommend this book to anybody interested in learning more about visualizations and infographics.

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kelpenhagen
Highly recommended
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2012
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I found "The Functional Art" incredibly clear and engaging. Alberto Cairo is a very entertaining and thoughtful writer, and the examples and methods he lays out in this book are excellent. The thing I appreciated most about this book is how he makes strong, factual arguments about what makes a successful data or information graphic, without being nasty or dismissive like some other authors on the same topic can be. He also profiles some great people in the field that helps to highlight the range of diverse skills and practices that are out there.
This book left me feeling inspired and energised. Highly recommended!

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ivan
good content, bad printing
Reviewed in the Netherlands on April 4, 2021
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the book is very good, but the print quality is disgusting.

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Falcon66
Good book but printing seems off
Reviewed in Singapore on September 25, 2022
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Very interesting book but the resolution of the visuals was very poor — was hard to see details. Strange since this is a book about visuals

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Álvaro López López
Entering the information graphics world...
Reviewed in Spain on April 11, 2015
Verified Purchase
I bought the book in order to follow an online course about information graphics and visualization. Alberto Cairo immerse the reader into this world in an enjoyable way so you can know really interesting thins of how to create awesome graphics and visualizations.

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Amazon Customer
Five Stars
Reviewed in India on August 8, 2015
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Best deal

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Eslam mohamed khalaf
Amazing book
Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on November 30, 2023
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Amazing book for date visualisation specialists, specially who is working in data journalism field or statistics publishing

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Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Functional Art stands out in the new wave of books about data visualization

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent overview of the thinking process behind information visualization

4.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of visualizations and infographics

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended

Top reviews from other countries

1.0 out of 5 stars good content, bad printing

2.0 out of 5 stars Good book but printing seems off

4.0 out of 5 stars Entering the information graphics world...

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book

The Functional Art stands out in the new wave of books about data visualization

An excellent overview of the thinking process behind information visualization

Good overview of visualizations and infographics

Highly recommended

good content, bad printing

Good book but printing seems off

Entering the information graphics world...

Five Stars

Amazing book