The Extreme Presentation(tm) Method

Excellence in infographics - Timeplots

On Wednesday I met with Nathaniel Pearlman, who once studied under Edward Tufte, and who is the founder of Timeplots.  Timeplots creates outstanding information graphics and sells them in poster form.  Their first three efforts are timelines of the US Supreme Court, Senate, and Presidency.  

 

This is the Supreme Court graphic.  The main timeline in the middle shows the length of time each justice served, and the up or down direction is determined by the number of sitting justices appointed by each party (up is Republican, down is Democrat).  The smaller timeline across the top represents the US Presidents' individual influence on the Court, illustrated with colored semicircles.  The color of course represents party affiliation, while the size of the semicircle represents the total number of days each President's appointee(s) served on the Court.  

The chart is beautifully designed.  The image below doesn't do it any justice.  Go to their site and use the zoom feature to examine it more closely.  Better still: buy your own copy of the poster. They are a very reasonably priced, at $45.  I have this one and the US Presidents one here in my office.  

If you have any ideas for additional Timeplots, let me know, and I'll pass the information on to Nathaniel.

Here are the Senate and Presidents posters.

 

 
 

Gene Zelazny responds to Tufte on the famous Minard graphic

Gene Zelazny, McKinsey presentation guru and author of the bestselling Say It With Charts and Say It With Presentations, both published  into several languages, has written an essay taking a different perspective on Edward Tufte's cherished Minard graphic.

 

This graphic, as Tufte fans know, describes in some detail Napoleon's 1812 march on, and retreat from, Moscow.  Zelazny notes that the graphic is difficult to read, and proposes that there might be better ways to convey the same information.  

 

 

 

Jorge Camoes, in his Excel Charts blog, also critiqued Tufte's persective, and pointed out several other attempts to improve on Minard's work. 

I like the way Zelazny concludes his essay: if he had had PowerPoint, what would Minard have done?

The full Zelazny essay is available here.  

Doing the Difficult Work of Keeping It Simple - Win a Free Book

The advice "Keep It Simple" is so frequently tossed about that it can sound trite.  We all know its importance, but what we can tend to forget is that it is not easy to be simple.  It takes hard work to turn a complex idea into a simple message, but without that work, you will lose much of your impact.  

The leadership expert John Maxwell dedicates a whole chapter in his new book, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, to talk about the importance of doing the difficult work to keep your communication simple.  I've recently become a big fan of Maxwell's work; I appreciate how he boils down useful, practical advice to make it simple and concise. 

The publishers of Maxwell's new book have sent me five autographed copies to give away to readers of this blog.  Here's a contest: send me your best Conference Room style slide, and the five best submissions (in my sole judgment) will receive a free copy of Everyone Communicates, Few Connect.  

If you are not familiar with Conference Room style slides, read this overview and my Change This manifesto. For instructions on how to submit your entry, contact me.  Deadline is June 30, 2010.