How the history of data visualization holds the key to designing a more just future.
From maps of colonial empires to charts of national trade, data visualization has long been used to consolidate knowledge and power. But just as often, it has been used to uncover oppression and bring about change. Data by Design journeys across continents and over centuries to expose the power of visualization—and to show how it can be wielded back.
A group of British antislavery activists who created a diagram of captives in the hold of a ship, accelerating support for the abolitionist cause. A Ñudzahui (Mixtec) painter who designed a map for a king, testifying to his people’s sovereignty and claims to the land. These are but two stories of many, each expertly analyzed and illustrated in full-color detail, that confirm how visualization can lead to a more liberatory world. A set of new images, created by Lauren Klein and her research team—also viewable on an interactive website—further expands our sense of what visualization, when used with intention and care, can achieve.
A book for those who love charts and graphs, and for those who create them, Data by Design offers historical grounding, ethical clarity—and the inspiration we need—to envision a more just future.
ENDORSEMENTS
"This remarkable book recomplicates and repoliticizes a visual form that has deliberately tried to present itself as neat and neutral. Data visualization is neither. Essential reading for anyone who has ever looked at a map or a graph. It will change the way you think about information design forever." —Mona Chalabi, data journalist and illustrator
"This great book directly challenges the erasure of nuance and complexity inherent in minimalist visualizations, and offers a vision for richer, more humane representations of data." —Miriah Meyer, Professor, Linköping University, author of Making Data Visual
"Data by Design is an instant classic. It celebrates data visualization while also casting light on the dark parts of its history, and it does it with rigor and grace." —Alberto Cairo, Knight Chair in Infographics and Data Visualization University of Miami; author of The Art of Insight
Lauren F. Klein is Professor of Data & Decision Sciences and English at Emory University, where she also serves as Director of the Digital Humanities Lab and the Atlanta Interdisciplinary AI Network. She is the author of An Archive of Taste and coauthor of the award-winning Data Feminism (MIT Press). She coedits Debates in the Digital Humanities, a print/digital publication stream that explores debates in the field as they emerge.
How the history of data visualization holds the key to designing a more just future.
From maps of colonial empires to charts of national trade, data visualization has long been used to consolidate knowledge and power. But just as often, it has been used to uncover oppression and bring about change. Data by Design journeys across continents and over centuries to expose the power of visualization—and to show how it can be wielded back.
A group of British antislavery activists who created a diagram of captives in the hold of a ship, accelerating support for the abolitionist cause. A Ñudzahui (Mixtec) painter who designed a map for a king, testifying to his people’s sovereignty and claims to the land. These are but two stories of many, each expertly analyzed and illustrated in full-color detail, that confirm how visualization can lead to a more liberatory world. A set of new images, created by Lauren Klein and her research team—also viewable on an interactive website—further expands our sense of what visualization, when used with intention and care, can achieve.
A book for those who love charts and graphs, and for those who create them, Data by Design offers historical grounding, ethical clarity—and the inspiration we need—to envision a more just future.
Praise
ENDORSEMENTS
"This remarkable book recomplicates and repoliticizes a visual form that has deliberately tried to present itself as neat and neutral. Data visualization is neither. Essential reading for anyone who has ever looked at a map or a graph. It will change the way you think about information design forever." —Mona Chalabi, data journalist and illustrator
"This great book directly challenges the erasure of nuance and complexity inherent in minimalist visualizations, and offers a vision for richer, more humane representations of data." —Miriah Meyer, Professor, Linköping University, author of Making Data Visual
"Data by Design is an instant classic. It celebrates data visualization while also casting light on the dark parts of its history, and it does it with rigor and grace." —Alberto Cairo, Knight Chair in Infographics and Data Visualization University of Miami; author of The Art of Insight
Author
Lauren F. Klein is Professor of Data & Decision Sciences and English at Emory University, where she also serves as Director of the Digital Humanities Lab and the Atlanta Interdisciplinary AI Network. She is the author of An Archive of Taste and coauthor of the award-winning Data Feminism (MIT Press). She coedits Debates in the Digital Humanities, a print/digital publication stream that explores debates in the field as they emerge.
