Edward Tufte and Visual Information Design

Edward Tufte is the author of three magnificent books on information design.

1. "The Visual Display of Quanitative Information"

--published in 1983, is a book about the design of statistical graphics,
or how to communicate information through the simultaneous presentation of
words, numbers, and pictures. It is about picturing numbers.

2. "Envisioning Information"

--published in 1990, is a collection of charts, diagrams, graphs, tables guides,
instructions, and maps as examples of "cognitive art",ie.,
the art of visualizing information.

3. "Visual Explanations"

--published in 1997, moves from the picturing of things to the showing of action.
This book looks at visualization as a narrative, which displays
the causal relationships between various working elements.

These three books are self-exemplifying, of the ideals they espoused.