Chapter 1
The pioneers of visual data
Chapter 2
How our eyes read data
Chapter 3
Mapping the invisible world
Chapter 4
Living data and interactive art
YOUR GOAL
Master of The art of big data
Ch 1 · The pioneers of visual data
choko Pioneers of Visual Data
Hand-drawn spirals make the hard facts glow! (Oh-oh, watch the data flow!)
choko Charles Joseph Minard's 1869 map of Napoleon's disastrous 1812 Russian campaign masterfully combined six different types of data into a single, tragic story.
choko In 1900, sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois created stunning hand-drawn infographics to showcase the progress and daily lives of Black Americans at the Paris Exposition.
BETA
choko Sort massive data into colorful patterns to discover how designers turn numbers into visual art.
Fun Fact
Early data art: The oldest surviving map of the night sky, China's Dunhuang Star Map, was hand-drawn around 700 AD and accurately plotted 1,339 stars on silk.
Glossary
data visualization (noun)
The representation of information or data in a visual format, such as a chart, graph, or map. In 1858, Florence Nightingale used this technique to map preventable military deaths during the Crimean War.
The representation of information or data in a visual format, such as a chart, graph, or map. In 1858, Florence Nightingale used this technique to map preventable military deaths during the Crimean War.
Quiz
What did physician John Snow map in London in 1854 to locate the source of a deadly cholera outbreak?
Quiz
Which everyday chart types did Scottish engineer William Playfair invent in his 1786 and 1801 books?
Quiz
Around which year was the Dunhuang Star Map, the oldest surviving manuscript star chart, created in China?
Quiz
Which historical event did Charles Joseph Minard visualize in his famous 1869 flow map?
Quiz
In which city did W.E.B. Du Bois present his hand-drawn infographics about Black Americans in 1900?
Quiz
What ancient tool did the Inca Empire use to record and visualize numerical data using knotted cords?