Great diagrams: How to Make Lasagna Instead of Spaghetti

Earlier this week I came across this wonderful master’s thesis entitled Generation of Complex Diagrams: How to Make Lasagna Instead of Spaghetti by Noah Iliinsky. We have all at various times had our minds numbed by needlessly complex diagrams that did more to obscure the issue than explain it. This is the first insightful analysis I have seen about what makes a good or bad diagram. Well written and with many excellent examples of great and awful diagrams.

I posted this link to the KM4Dev community and was richly rewarded. Naturally, the now famous Hans Rosling and his TED talk on Gapminder was mentioned. Next, an excellent Economist article, Worth a Thousand Words, profiling historical instances where graphics have informed policy change was suggested. Finally, someone pointed out the recently-released Visualizing Information: An Introduction to Information Design for Advocacy , funded by OSI. Excellent resources for upping your communication game.