Napoleon, the best information architect?

Most usability theories point towards minimalism while presenting data and often warn UX designers against screen clutter and information overload while designing user interfaces.

Edward Tufte is someone who holds an interesting counter-argument to this theory. He believes that there is nothing called an information overload, there is only poor data representation. His concept of sparklines can be found on (or is inspired by?) stock quotes and baseball score charts - both of which compress amazingly large amounts of information into a very small spaces.

The likes of Apple, Google and craigslist have virtually added user goodwill to their balance sheets with their simplicity and zero-gravity design. Simplicity is part of their design strategy with a definite ROI attached to it. But UX designers should not be carried away. Simplicity doesn’t always guarantee better user experience. Designers should find better ways to present data rather than stripping it off for the sake of simplicity. Zen Vs data richness is a very subjective call.

Napoleon’s March

“Probably the best statistical graphic ever drawn, this map by Charles Joseph Minard portrays the losses suffered by Napoleon's army in the Russian campaign of 1812. Beginning at the Polish-Russian border, the thick band shows the size of the army at each position. The path of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in the bitterly cold winter is depicted by the dark lower band, which is tied to temperature and time scales.”



–Image courtesy http://www.edwardtufte.com