Seeing is understanding. How complex ideas can be communicated via graphics. Einstein once said: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." The amount of data we deal with today is overwhelming for everyone, from newspaper readers to laboratory scientists. The good news is that there are professionals that dedicate their time and lives to helping people understand complex situations, data sets, or even simple schemes that can be communicated much easier via a drawing than with words. The book presents a historical perspective to the subject, highlighting the work of the masters of the profession who have created a number of breakthroughs that were eventually adopted as new visual ways to communicate. Advice from leading professionals such as Nigel Holmes, Paolo Ciuccarelli, Richard Saul Wurman, and Simon Rodgers is also included. Following an in-depth introduction are over 400 examples of works, each with a fact sheet and an explanation of methods and objectives.


Sandra Rendgen is an art historian who has worked for both print and interactive media. After completing her studies in Amsterdam and Berlin, she has contributed as a picture editor to German magazines and newspapers, such as Vanity Fair, Die Welt am Sonntag, and to TASCHEN's Interiors Now! As an editor, she develops interactive media installations for various museums and institutions. Julius Wiedemann was born in Brazil, studied graphic design and marketing, and was an art editor for digital and design magazines in Tokyo. His many TASCHEN digital and media titles include Illustration Now!, Advertising Now, Logo Design, and Brand Identity Now!

Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Taschen GmbH
Language English
ISBN-10: 3836528797
ISBN-13: 9783836528795