(1942? - ) Tufte is a professor of
Political Science,
Statistics, and
Computer Science at
Yale University, and has written several influential books on information design. His books attack the way information is presented in everything from newspapers (he loves to tear into the
New York Times) to the
Surgeon General's warning on cigarette packs. His books contain examples of good and bad information design, as well as theories that designers should follow in order to ensure that graphical data will be correctly and consistenly interpreted by viewers. Anyone with an interest in
user interface should be familiar with Tufte's work.
Partial Bibliography
Visual Explanation, Graphics Press, 1996
Envisioning Information, Graphics Press, 1990
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Graphics Press, 1983 (check out ariels' killer wu)