ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tommy McCall - Information designer
Tommy McCall specializes in presenting complex and rich data sets.

Why you should listen

McCall founded and operates Infographics.com, a boutique data visualization agency that specializes in presenting complex and rich data sets. As an infographics designer, editor and producer, McCall brings together three realms of experience to present, visualize and understand complex data. As a designer, he aims to find the natural shape of the data and sculpt it into something captivating and beautiful. As a data editor, he finds the stories and shares the insights hidden within what is often a vast sea of information. As a producer, he oversees programmers, designers, data analysts, animators and illustrators to realize his vision.

McCall believes that graphicacy, the ability to communicate data through charts, diagrams and maps, is an emerging essential skill set, just as literacy and numeracy have been for past generations. He is excited by the opportunities to pioneer new chart forms to communicate specialized data sets as the collection and generation of data exponentially increase.

McCall was the infographics editor for Money Magazine and a graphics editor for the New York Times before launching his studio. He has explored over one hundred countries spanning all seven continents. Recently, he has taken a sabbatical to combine his a passion for travel with filmmaking to produce video "mediations" in ultra-high-definition intended for large-scale projection.

More profile about the speaker
Tommy McCall | Speaker | TED.com
TED2018

Tommy McCall: The simple genius of a good graphic

汤米·麦考尔: 好图表的简单原则

Filmed:
827,342 views

在这段包含部分历史的演讲中,信息设计师汤米·麦考尔追溯了图形和图表长达几个世纪的进化,并展示了如何将复杂的数据雕刻成美丽的形状。麦考尔说:“图表可以帮助我们更快地思考,或者在一页纸上看到一本书的信息,它是开启新发现的关键。”
- Information designer
Tommy McCall specializes in presenting complex and rich data sets. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I love infographics信息图表.
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我爱信息图表。
00:14
As an information信息 designer设计师,
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作为一个信息设计师,
00:16
I've worked工作 with all sorts排序 of data数据
over the past过去 25 years年份.
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在过去25年中,我跟各种各样的数据打交道。
00:19
I have a few少数 insights见解 to share分享,
but first: a little history历史.
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我有一些见解要分享,但首先讲点历史。
00:24
Communication通讯 is the encoding编码,
transmission传输 and decoding解码 of information信息.
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沟通是对信息的编码、传输和解码。
00:30
Breakthroughs突破 in communication通讯 mark标记
turning车削 points in human人的 culture文化.
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沟通的突破标志着人类文化的转折点。
00:35
OracyOracy, literacy读写能力 and numeracy算术
were great developments发展 in communication通讯.
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在沟通方面,语言,文字和算术能力
得到了很大的发展。
00:40
They allow允许 us to encode编码 ideas思路 into words
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它们让我们可以把想法编码为文字
00:42
and quantities数量 into numbers数字.
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并量化成数字。
00:45
Without没有 communication通讯, we'd星期三 still
be stuck卡住 in the Stone Ages时代.
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没有沟通能力,我们就会被困在石器时代。
00:49
Although虽然 humans人类 have been around
for a quarter25美分硬币 million百万 years年份,
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尽管人类已经存在25万年,
但人类最早期的书写浮出水面只有8千年。
00:52
it was only 8,000 years年份 ago
that proto-writings原始著作 began开始 to surface表面.
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00:56
Nearly几乎 3,000 years年份 later后来, the first
proper正确 writing写作 systems系统 took shape形状.
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在将近3000年后,
首个合适的书写系统成形。
01:03
Maps地图 have been around for millennia千年
and diagrams for hundreds数以百计 of years年份,
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地图存在几千年,图表则有数百年之久,
01:08
but representing代表 quantities数量
through通过 graphics图像
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但通过图形来表示数量
01:11
is a relatively相对 new development发展.
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还是一个相对较新的发展。
01:13
It wasn't until直到 1786 that William威廉 Playfair普莱费厄
invented发明 the first bar酒吧 chart图表,
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直至1786年威廉·普莱费尔
发明的首个条形图,
01:18
giving birth分娩 to visual视觉 display显示
of quantitative information信息.
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才催生了数量信息的视觉显示。
01:22
Fifteen十五 years年份 later后来, he introduced介绍
the first pie馅饼 and area charts图表.
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15年后,他引入了首个饼图和面积图。
01:27
His inventions发明 are still the most
commonly常用 used chart图表 forms形式 today今天.
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他这些发明仍是今天最常使用的图表类型。
01:32
Florence佛罗伦萨 Nightingale夜莺 invented发明
the coxcomb花花公子 in 1857
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1857年弗洛伦斯·南丁格尔发明了锯齿图
01:36
for a presentation介绍 to Queen女王 Victoria维多利亚
on troop部队 mortality死亡.
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来向维多利亚女王介绍部队死亡率。
01:40
Highlighted强调 in blue蓝色,
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蓝色强调部分,
01:41
she showed显示 how most troops'军队' deaths死亡
could have been prevented防止.
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她展示了军队的大多数死亡可以如何被避免。
01:47
Shortly不久 after, Charles查尔斯 Minard米纳德 charted绘制
Napoleon's拿破仑 march游行 on Moscow莫斯科,
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不久之后,查尔斯·米纳德绘制了
拿破仑进军俄罗斯的图表,
01:52
illustrating说明 how an army军队 of 422,000
dwindled逐渐减少 to just 10,000
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展示了一支42.2万人的军队是如何
在战斗,地理和冰冻的影响下
01:57
as battles战斗, geography地理 and freezing冷冻
temperatures温度 took their toll收费.
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付出惨痛代价减少到只有1万人的。
02:01
He combined结合 a Sankey桑基 diagram
with cartography制图
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他将桑基图与制图学
02:05
and a line线 chart图表 for temperature温度.
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和温度线图表结合在一起。
02:09
I get excited兴奋 when I get
lots of data数据 to play with,
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有很多数据可以摆弄总令我兴奋,
02:11
especially特别 when it yields产量
an interesting有趣 chart图表 form形成.
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特别是当它产生一个有趣的图表形式时。
02:17
Here, Nightingale's南丁格尔的 coxcomb花花公子
was the inspiration灵感
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这里,奈廷格尔的锯齿图是
02:21
to organize组织 data数据 on thousands数千
of federal联邦 energy能源 subsidies补贴,
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成千联邦政府能源补贴
数据组织的最佳呈现,
02:24
scrutinizing审议 the lack缺乏 of investment投资
in renewables可再生能源 over fossil化石 fuels燃料.
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审查了可再生能源投入
相较化石能源的不足。
02:30
This Sankey桑基 diagram illustrates说明
the flow of energy能源 through通过 the US economy经济,
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这个桑基图展示了
美国经济中的能源流动,
02:34
emphasizing强调 how nearly几乎 half
of the energy能源 used is lost丢失 as waste浪费 heat.
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强调了近一半的能源消耗
是作为废热流失的。
02:42
I love it when data数据 can be sculpted雕刻
into beautiful美丽 shapes形状.
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我喜欢把数据雕刻成漂亮的形状。
02:45
Here, the personal个人 and professional专业的
connections连接 of the women妇女 of Silicon Valley
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这里,硅谷女性的个人和职业联系
02:50
can be woven编织 into arcs圆弧,
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可以被编织成弧线,
02:54
same相同 as the collaboration合作 of inventors发明家
birthing分娩 patents专利 across横过 the globe地球
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就跟全球范围内发明家的协作
02:58
can be mapped映射.
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可以映射出来一样。
03:01
I've even made制作 charts图表 for me.
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我甚至为自己制作了图表。
03:03
I'm a numbers数字 person,
so I rarely很少 win赢得 at Scrabble乱涂.
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我是个数字人,所以
我很少在拼字比赛中获胜。
03:06
I made制作 this diagram to remember记得
all the two-二- and three-letter三个字母 words
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我做了这个图表来记住
官方拼字字典里的
两个字母和三个字母的单词。
03:09
in the official官方 Scrabble乱涂 dictionary字典.
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03:11
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
知道这1168个单词显然是制胜法则。
03:12
Knowing会心 these 1,168 words
certainly当然 is a game游戏 changer.
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03:15
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
03:16
Sometimes有时 I produce生产 code
to quickly很快 generate生成 graphics图像
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有些时候我编写代码去把数千个数据点
03:20
from thousands数千 of data数据 points.
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快速生成图片。
03:23
Coding编码 also enables使 me
to produce生产 interactive互动 graphics图像.
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编码也让我可以制作交互式图表。
03:26
Now we can navigate导航 information信息
on our own拥有 terms条款.
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现在我们可以根据自己的
条件来导航信息。
03:32
Exotic异国情调 chart图表 forms形式 certainly当然 look cool,
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奇异的图表当然看起来很酷,
03:34
but something as simple简单
as a little dot may可能 be all you need
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但小至简单的一个点就足以满足你所需
03:37
to solve解决 a particular特定 thinking思维 task任务.
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去解决特定的思考任务。
03:41
In 2006, the "New York纽约 Times"
redesigned重新设计 their "Markets市场" section部分,
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2006年,纽约时报重新
设计他们的市场板块,
03:45
cutting切割 it down from eight pages网页
of stock股票 listings上市
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将其从8页的股票清单削减到
03:48
to just one and a half pages网页
of essential必要 market市场 data数据.
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只有1页半的基本市场数据。
03:52
We listed上市 performance性能 metrics指标
for the most common共同 stocks个股,
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我们列出了最常用的股票指标,
03:55
but I wanted to help investors投资者
see how the stocks个股 are doing.
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但我想帮助投资者了解这些股票表现如何。
03:59
So I added添加 a simple简单 little dot
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所以我增加了一个简单小点
04:01
to show显示 the current当前 price价钱
relative相对的 to its one-year一年 range范围.
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来展示现在价格在一年内的水平。
04:06
At a glance一瞥, value investors投资者 can pick out
stocks个股 trading贸易 near their lows低点
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只需看一眼,价值投资者
就可以通过靠近左边的点
去挑选出股价接近低位的股票。
04:10
by looking for dots to the left.
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04:12
Momentum动量 investors投资者 can find stocks个股
on an upward向上 trajectory弹道
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短线投资者可以通过靠近右边的点
04:16
via通过 dots to the right.
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找出上升趋势的股票。
04:18
Shortly不久 after, the "Wall Street Journal日志"
copied复制 the design设计.
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不久之后,华尔街日报复制了这个设计。
04:21
Simplicity简单 is often经常 the goal目标
for most graphics图像,
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简单化通常是大部分图表的目标,
04:24
but sometimes有时 we need
to embrace拥抱 complexity复杂
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但有时候我们需要拥抱复杂
04:27
and show显示 large data数据 sets
in their full充分 glory荣耀.
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并在他们的全部荣耀中展示大量数据集。
04:32
Alec亚历克 Gallup盖洛普, the former前任的 chairman主席
of the Gallup盖洛普 Organization组织,
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亚力克·盖洛普,盖洛普公司的前主席,
04:36
once一旦 handed me a very thick book.
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有次给了我一本非常厚的书。
04:38
It was his family's家庭的 legacy遗产:
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这是他们家族的遗产:
04:39
hundreds数以百计 of pages网页 covering覆盖 six decades几十年
of presidential总统 approval赞同 data数据.
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数百页纸涵盖了60年的总统支持率数据。
04:44
I told him the entire整个 book
could be graphed绘制 on a single page.
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我告诉他整本书可以图表化在一页上。
04:47
"Impossible不可能," he said.
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“不可能”,他说。
04:50
And here it is:
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这就是:
04:52
25,000 data数据 points on a single page.
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一页中展示25,000个数据点。
04:55
At a glance一瞥, one sees看到 that most presidents总统
start开始 with a high approval赞同 rating评分,
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一眼就可以看出,多数总统
以高支持率开场,
04:58
but few少数 keep it.
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但很少能够维持。
05:00
Events活动 like wars战争 initially原来 boost促进 approval赞同;
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像战争那样的事件最初会提升支持率;
05:02
scandals丑闻 trigger触发 declines下降.
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丑闻会引发下降。
05:05
These major重大的 events事件 were annotated注释
in the graphic图像 but not in the book.
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这些重要事件在图表中
被注释,在书中可不行。
05:09
The point is, graphics图像 can transmit发送 data数据
with incredible难以置信 efficiency效率.
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要点在于,图表可以
以惊人的效率传输数据。
05:16
GraphicacyGraphicacy --
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书画刻印技能——
05:17
the ability能力 to read and write graphics图像 --
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读和写图的能力——
05:19
is still in its infancy婴儿期.
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仍然处于早期。
05:21
New chart图表 forms形式 will emerge出现
and specialized专门 dialects方言 will evolve发展.
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新的图表将会出现,
特殊的方言将会发展。
05:25
Graphics图形 that help us think faster更快
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图表可以帮我们更快地思考
05:27
or see a book's图书 worth价值
of information信息 on a single page
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或在一页纸上看到一本书的信息
05:30
are the key to unlocking解锁 new discoveries发现.
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是开启新发现的关键。
05:35
Our visual视觉 cortex皮质 was built内置
to decode解码 complex复杂 information信息
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我们的视觉皮层是用来解码复杂信息的,
05:38
and is a master at pattern模式 recognition承认.
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它是模式识别的大师。
05:41
GraphicacyGraphicacy enables使 us
to harness马具 our built-in内建的 GPUGpu
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图形化可以让我们利用我们的内置GPU
05:44
to process处理 mountains of data数据
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处理海量数据
05:46
and find the veins of gold hiding within.
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去发现藏在里面的金子。
05:49
Thank you.
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谢谢。
05:50
(Applause掌声 and cheers干杯)
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(鼓掌)
Translated by jacks peng
Reviewed by Yinchun Rui

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tommy McCall - Information designer
Tommy McCall specializes in presenting complex and rich data sets.

Why you should listen

McCall founded and operates Infographics.com, a boutique data visualization agency that specializes in presenting complex and rich data sets. As an infographics designer, editor and producer, McCall brings together three realms of experience to present, visualize and understand complex data. As a designer, he aims to find the natural shape of the data and sculpt it into something captivating and beautiful. As a data editor, he finds the stories and shares the insights hidden within what is often a vast sea of information. As a producer, he oversees programmers, designers, data analysts, animators and illustrators to realize his vision.

McCall believes that graphicacy, the ability to communicate data through charts, diagrams and maps, is an emerging essential skill set, just as literacy and numeracy have been for past generations. He is excited by the opportunities to pioneer new chart forms to communicate specialized data sets as the collection and generation of data exponentially increase.

McCall was the infographics editor for Money Magazine and a graphics editor for the New York Times before launching his studio. He has explored over one hundred countries spanning all seven continents. Recently, he has taken a sabbatical to combine his a passion for travel with filmmaking to produce video "mediations" in ultra-high-definition intended for large-scale projection.

More profile about the speaker
Tommy McCall | Speaker | TED.com

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