TED2018
Tommy McCall: The simple genius of a good graphic
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In a talk that's part history lesson, part love letter to graphics, information designer Tommy McCall traces the centuries-long evolution of charts and diagrams -- and shows how complex data can be sculpted into beautiful shapes. "Graphics that help us think faster, or see a book's worth of information on a single page, are the key to unlocking new discoveries," McCall says.
Tommy McCall - Information designer
Tommy McCall specializes in presenting complex and rich data sets. Full bio
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.
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As an information designer,
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I've worked with all sorts of data
over the past 25 years.
over the past 25 years.
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I have a few insights to share,
but first: a little history.
but first: a little history.
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Communication is the encoding,
transmission and decoding of information.
transmission and decoding of information.
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Breakthroughs in communication mark
turning points in human culture.
turning points in human culture.
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Oracy, literacy and numeracy
were great developments in communication.
were great developments in communication.
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They allow us to encode ideas into words
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and quantities into numbers.
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Without communication, we'd still
be stuck in the Stone Ages.
be stuck in the Stone Ages.
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Although humans have been around
for a quarter million years,
for a quarter million years,
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it was only 8,000 years ago
that proto-writings began to surface.
that proto-writings began to surface.
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Nearly 3,000 years later, the first
proper writing systems took shape.
proper writing systems took shape.
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Maps have been around for millennia
and diagrams for hundreds of years,
and diagrams for hundreds of years,
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but representing quantities
through graphics
through graphics
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is a relatively new development.
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It wasn't until 1786 that William Playfair
invented the first bar chart,
invented the first bar chart,
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giving birth to visual display
of quantitative information.
of quantitative information.
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Fifteen years later, he introduced
the first pie and area charts.
the first pie and area charts.
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His inventions are still the most
commonly used chart forms today.
commonly used chart forms today.
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Florence Nightingale invented
the coxcomb in 1857
the coxcomb in 1857
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for a presentation to Queen Victoria
on troop mortality.
on troop mortality.
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Highlighted in blue,
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she showed how most troops' deaths
could have been prevented.
could have been prevented.
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Shortly after, Charles Minard charted
Napoleon's march on Moscow,
Napoleon's march on Moscow,
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illustrating how an army of 422,000
dwindled to just 10,000
dwindled to just 10,000
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as battles, geography and freezing
temperatures took their toll.
temperatures took their toll.
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He combined a Sankey diagram
with cartography
with cartography
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and a line chart for temperature.
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I get excited when I get
lots of data to play with,
lots of data to play with,
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especially when it yields
an interesting chart form.
an interesting chart form.
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Here, Nightingale's coxcomb
was the inspiration
was the inspiration
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to organize data on thousands
of federal energy subsidies,
of federal energy subsidies,
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scrutinizing the lack of investment
in renewables over fossil fuels.
in renewables over fossil fuels.
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This Sankey diagram illustrates
the flow of energy through the US economy,
the flow of energy through the US economy,
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emphasizing how nearly half
of the energy used is lost as waste heat.
of the energy used is lost as waste heat.
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I love it when data can be sculpted
into beautiful shapes.
into beautiful shapes.
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Here, the personal and professional
connections of the women of Silicon Valley
connections of the women of Silicon Valley
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can be woven into arcs,
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same as the collaboration of inventors
birthing patents across the globe
birthing patents across the globe
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can be mapped.
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I've even made charts for me.
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I'm a numbers person,
so I rarely win at Scrabble.
so I rarely win at Scrabble.
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I made this diagram to remember
all the two- and three-letter words
all the two- and three-letter words
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in the official Scrabble dictionary.
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(Laughter)
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Knowing these 1,168 words
certainly is a game changer.
certainly is a game changer.
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(Laughter)
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Sometimes I produce code
to quickly generate graphics
to quickly generate graphics
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from thousands of data points.
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Coding also enables me
to produce interactive graphics.
to produce interactive graphics.
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Now we can navigate information
on our own terms.
on our own terms.
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Exotic chart forms certainly look cool,
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but something as simple
as a little dot may be all you need
as a little dot may be all you need
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to solve a particular thinking task.
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In 2006, the "New York Times"
redesigned their "Markets" section,
redesigned their "Markets" section,
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cutting it down from eight pages
of stock listings
of stock listings
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to just one and a half pages
of essential market data.
of essential market data.
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We listed performance metrics
for the most common stocks,
for the most common stocks,
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but I wanted to help investors
see how the stocks are doing.
see how the stocks are doing.
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So I added a simple little dot
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to show the current price
relative to its one-year range.
relative to its one-year range.
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At a glance, value investors can pick out
stocks trading near their lows
stocks trading near their lows
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by looking for dots to the left.
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Momentum investors can find stocks
on an upward trajectory
on an upward trajectory
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via dots to the right.
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Shortly after, the "Wall Street Journal"
copied the design.
copied the design.
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Simplicity is often the goal
for most graphics,
for most graphics,
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but sometimes we need
to embrace complexity
to embrace complexity
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and show large data sets
in their full glory.
in their full glory.
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Alec Gallup, the former chairman
of the Gallup Organization,
of the Gallup Organization,
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once handed me a very thick book.
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It was his family's legacy:
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hundreds of pages covering six decades
of presidential approval data.
of presidential approval data.
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I told him the entire book
could be graphed on a single page.
could be graphed on a single page.
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"Impossible," he said.
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And here it is:
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25,000 data points on a single page.
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At a glance, one sees that most presidents
start with a high approval rating,
start with a high approval rating,
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but few keep it.
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Events like wars initially boost approval;
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scandals trigger declines.
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These major events were annotated
in the graphic but not in the book.
in the graphic but not in the book.
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The point is, graphics can transmit data
with incredible efficiency.
with incredible efficiency.
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Graphicacy --
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the ability to read and write graphics --
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is still in its infancy.
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New chart forms will emerge
and specialized dialects will evolve.
and specialized dialects will evolve.
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Graphics that help us think faster
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or see a book's worth
of information on a single page
of information on a single page
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are the key to unlocking new discoveries.
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Our visual cortex was built
to decode complex information
to decode complex information
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and is a master at pattern recognition.
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Graphicacy enables us
to harness our built-in GPU
to harness our built-in GPU
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to process mountains of data
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and find the veins of gold hiding within.
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Thank you.
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(Applause and cheers)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tommy McCall - Information designerTommy 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.
Tommy McCall | Speaker | TED.com