Visualizing the USA: Making Public Information Public
Richard Saul Wurman, the father of information architecture, believes “Public information should be made public.” His work, Understanding USA, published in 2000, is an excellent resource for those looking for guidance in the presentation of complex information—information designed to answer a specific question. His visual representations (Moore’s Law, Internet Users, Employment, Becoming President, Climatic Changes) demonstrate the expertise and precision of his work and serve as examples for others to follow.
Source: War and Defense, (Kit Hinrichs) “Understanding USA” (Richard Saul Wurman).
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I’m actually reading Wurman’s Information Anxiety 2 these days. I definitely find his thoughts on information presentation, delivery and organization valuable in their (almost-arrogant) simplicity—for example the LATCH theory (information can only ever be organized in 5 ways—by Location, Alphabetically, Time, Category or Hierarchy).
He’s very sure that he knows what he’s talking about, and for a good deal of what he says, it works. (For some other bits though, he just comes off as a man prone to sweeping generalizations.)