Richard Feyenman Computer is low res - single best thing to do is to get a good high resolution monitor that is huge - (you can do more things sequential in space) - (multiple monitors - one for operation system imperialist junk) Look at a trading floor (EXAMPLES) many have nothing but data Dedicate every pixel towards content 8. Use small multiples - they put a lot of information adjacent in space, they are easy on viewers when sensibly designed (they have inherent credibility - show all data, and that you are not a data cherry picker) - paper displays, cardboard displays, something that will live on Maximize content reasoning, minimize content figuring out time. single biggest threat to learning the truth (will reduce your credibility) is cherry picked evidence. Ask if you are seeing the results of evidence or the results of evidence selection. - best indicated when presenter won't reveal sources or can't provide a reference. Take visual things just as seriously as you take words (be honest with your visualizations, just as you would be with words) Don't become part of the "pitch culture" with your visual materials How do we see things that are absent? Developing a sense of the relevant - developing editorial skill - be self conscious about developing the skill of finding what is relevant when going through massive amounts of material. Find strategies for this (quick smart rejection strategies). First presentation is often the most favorable 9. PUT EVERYTHING ON THE UNIVERSAL GRID put everything you display in a context - people learn and develop arguments by putting things in context. doesn't support "pandering to VC's" he says its kind of like what he is doing today, if you have a broad audience relate something different about what you are saying to different people based on their field graphics are moving towards the resolution of typography - sparklines like words! use conventional ideas because conventional ideas are proven (people can read typography so they can read sparklines) Name things by their content - its not a stock presentation - its a financial table or a stock table - its not a powerpoint presentation - don't name your things by somebody else's trademark. never let go of what constitutes serious evidence, don't shortcut this evidence obviously it is ridiculous if you have only one data point. moire vibration is worst when you have the most contrast set x and y so that the average absolute value of selected slopes is 1 (average over all slopes if you have multiple sparklines) ask yourself if the visually most active thing in your display has to do with content (it should) segmentation of information by mode of production (violation of rule 4) - really hitting this hard - you should use whatever it takes to explain something and not be involved in the mode of information today's GUI sucks, all user used to see was documents, operating system should be transparent - you just care about documents (the content) there weren't applications and no reason for them (it was all integrated) and no marketing. Should be a document centered interface. only two industries that refer to their customers as "users", interesting pg 146 visual explanations - the metaphor for design of computer screen is that design mimics bureaucratic hierarchy. This should not happen! Web designers are interesting in this way (dress in all black, politically left), yet the only metaphor they can think of is hierarchy. At an information website we want a flat interface, not hierarchical. Deliver A LOT up front on the first screen. We're going to show off all the cool things you are going to learn here - the opening screen! - First rely on scanning, then scrolling, and ONLY THEN on drilling down. Look at top 10 news sites on the internet (they have TONS of links on the opening screen) - look at google news - notice how metaphors keep coming back to news, its a pretty good example for presentation explaining non technical material to people who are not technical - look at science section of the NYT - they do this EVERY DAY, look at their examples, how do they integrate images and graphics - they maintain technical integrity without pandering and propagate that information to over 1 million people a day. This is how your report your complex field to others. This is not different in person, people didn't get any dumber since you got up to talk, they can understand just as if you were reading. Think more about relationship between computer screen and paper - users combine them ALL THE TIME. High Resolution...High Resolution...High Resolution - separate mode of production from the information who said "books dead trees bound by dead cows" - Visual Explanations pg 149 90% of every screen should be content strictly - don't repeat when unnecessary - maybe this can change when the computer screen has the size and resolution of paper - don't forget that the reason people came to your website is the content - long tunnel of entry scam during dot bomb (average time of download of opening screen was higher than average visit time, whoa!) 2 most embarrassing words in all of web design - skip intro - get the default right you have a limited number of clicks - don't waste them on having your user redesign your website Don't use weasel words instead of hard data - "conservatism" instead of actual numbers. IMPORTANT - Understand the Following (for each presentation) 1. What is their story (hear a causal story) 2. what is their credibility (reputation, quality of analysis) 3. domain specification: (*exactly to what is this presentation relevant* - be tight and give a close reading to this), Presenter will always overreach this, its human nature - (was about tile not RCC) Powerpoint brings pitch culture, bad. Technical Reports, good. USE PP ONLY AS A FULL SCREEN OPERATING SYSTEM - use for projection, movies, etc. - NO BULLET LISTS - FOR SERIOUS PRESENTATION use 11x17 11x17 piece of paper (technical report style) holds 50-250 slides (lets people use their own cognitive style) Meetings will be shorter with hi res data dump at beginning 11x17 - summary should say 3 things - problem, who cares, and what the solution is (about 200 words) - this is much more direct conveyance of information and user con impose their own cognitive style on your material Powerpoint replaces sentences with the grunt, this is bad. Sentences are much smarter BE HAPPY IF PEOPLE ARE READING YOUR STUFF - ITS NOT BAD IF THEY ARE READING IT BEFORE YOU GET TO IT To do at beginning of presentation a. content issue - stand or fall based on quality and integrity and relevance of content so GET BETTER CONTENT b. Practice, Practice, Practice - rehearsal improves performance - watch yourself on video c. breaks in sound important, like, actually, basically, um, yeah, makes it drone on 1. SHOW UP EARLY - greet people, its a great gesture 2. you know what you are going to say - problem, relevance, solution - in your intro NEVER APOLOGIZE, see how far you can get into your presentation without using first person, remember content is king. 3. Finish Early