Diagrams - best of...
September 8, 2010 2:22 PM   Subscribe

Tell me about the most comprehensive diagram resources ever?

I have been dreaming (literally - you know, at night with my eyes closed) of writing a book about diagrams but that seems like way too much work. Tell me about all the diagram, chart, data representation resources you know of, internet & book, tv series etc, so that the dreams will stop and I can go back to soft porn nights. Resources for styles of maps, and blue prints and stuff about Tufte and John Snow and information graphics and well, everything.
posted by b33j to Grab Bag (8 answers total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Here's my two cents: Nova Mind and Inspiration. Oh yeah, MS makes something called Visio, too.
posted by beelzbubba at 2:49 PM on September 8, 2010


Best answer: OmniGraffle can be extended with a wide library of stencils "stencils".

Then there is Instaviz, based off of Graphviz, which in turn renders DOT-formatted files.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:01 PM on September 8, 2010


Best answer: I'm not sure I'm understanding you right, but there's Fantasy Blueprints of Classic TV Homes. Also Google Images brings up some odds and ends if you put in "blueprint" (or "schematic" with a few carefully positioned secondary words).
posted by crapmatic at 3:53 PM on September 8, 2010


Best answer: I began writing an answer suggesting Tufte, but if you've seen that book and are still asking the question, there must be something I don't understand.

Apparently, the thing which I don't understand is the precise meaning of the word "diagram" - Wikipedia's page on diagrams links to dozens of different types, vastly more than I knew existed.

It also has a "Further Reading" item at the bottom of the page that may be a portal to what you're looking for - presumably, the proceedings of an international conference on diagrams would point you towards a number of experts in the field, some of whom must have written books that would meet your criteria. Google Books has the table of contents for your viewing pleasure.
posted by richyoung at 4:28 PM on September 8, 2010


Best answer: I'm not sure if I understand your question, but are you looking for a book such as Harris' Information Graphics?
posted by StrawberryPie at 7:27 PM on September 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Information is Beautiful.
posted by monkey.pie.baker at 10:23 PM on September 8, 2010


Best answer: Also, see the associated web site: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/
posted by monkey.pie.baker at 10:25 PM on September 8, 2010


Response by poster: Thank you - I was looking for evidence that there was a book or resources out there that were comprehensive enough that I didn't need to write a book. Thank you.
posted by b33j at 1:06 AM on September 9, 2010


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