http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/ The Trees, maps, and theorems blog en-us On vacation in Italy, I could not resist a visit to the Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca e della Città di Cortona. The new underground section had everything to seduce me… except for the captions of the artifacts on display.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0001.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0001.php Sun, 6 Sep 2009 20:00:00 UT Every time I look at this sign, found at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, my right shoulder twitches and my right foot wants to tap dance. Why this unconventional, unintuitive graphical choice to represent a human being?]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0002.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0002.php Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:00:00 UT As we were revising a set of financial slides designed for the audit committee of a client, Geneviève and I were struck at once by three shortcomings, so typical of the business communication we get to witness today.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0003.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0003.php Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:00:00 UT “Data help prevent crimes before they happen” said this ad by IBM, which I spotted at O'Hare airport in Chicago. Can you prevent anything after it happens? I didn't think so.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0004.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0004.php Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:00:00 UT Just last week, as I was staying at a hotel near Washington, DC, it took me several days to notice a sign placed in the shower. I had to get down on my knees to be able to read what it said.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0005.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0005.php Sun, 4 Oct 2009 20:00:00 UT An online review of Trees, maps, and theorems in June 2009 by Tom Johnson serves to illustrate what is in my experience a widespread misconception about the nature of noise.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0006.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0006.php Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:00:00 UT In a page layout, prominence suggests relative importance. Periodically, I am reminded of how not to apply prominence, as I try to save an Excel spreadsheet in so-called CSV format (comma-separated values) and I get this ineffective dialog box.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0007.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0007.php Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:00:00 UT While viewing a LinkedIn ad that encourages users to “embed a presentation” on their profiles, I was struck by the conception of a presentation perpetuated by both the words and the illustration.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0008.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0008.php Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:00:00 UT Legal copy never ceases to baffle me. What are those lawyers thinking when writing those texts that no one wants to read? Are they actually kidding themselves to the point of believing that they are communicating anything useful to their audience?]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0009.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0009.php Sun, 1 Nov 2009 20:00:00 UT Perhaps I am too much of a rational mind, but I must confess I am frequently confused by what I regard as inconsistent uses of grammatical person and number in pronouns.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0010.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0010.php Sun, 8 Nov 2009 20:00:00 UT After several decades of user-friendly software development, I would have thought that software companies would have mastered the simple art of writing clear instructions. Not Microsoft, though—at least not when they explain how to download and install the “Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.0”.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0011.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0011.php Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:00:00 UT “Greetings from Apple! Before I start finding a solution to your problem, I want to…” What?! You want to do something else before taking care of my problem? What kind of a helpdesk are you?]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0012.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0012.php Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:00:00 UT The delightful YouTube video of Microsoft redesigning the iPod package exemplifies the widespread phobia of emptiness—on the part of the communicators, not of the audience.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0013.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0013.php Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:00:00 UT Interestingly, the criticized use of the word man to designate a human of either sex as opposed to, specifically, a male one has got a direct, language-independent graphical equivalent, as illustrated by signs at the new Terminal 1 of Barcelona airport.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0014.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0014.php Sun, 6 Dec 2009 20:00:00 UT While in Riga to run two workshops at the University of Latvia, I recognized three typical issues about pictorial signs, which are certainly worth a reminder.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0015.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0015.php Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:00:00 UT The Programme rental terms & conditions for the Hertz #1 Club Gold are doing everything possible to make me not want to read them: 72 pages of typical legal copy in one of the worst page layout I have seen lately.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0016.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0016.php Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:00:00 UT Are the titles of your slides phrased as a sentence? If not, they are most likely not getting the message across. The power of an assertion is in its verb.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0017.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0017.php Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:00:00 UT One reason why we still see so many appalling presentations is that too many audience members put up with them. Fortunately, there is hope: newspeople are starting to complain openly about business presentations they consider torture.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0018.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0018.php Sun, 3 Jan 2010 20:00:00 UT A recent seminar announcement about “Service Design” reminded me of why consultant babble does not rhyme with effective communication: because of vagueness, neologisms, and hype. But perhaps I should give it a try in my own marketing? ;–)]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0019.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0019.php Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:00:00 UT Since the same language can be spoken in several countries and conversely several languages spoken in the same country, I have never understood why Web designers would choose to use country flags as a way to represent languages visually.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0020.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0020.php Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:00:00 UT Every picture tells a story, according to the saying (and a song by Rod Stewart). Does it, really? Certainly not on its own (or at least not unambiguously), but a few well-chosen words can help.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0021.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0021.php Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:00:00 UT I am amazed at how many people draw incorrect conclusions by confusing absolute and relative values. One example is the recent survey of religious faith in Belgium published in Le Soir. A better visual representation would help.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0022.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0022.php Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:00:00 UT While resistance to change is an intrinsic facet of human nature, it never ceases to amaze me when it is exhibited by individuals whose lofty purpose in life is precisely to be imaginative—able to think for themselves, challenge false beliefs, and come up with inventive, original, groundbreaking concepts or solutions. I am referring to engineers, scientists, and other researchers.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0023.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0023.php Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:00:00 UT During a recent camel trek deep into the heart of the Sahara, I was eager to visualize the animal that had visited our bivouac at night and that our Tuareg guide had identified by its tracks as a fennec, so I turned to my Lonely Planet printouts for help. Alas, no pictures: text, text, and more text—even for how to tie your Tuareg turban!]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0024.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0024.php Mon, 8 Mar 2010 9:00:00 UT A reader asks about my feelings toward phrases such as “This paper will discuss” or “The purpose of this document is to”. In a nutshell, I find nothing wrong with them (on the contrary)… at least, if they have the right focus, use the right verb form, and appear in the right place.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0025.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0025.php Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:00:00 UT A reader asks about my feelings toward phrases such as “This paper will discuss” or “The purpose of this document is to”. In a nutshell, I find nothing wrong with them (on the contrary)… at least, if they have the right focus, use the right verb form, and appear in the right place.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0025.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0025.php Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:00:00 UT Space is the essence of page layout—at all levels of the page, from the overall appearance all the way down to a single mark. I notice a typical issue of insufficient space with bulleted lists on presentation slides and with hyperlinks displayed on the same line on Web pages.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0026.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0026.php Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:00:00 UT Don't you hate it when software applications pretend to read your mind and to know what it is that you want to do next—especially when they get it wrong?]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0027.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0027.php Mon, 12 Apr 2010 6:00:00 UT In Hemispheres, the in-flight magazine of United Airlines, I recently spotted yet another perfect example of a visual lie, in an ad for United's Economy Plus. The illustration represents as 45% an actual difference of 15% only—a threefold exaggeration.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0028.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0028.php Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:00:00 UT Several participants of past workshops on oral presentations pointed me to an April 26 article from the New York Times, boldly titled “We have met the enemy and he is PowerPoint.” The article does trigger two observations in my mind.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0029.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0029.php Tue, 4 May 2010 2:00:00 UT Representing quantitative information meaningfully raises two fundamental questions: how are the data encoded visually, and how is this encoding perceived—quantitatively, that is—by the audience? As a rule, encoding a quantitative variable by the size of a circle is ineffective, for at least two reasons.]]> http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0030.php http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/blog/X0030.php Sun, 9 May 2010 20:00:00 UT