How can I learn to create beautiful infographics (with connection to my R knowledge)?

Question

I am a devoted R (r-project.org) user, and love infographics.

I just came across this article: http://www.noupe.com/design/fantastic-information-architecture-resources.html

Giving a long list of resources for information designers.

And it raised in me the desire to do more beautiful (not just informative) R plots.

Do you have any suggestion/resources on how to make this leap?

What books/software/skills do I need to have/develop in order to be able to make beautiful infographics?

Solution 1

Here's a list of resources that I would suggest:

Tufte's books are really excellent, although my favorite is actually his second book: Envisioning Information. Separately, I always found the periodic table of visualization methods to be entertaining. Ross Ihaka also taught a course on this subject in the past.

For R, learn ggplot2. The learnr.wordpress.com blog is an excellent resource for this. You might consider the ggplot book and the original Grammar of Graphics book.

Here's another useful article from the same site that you linked in your question: Data Visualization: Modern Approaches.

Some good blogs on the subject:

• http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/
• http://flowingdata.com/

In some cases, you might want to do your data manipulation in R, but create the visualization with another tool (see, for instance, this list). Here are some of the best tools that I have found over the years:

• Processing
• Prefuse
• Protovis

Lastly, an interesting open visualization platform was many eyes.

Solution 2

You might want to look into using R to create your underlying graphics, and then saving them in an editable format (like svg). Then using a more art focused application to edit your svg to make it beautifull (like Inkscape). See my previous question for an example using Cairo. I'd also +1 the learn ggplot2 from Shane.

Solution 3

If the R side of your skills is pretty good, then you'll definitely want to start reading Edward Tufte's books, particularly The Visual Display of Quantitative Information and Beautiful Evidence, both of which provide excellent insights into how to present data effectively and efficiently.

You should be somewhat forewarned that everyone has a different idea of "beautiful," however. Tufte is a big believer in maximizing a quantity he calls the "data-ink ratio": how much of the page's ink is dedicated to data instead of what he calls "chartjunk". This causes his work to have a sleek, minimalist oeuvre that certainly makes it easier to digest everything but that some people may find too utilitarian. But for Tufte, function and form are pretty close to one thing: the more it helps you, the more beautiful and elegant it is.

Solution 4

The tikz manual contains a few dozen pages on how to make good graphics (using tikz). So it's not entirely specific to R, but the ideas are interesting and worked out with examples.

I don't know what's the ultimate goal of your visualizations, but if LaTeX is involved (and when is it not involved for beautiful typography? ;)) it can be a good idea to rework your graphics in a vector graphics language, as Shane suggested.

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Comments

[Tal Galili]

Thank you Paul, that is most useful!

[Sharpie]

Totally starred. Rocking answer!

[Chella]

Not an answer for the question

[Waldir Leoncio]

Which tool would you recommend for someone intending to create batches of infographics? I have to generate monthly reports for 70 corporate branches and can't find the right tool for the job.