Wow! eBook
Data by Design: Visualization and Power from Abolition to the Dawn of Data Science
Author(s): Lauren F. Klein (Author), Tanvi Sharma (Author), Jay Varner (Author), Nicholas Yang (Author), Dan Jutan (Author)
- Publisher: The MIT Press
- Publication Date: October 20, 2026
- Language: English
- Print length: 304 pages
- ISBN-10: 0262056186
- ISBN-13: 9780262056182
Book Description
From maps of colonial empires to charts of national trade, data visualization has long been used to consolidate knowledge and power. But just as often, it has been used to uncover oppression and bring about change. Data by Design journeys across continents and over centuries to expose the power of visualization—and to show how it can be wielded back.
A group of British antislavery activists who created a diagram of captives in the hold of a ship, accelerating support for the abolitionist cause. A Ñudzahui (Mixtec) painter who designed a map for a king, testifying to his people’s sovereignty and claims to the land. These are but two stories of many, each expertly analyzed and illustrated in full-color detail, that confirm how visualization can lead to a more liberatory world. A set of new images, created by Lauren Klein and her research team—also viewable on an interactive website—further expands our sense of what visualization, when used with intention and care, can achieve.
A book for those who love charts and graphs, and for those who create them, Data by Design offers historical grounding, ethical clarity—and the inspiration we need—to envision a more just future.
Editorial Reviews
Editorial Reviews
Review
"This remarkable book recomplicates and repoliticizes a visual form that has deliberately tried to present itself as neat and neutral. Data visualization is neither. Essential reading for anyone who has ever looked at a map or a graph. It will change the way you think about information design forever."
—Mona Chalabi, data journalist and illustrator
"Data by Design is an instant classic. It celebrates data visualization while also casting light on the dark parts of its history, and it does it with rigor and grace."
—Alberto Cairo, Knight Chair in Infographics and Data Visualization University of Miami; author of The Art of Insight
"Most of the decisions behind a chart are invisible by the time we look at it: what got counted, and who decided. Data by Design goes back through the history of visualization and asks who made those decisions, and for whom. It changed how I look at the history of my own field." —Giorgia Lupi, Partner, Pentagram; co-founder, Accurat
"This great book directly challenges the erasure of nuance and complexity inherent in minimalist visualizations, and offers a vision for richer, more humane representations of data."
—Miriah Meyer, Professor, Linköping University, author of Making Data Visual
