Editors’ Summary: In this post, the author argues that integrity in design is the most important aspect of data visualization. She uses the San Domenico Altarpiece as a metaphor for data visualization by calling attention to all the information that can be found by seeing the back of the painting. In the case of the San Domenico Altarpiece, the back of the polyptych reveals a collage of woods from various centuries, a physical record of its alterations. She argues that these hidden decisions are the most essential consideration when creating data visualizations. The most important work we do as data visualisation developers is often the work that the reader will never see.
Editors’ Choice: The Back of the Painting: On Structure, Integrity, and Data Visualisation
