Subtle and Effective

Tufte's approach can be rewardingly subtle, too. The arrays here and on the next slide show the exact same information: the movements used by airport marshals to direct planes. Only by comparing before with after do the shortcomings of the first become clear. Here, Tufte points out how the weighting of heavy borders between the boxes and the dark, deep black of the figure overwhelm the intended focus of the diagram: the motion of the lamps.