Author: Kristin Cedillo
I attended "Presenting Data and Information: A One-Day Course Taught by Edward Tufte" in Austin, Texas on behalf of Catto & Catto.
If you are wondering, "Just who is Edward Tufte?" ...pause for effect... Edward Tufte is Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Statistics and Computer Science at Yale University and has also served as Professor of Public Affairs at Princeton University. He has also consulted for the Bureau of the Census, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Science Foundation, Bose, IBM, The New York Times, Fidelity Investments, NBC, CBS, Sun Microsystems, Medtronic, Lotus Development, New Jersey Transit, Hewlett-Packard, Newsweek, Thomson Consumer Electronic, various law firms - oh, and a government agency you just might recognize, NASA. Impressed yet?
His methodology for smart, short presentations, design strategies for informational displays, assessment of credibility of presentations and presenters, and standards of comparison for workaday and cutting edge visualizations have been widely-adopted. These practices have been weaved into practical application in a number of fields including science, social science, music, business, finance, sports, art, medicine, architecture, space exploration and government.
"Good ideas for a smart person are a dime a dozen. What turns a good idea into a great idea is execution," voiced Tufte on Monday. I was incredibly pleased to be present and takeaway strategies for insightful and refreshing presentations for our clients, partners and staff. I was equally delighted to receive Tufte's books as tangible guides to presenting data and information to bring back to the Catto & Catto crew.
