Minard's Map

26 September 2005

I went to a lecture by information designer Edward Tufte last Friday at the University of the Arts. He spoke about the design principles he considers most fundamental, described in his forthcoming book, Beautiful Evidence (which may or may not be published this December).

This is a shot of a reproduced map/chart he handed out: Charles Joseph Minard’s depiction of Napoleon’s March into Russia (1812-1813), which Tufte calls “probably the best statistical graphic ever drawn”. It illustrates not only the geographical progress of the army over the winter, but also its dwindling numbers as the result of the extreme physical conditions (river crossings, freezing temperatures). More information can be found on Tufte’s posters page.