More fascinating examples from Tufte about how to squeeze more meaning into data displays. The interesting tradeoff to be managed here is between design time to find compelling and meaningful representations and interpretation/decision time by those who will use the representations. As a gross generalization, design time gets short shrift at the expense of increased problems with interpretation and decision. A bad cost/benefit tradeoff.
Spaklines. Edward Tufte: Sparklines or Wordgraphs–some draft pages from Beautiful Evidence… [Emptybottle : Coasters]