A Comprehensive Overview of Graphic Representation Evolution in the 20th and 21st Centuries

=============================================================================

The 20th century marked a significant period of evolution for information visualization, shaped by social needs, design advancements, and technological breakthroughs.

In the 1920s, Austrian social scientist Otto Neurath pioneered the use of ISOTYPE charts, a method of representing statistical and social data through simple pictorial symbols. This approach, which emerged from the "Viennese method," aimed to make complex social and economic trends easier to understand through intuitive graphics [1].

One of the most iconic examples of information design from the early 20th century is the London Underground signage system. Introduced in 1908, the distinctive red circle and blue bar logo was refined by Edward Johnston’s custom sans-serif typeface in 1916. This combination of clarity and modern stylistic principles had a profound influence on subsequent transit and public information design [2].

The influence of modernism and constructivism during the 1920s and 1930s introduced highly systematic and geometric design philosophies, emphasizing functionality and clarity in visual communication. Soviet constructivism, for instance, applied utilitarian design to posters, furniture, and other media, pushing information visualization towards practical social use [2].

Over the course of the 20th century, graphic design education and literature developed formally. The term "graphic design" was first used in the 1910s and 1920s, and foundational texts such as Raffe’s 1927 and Leon Friend’s 1936 books covered the subject extensively [2].

By the mid to late 20th century, the rise of digital tools and computing further revolutionized information visualization, enabling more complex and interactive representations. This phase, however, extends partly beyond the early 20th century [1][4].

Modern research suggests that beyond conveying data efficiently, visualizations communicate social and cultural context through design choices. This "socio-indexical" function of visualizations affects how audiences receive and interpret data, hinting at deeper layers of meaning present in visualization design since its inception [3].

Key milestones in 20th-century information visualization include the creation of ISOTYPE by Neurath, the London Underground signage, the influence of constructivist modernism on visual clarity and functionality, the formalization of graphic design as a discipline, and the gradual advent of digital methods [1][2][3][4]. These developments collectively transformed the way information could be graphically represented and understood by broad audiences.

The 1970s saw the emergence of many forms of statistical representation, including the Fourier function plot, Chernoff faces, start plots, clustering and representations, and biplots using multi-dimensional scaling. The development of information technology in the latter half of the 20th century led to a boom in information visualization, with tools for analyzing data with large volumes of dimensions being developed, such as the grand tour, scatterplot matrix, parallel coordinate plots, etc.

New methods for visual data analysis, such as linking, brushing, selection, focusing, etc., were implemented for interactive data models. The adoption of the programming language FORTRAN in the late 1950s and 1960s enabled the creation of computer-processed statistical data, greatly increasing the volumes of information to be processed.

The information visualization field started to implement an understanding of the cognitive and perceptual aspects of displaying data. In 1967, Jacques Bertin published "Semiologie Graphique," offering insights into the production of visual information for statistical analysis. John Tukey, in 1962, published a paper "The Future of Data Analysis" and introduced new models for analysis such as boxplots and hanging rootograms.

The field of information visualization broadened to encompass many new forms of data, data structures, and problem-solving. In the 1970s, highly interactive statistical computing systems were developed and became common. The advent of computing and the dawn of "big data" in the 20th century led to remarkable advancements in information visualization.

For a more detailed history of information visualization, Michael Friendly of York University, Toronto, provides a comprehensive account, while Edward Tufte offers one of the most detailed histories on his website.

References:

[1] Ware, C. (2004). Information Visualization: Perception for Design. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.

[2] Krippendorff, K. (2006). The Semiotics of Visual Design: A Course with Readings and Exercises. John Wiley & Sons.

[3] Card, S. K., Mackinlay, J. D., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Readings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think. Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc.

[4] Tufte, E. R. (2001). Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative. Graphics Press.

A Comprehensive Overview of Graphic Representation Evolution in the 20th and 21st Centuries