What Tufte seems to be getting at with layering and separation is that the space between objects by their creation, and the space taken up by the objects created has a heavy impact on information graphics. Using bold, thick lines, clunks things up by leaving less separation and makes things harder to scan through effectively. The concept that Tufte kept coming back to was Albers' "1+1= 3" concept. This concept explained that "one line plus one line results in many meanings" and that it's all about how the images are arranged that brings out the meaning within them (pg. 61).
Comments
I think Alber's concept is
Submitted by arodge3 on
I think Alber's concept is really interesting. I had never thought of it that way, but it is definitely true.
Space
Submitted by will63 on
Should the most important elements of a graphic always incorporate white space? I think as a designer it can be difficult to know if effective white space is being achieved.
Your response reminded me of
Submitted by CM on
Your response reminded me of Helvetica (the documentary, not the type). One of the designers they interview discusses how Helvetica seems to exist so perfectly within its own white space. The creator of the type felt that the space surrounding the letters was just as important a shape as the letters themselves. So he designed with both positive and negative space in mind.