I was writing a chapter of Beautiful Evidence on the subject of the sculptural pedestal, which led to my thinking about what's up on the pedestal - the great leader.

It is not how much empty space there is, but rather how it is used. It is not how much information there is, but rather how effectively it is arranged.

The essential test of design is how well it assists the understanding of the content, not how stylish it is.

A metaphor for good information design is a map. Hold any diagram against a map and see how it compares.

The most common user action on a Web site is to flee.

An open mind but not an empty head.

Here's the general theory: To clarify, add detail. Imagine that. To clarify, add detail. And clutter and overload are not an attribute of information, they are failures of design. If the information is in chaos, don't start throwing out information, instead fix the design.