Comments on: Tufte’s Sparklines In The Service Of Retail Discount Efficiency http://rekha6.wordpress.com/2008/03/21/tuftes-sparklines-in-the-service-of-retail-discount-efficiency/ Sometimes moving forward, sometimes letting it all sink in. Sun, 18 May 2008 01:46:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU By: AG http://rekha6.wordpress.com/2008/03/21/tuftes-sparklines-in-the-service-of-retail-discount-efficiency/#comment-188 AG Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:39:32 +0000 http://rekha6.wordpress.com/?p=64#comment-188 Personally, I feel that sparklines are a neat idea for which there's almost never a meaningful need. Every implementation I've seen has failed, because without fail they've treated sparklines as mini-charts rather than as the textual illuminations Tufte intended them to be. They're deployed off to the side, surrounded by whitespace. And if you're going to go as far as that anyway, why not go all the way and support the graphic (and the process of understanding) with all the more traditional tools at your disposal? Sigh. Personally, I feel that sparklines are a neat idea for which there’s almost never a meaningful need.

Every implementation I’ve seen has failed, because without fail they’ve treated sparklines as mini-charts rather than as the textual illuminations Tufte intended them to be. They’re deployed off to the side, surrounded by whitespace. And if you’re going to go as far as that anyway, why not go all the way and support the graphic (and the process of understanding) with all the more traditional tools at your disposal?

Sigh.

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