This is no ordinary data science book. Speak Data isthe first pop nonfiction book to explore the definition of data and its impacts on our daily lives.
Bold color graphics and playful illustrations by award-winning information designer Giorgia Lupi guide you from one observation and revelation to the next. Data is the most powerful force in society today. From the global scale of financial markets and communication networks to the smallest moments of personal observation and social connection, data is created, shared, and analyzed at a speed and volume once unimaginable. Whether we realize it or not, we are surrounded by invisible ecosystems of data.
This fresh
Modern Love-style take approaches data from multiple perspectives, showing how data affects everything from our health and wellness to our creativity, activism, and much more. Seventeen interviews with global thought leaders in the worlds of business, tech, health, art, and more provide unique insight into the dynamic and surprisingly interdisciplinary nature of data, including:
- Tech pioneer John Maeda on the value of data visualization during global emergencies.
- Marketing legend Seth Godin on how to use data to get people to really care about climate change.
- Museum curator Paola Antonelli on whether data is art.
- Atomic Habits author James Clear on the ways data can (and can't) describe human identity.
- AI data artist Refik Anadol on how big datasets can dream.
- And many more.
Authors Giorgia Lupi and Phillip Cox invite us to think differently about how numbers, statistics, and algorithms play out in our lives, presenting a new and uniquely multifaceted paradigm for understanding data's impact. The exciting visual expansion and illumination of the ideas within each chapter make understanding data fun and approachable for every reader.
ESTABLISHED AUTHORITY: Giorgia Lupi is an award-winning information designer whose work is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. She has twice been named to the Wallpaper* USA 400 list of the people shaping creative America and recently became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Art and a National Geographic explorer. A visual OpEd she published in the
New York Times in 2023 was a stunning reflection on her experience of long Covid, and her TED Talk on her humanistic approach to data has more than one million views. Her belief is that data has the capacity to make us all more human--advancing our intelligence, engagement, and delight.
KALEIDESCOPE OF PERSPECTIVES: Five chapters tackle human-centered topics of data and identity, communications, health, technology, and creativity, exploring what data is today and what it might mean for our collective future. The scientists, artists, writers, researchers, and activists interviewed include James Clear, Adam Grant, Andy Marra, Seth Godin, Bernadette Woods Placky, Nico Muhly, Kate Crawford, and Sougwen Chung.
Perfect for:
- Anyone interested in data science and data visualization
- Graphic design students and professionals
- Educators and librarians seeking an instructive and accessible resource on data
- Readers of modern culture and popular science books
- Fans of Giorgia Lupi's artwork, TED Talk, and books, including Dear Data and Observe, Collect, Draw!
