“Above all else show the data.”

“Small, noncomparative, highly labeled data sets usually belong in tables.”

“What about confusing clutter? Information overload? Doesn't data have to be "boiled down" and "simplified"? These common questions miss the point, for the quantity of detail is an issue completely separate from the difficulty of reading. Clutter and confusion are failures of design, not attributes of information.”

“Cosmetic decoration, which frequently distorts the data, will never salvage an underlying lack of content.”

“PowerPoint is like being trapped in the style of early Egyptian flatland cartoons rather than using the more effective tools of Renaissance visual representation.”

“Design cannot rescue failed content.”

“Allowing artist-illustrators to control the design and content of statistical graphics is almost like allowing typographers to control the content, style, and editing of prose.”