How diagrams help us see the world differently

Eight principles for making complex things clear

Dear Rethinkers,

I've fallen in love with a book. Three of my fascinations – information design, historical artefacts and storytelling – converge in 100 Diagrams That Changed the World by Scott Christianson. It's a beautiful documentation of how our understanding of the world has changed through the most groundbreaking diagrams – sketches, drawings, maps and cave paintings.

From the Rosetta Stone to Ptolemy's map, Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man to the first model of the World Wide Web, it's full of images harnessing the power of visual storytelling across disciplines.

Diagram of the Color Wheel by Moses Harris (1766)

I've always thought in images, more than words. A single diagram can transform the way we see the world. This book got me rethinking how a great diagram is so much more than just a representation of what we see with our eyes. It's a crystallisation of thoughts, information and underlying patterns. A groundbreaking diagram takes complex ideas and makes them simple and clear (a purpose very close to the heart of this newsletter).

Read on to discover why diagrams are more than just pictures and how the principles of effective diagram design can enrich your thinking.