Background
The theory behind the rules. None of it is needed to follow the guide, but it helps when a rule doesn’t fit your case and you have to decide for yourself.
| Page | Covers | Behind the rules on |
|---|---|---|
| Perception | Gestalt principles and pre-attentive attributes | Clutter, grouping, highlighting |
| Visual variables | Position, size, colour, shape and what each can show | Map symbols, chart choice |
| Fluency and cognitive load | Why easy-to-read visuals are trusted, and the limits of working memory | Simplicity, titles, audience |
| Colour research | How this palette was built and tested, and how many colours and steps people can tell apart | The palette, colour limits |
| Typography research | Serif vs sans-serif, and figures for numbers | The house typeface |
| Axes and baselines | When a y-axis must start at zero, and how people read scatter plots | Axis rules |
| References | Everything cited in this guide |