[harrylove]

That’s unfortunate that you had such a bad experience at the seminar. I went to one early in my career (maybe 2001) and I consider it a pivotal moment. The seminar and books have influenced my thinking on design, experience, UI, decision-making, and how to present effectively, whether on paper or in person. Learning to use the concept of the data-ink ratio alone has paid off a thousand-fold for me. The other concept that sticks out to me: “good design cannot save failed content.” I also agree with his stance on presentation software.

[shereadsthenews]

I also attended his seminar in 2001 and it heavily influenced my life and work. As an example, when my wife was giving birth to our second child I made a plot, a simple one with paper and pen, of the time between contractions. I did that because the first time they tried to hurry her along with drugs. The second time when the doctor came in to whine that we were “not making progress” (read: the doctor has dinner reservations at 6) I was able to show convincingly that progress was indeed steady. The simple act of visualizing data can influence decisions, which is the point of his chapter on the Challenger disaster.

[mark_integerdsv]

Sitting on my bed in Cape Town, South Africa and knowing that I'll probably never be able to attend his seminar, it's nice to read your folks good experiences.

It's nice to think that something you dream about is in fact something fantastic.

Tufte had a huge impact on me too, around the same timeframe (2001.)