Review: Beautiful News by David McCandless
I recently finished reading the book Beautiful News: Positive Trends, Uplifting Stats, Creative Solutions by David McCandless, also the author of Information Is Beautiful, also called The Visual Miscellaneum (2010), and Knowledge Is Beautiful (2014), both of which I own and frequently reread. The book was published by Harper Design, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers focused on “stunning, gorgeously produced illustrated, award-winning books”. I purchased my copy from Barnes & Noble.
The charts and diagrams featured in Beautiful News originally appeared on the website, Information Is Beautiful, named for the first book in the series. As with his past books, McCandless is unmatched in his ability to transform raw data into gorgeous, colorful, and understandable images. His techniques range from the classic word cloud, bar charts, and maps to complex multipage spreads. Even the table of content and index are precisely designed.
Picking favorite charts is a difficult task when all the pages are expertly crafted, but I did have a few preferences: “Humpback Whales Are Recovering”, showing the dramatic increase in the whale population from 1966 to 2019; “Global Flavors of Happiness & Contentment”, a linguistic journey describing joy around the world, including the Aboriginal Australian languages Gadigal and Ngarluma (I’m a fan of the black Australian podcast Word Up); and an explainer on nuclear fusion.
A few pages needed minor clarification or editing. I felt confused by the mini chart “Healthy Life Expectancy...”. The purpose of color for the bar graph called “The Education Gender Gap between Girls & Boys Is Closing” was unclear. I could not figure out why a percentage was listed on LEVEL 1 of the chart “The % of Global Population Covered by Essential Health Services Is Growing” when no countries were listed in that category. Finally, a printing error on “Main Types of Plastic” obscured the icon denoting number five plastics.
My biggest issue was the ordering of the charts. While themes were presented in the table of contents, charts adhering to these themes were scattered seemingly at random throughout the book, broken up by lengthy sections about climate change. While I appreciate well-researched updates on renewable energy, recycling practices, and CO2 emissions, the heavy-handed repetition of discussions on Carbon Net Zero pledges and alternative fuel sources felt more like speculation than true news. I would have preferred this information presented in one section, rather than serving as a jumpscare every few pages.
With the publication of this latest book, along with his ongoing work on social media and his own websites, McCandless continues to prove himself the master of data visualization. While I preferred his previous works, his designs are high quality, and the colors pop off the page. The material in this book is suitable for readers ages ten and up, although younger readers may need assistance interpreting some of the charts. This is an excellent gift for anyone interested in statistics, graphic design, or a cheerful and optimistic coffee table book.
