Edward Tufte

American statistician and information design theorist — whose Visual Display of Quantitative Information (1983) established the principles of excellent data visualization and whose critique of PowerPoint became a cultural landmark.

Information design principles: Tufte's core framework (maximize data-ink ratio, eliminate chartjunk, show data with truthful proportionality) established the intellectual foundation for serious data visualization. The concept of 'sparklines' (small, dense, word-sized graphics for inline data display) is his most practical invention. The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint essay argued that the software's design forces a dumbing-down of presentations that contributed to organizational failures (including, he argues, the Columbia shuttle disaster). Tufte self-published his books to control production quality — a case study in author-as-publisher.