The graph as a victim of adverse discrimination and segregation: Comment occasioned by the first issue of information design journal

Constraints of typography have led to the physical segregation of diagrammatic treatments of information from the linear alphanumerics that have dominated scientific communication. Information Design Journal reflects these constraints. The segregated and subordinated status of graphics is metaphorically compared here to the cultural roles of women and minorities. Aspects of graphics treated include the retardation of their intellectual development and influence; their relegation to relatively tangential, simplistic and ornamental functions; and prevalent suspicions regarding their deceptiveness. However, technology now makes it possible to reintegrate graphics into the mainstream of intellectual communication.