Conflicting Standards for Designing Data Displays: Following, Flouting, and Reconciling Them
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/stc/tc/1998/00000045/00000004/art00004
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  peer-reviewed

Kostelnick, Charles
Technical Communication Online
1998

Abstract:

Standards for designing data displays—for example, bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts, scatter plots—can be classified into four types: Conventional—emphasis on imitating generic forms that meet readers’ expectations. Perceptual—emphasis on optimizing reader behavior in accessing data visually. Informational—emphasis on transferring information clearly and concisely from designer to reader. Aesthetic—emphasis on taste, cultural values, and expressive elements. While each of these standards has merit, and some overlap occurs among them, they often conflict with each other, leaving the information designer in a quandary as to which standard to follow. Designers can resolve this dilemma by allowing the rhetorical situation—the readers of the display, its purpose, the context in which they use it—to guide the design process, telling designers when to follow, blend, or flout the standards.