Complex Diagrams

General
ComplexDiagrams.com is my professional blog for observations, ruminations, rants, and critiques of diagrams, interfaces, metaphor, and information presentation that I encounter. The name is drawn from my thesis, which is all about how to generate effective, qualitative diagrams with non-trivial levels of complexity.

I will be posting some of my own work here, as well as observations on interesting examples of diagrams, interface, and interaction theory that I encounter.

Past and Present
I’ve been aware of good design and function for as long as I can remember. I see the world and everything in it (outdoor clothing, software, hand tools, food, shoes, systems, communication, etc.) through the lens of functional design: was that designed with the actual use and users in mind?

I’m most interested in information design, diagrams, and other information visualization methods. I also work in interface and interaction design.

I’m always looking for good challenges and interesting data sets; don’t hesitate to email or leave a comment if you’ve got a good problem to think about. I live in Seattle, and make frequent trips to Portland.

Education
M.S. Technical Communication, University of Washington, March 2006
Thesis: Generation of Complex Diagrams: How to Make Lasagna Instead of Spaghetti

B.A. Physics, Reed College, May 1995
Thesis: Electron-Hole Pair Recombination Rates in an Irradiated Silicon Semiconductor

Tools
My visualization tool of choice is OmniGraffle Pro on the Macintosh. For large data sets I’m fond of a combination of Perl and DOT.

Contact
gmail: iliinsky
View Noah Iliinsky’s profile
Resume

Thanks, Noah Iliinsky