To deliver messages clearly and effectively, information designers often rely on formal elegance to attract attention and command respect for the subject matter in question. In 2003, Viégas and Wattenberg, leading figures in contemporary visualization design, set out to investigate the dynamics behind the editing histories of Wikipedia pages. The colorful diagrams transform lengthy editing sagas into images. In this example, the pink graph shows the edit history for the entry “chocolate,” while the green one shows the edits behind “abortion.” Zigzag patterns represent back-and-forth edits, often disagreements between editors. Black gashes show points where the represented article was deleted and replaced with comments―a virtual act of vandalism.

Gallery label from

Pirouette: Turning Points in Design, January 26, 2025–November 15, 2025

Medium Chromogenic print from Java software
Dimensions .1 (abortion): 28 x 36" (71.1 x 91.4 cm) .2 (chocolate): 28 x 36" (71.1 x 91.4 cm)
Credit Gift of the designers
Object number SC515.2008.1-2
Department Architecture & Design

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