The Functional Art: An Introduction To Information Graphics And Visualization / quote 6 of 18
Form should be constrained by function
It is true, as we just have seen, that function doesn’t necessarily determine form. But it is also true that the form of a technological object must depend on the tasks it should help with. This is one of the most important principles to re-member when dealing with infographics and visualizations: The form should be constrained by the functions of your presentation. [...] In general, the better defined the goals of an artifact, the narrower the variety of forms it can adopt.