Why am I passionate about this?

I am a writer and editor with a background in art history, based in Berlin. My work has always been shaped by two complementary needs. First, I always felt a thirst for understanding and knowledge. Second, I was always on the hunt for brilliant design and beautiful visuals. Infographics were thus a natural terrain for me. Since 2012, I have published four comprehensive books in the field. This includes both surveys of contemporary work as well as studies in the history of the field.


I wrote

History of Information Graphics

By Sandra Rendgen,

Book cover of History of Information Graphics

What is my book about?

This XL-sized compendium explores the history of data graphics from the Middle Ages right through to the digital era. Curated…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of National Geographic Infographics

Sandra Rendgen Why did I love this book?

In my work, I try to combine my love for brilliant visuals and my fascination for complex scientific topics. You can easily guess why the National Geographic Magazine has always been one of my favourites. Its first issue appeared in 1888, and from an early stage, NatGeo’s editors have made extensive use of excellent infographics and photography alongside their stories. For this book, National Geographic has teamed up with Taschen to assemble a marvellous collection of the best infographics ever published in the magazine. Attention: This is highly inspiring and – quite literally – a heavyweight.

By Julius Wiedemann,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked National Geographic Infographics as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Back in the days when the information age was a distant dream and the world a more mysterious place, National Geographic began its mission to reveal the wonders of history, popular science, and culture to eager audiences around the globe. Since that 1888 launch, the world has changed; empires have risen and crumbled and a galaxy of information is today only a click away. But National Geographic endures; its calm, authoritative voice is as respected as ever amid the surfeit of data in our daily lives.

In this new anthology, TASCHEN and National Geographic gather the magazine's best infographics of…


Book cover of Map: Exploring the World

Sandra Rendgen Why did I love this book?

Maps are the most ancient type of infographic we know, and that comes as no surprise. Spatial navigation is one of the most important evolutionary skills that both animals and humans have developed. Recording this knowledge in maps requires both a thorough scientific understanding and considerable artistic skills. This beautiful coffee table book is a mind-blowing and timeless trip through the field of cartography. It charts the development from pre-historic maps carved in stone all the way to recent brain scans from the Human Connectome Project. Give me this book and I’ll be lost browsing through its visual treasures for several days.

By Phaidon Press, John Hessler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Map as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

300 stunning maps from all periods and from all around the world, exploring and revealing what maps tell us about history and ourselves.

Map: Exploring the World brings together more than 300 fascinating maps from the birth of cartography to cutting-edge digital maps of the twenty-fist century. The book's unique arrangement, with the maps organized in complimentary or contrasting pairs, reveals how the history of our attempts to make flat representations of the world has been full of beauty, ingenuity and innovation.

Selected by an international panel of curators, academics and collectors, the maps reflect the many reasons people make…


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Book cover of A Beggar's Bargain

A Beggar's Bargain By Jan Sikes,

Historical Fiction Post WW2.

A shocking proposal that changes everything.

Desperate to honor his father’s dying wish, Layken Martin vows to do whatever it takes to save the family farm.
Once the Army discharges him following World War II, Layken returns to Missouri to find his legacy in shambles and…

Book cover of Dear Data

Sandra Rendgen Why did I love this book?

Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec, both brilliant designers, share a passion for visualizing data. Living in New York and London, respectively, they became “pen pals” when they met in 2014: Each week over a year, they would send each other postcards with hand-drawn infographics. Each postcard charts one specific aspect of their daily lives – such as how much time they spent with other people or how often they complained. They created over 100 postcards in total, which are kept today in the design collection of MoMA. The project was wildly popular and inspired many people to create their own infographics. With its personal angle and beautiful drawings, it provides a completely new take on the practice of collecting data.

By Giorgia Lupi, Stefanie Posavec,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Dear Data as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From an award-winning project comes an inspiring, collaborative book that makes data artistic, personal - and open to all

Each week for a year, Giorgia and Stefanie sent each other a postcard describing what had happened to them during that week around a particular theme. But they didn't write it, they drew it: a week of smiling, a week of apologies, a week of desires.

Presenting their fifty-two cards, along with thoughts and ideas about the data-drawing process, Dear Data hopes to inspire you to draw, slow down and make connections with other people, to see the world through a…


Book cover of The Secret Lives of Color

Sandra Rendgen Why did I love this book?

I fell in love with this book the moment I picked up a copy in a book store. While it is not exactly about infographics, it tackles an aspect that is crucial to creating successful and arresting visualizations: color. This topic has a wide scientific dimension (think perception, think chemistry), but the notion of color is also intertwined with intense aesthetic experiences. Kassia St. Clair combines both with a trove of historical stories about scientists, artists, and other aficionados on the hunt for intricate shades such as Mummy or Chrome Yellow. A highly inspiring read, a beautiful book, and an excellent gift.

By Kassia St. Clair,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Secret Lives of Color as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of USA Today's "100 Books to Read While Stuck at Home During the Coronavirus Crisis"

A dazzling gift, the unforgettable, unknown history of colors and the vivid stories behind them in a beautiful multi-colored volume.

"Beautifully written . . . Full of anecdotes and fascinating research, this elegant compendium has all the answers." -NPR, Best Books of 2017

The Secret Lives of Color tells the unusual stories of seventy-five fascinating shades, dyes, and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso's blue period to…


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Book cover of Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS

Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS By Amy Carney,

When I was writing this book, several of my friends jokingly called it the Nazi baby book, with one insisting it would make a great title. Nazi Babies – admittedly, that is a catchy title, but that’s not exactly what my book is about. SS babies would be slightly more…

Book cover of W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America

Sandra Rendgen Why did I love this book?

In the late 1890s, W.E.B. Du Bois was a brilliant young sociologist when he was involved in a project to represent the status of the Afro-American population. This was some 30 years after slavery had been abolished, and his findings were to be exhibited at the World Expo 1900 in Paris. Aside from assembling a wealth of material such as books and photographs, Du Bois turned to statistics and data visualization to provide a broader national lens, and to demonstrate that disadvantage and discrimination still prevailed. Together with a team, he created a highly intriguing series of visualizations that were exhibited as posters in Paris in 1900. This beautiful book publishes the series for the first time and provides historical context.

By The W E B Du Bois Center at the Universi,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"As visually arresting as it is informative."-The Boston Globe

"Du Bois's bold colors and geometric shapes were decades ahead of modernist graphic design in America."-Fast Company's Co.Design

W.E.B. Du Bois's Data Portraits is the first complete publication of W.E.B. Du Bois's groundbreaking charts, graphs, and maps presented at the 1900 Paris Exposition.

Famed sociologist, writer, and Black rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois fundamentally changed the representation of Black Americans with his exhibition of data visualizations at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Beautiful in design and powerful in content, these data portraits make visible a wide spectrum of African American culture, from…


Explore my book 😀

History of Information Graphics

By Sandra Rendgen,

Book cover of History of Information Graphics

What is my book about?

This XL-sized compendium explores the history of data graphics from the Middle Ages right through to the digital era. Curated by Sandra Rendgen, some 400 milestones span astronomy, cartography, zoology, technology, and beyond. Across medieval manuscripts and parchment rolls, elaborate maps, splendid popular atlases, and early computer-based information design, we systematically break down each work’s historical context, including such highlights as Martin Waldseemüller’s famous world map, the meticulous nature studies of Ernst Haeckel, and many unknown treasures.

Book cover of National Geographic Infographics
Book cover of Map: Exploring the World
Book cover of Dear Data

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