With similar objectives, Edward Tufte achieved contemporary fame in data viz with his approach to presentation that can be stated simply: less is more.

Tufte taught and demonstrated that in charts, anything other than the barest of axis and label - any ornamentation beyond basic data - detracts from the presentation through distraction and ambiguity.

https://stanfordmag.org/contents/intelligent-designs

https://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=...