Here is an extract from How to lie with charts, a very clever book. I found this text interesting not only because it deals with the rhetorical use of orientation in charts, but also because it makes a valid point: that using rhetoric and cultural biases to the advantage of the communication is not unethical. In my opinion, knowing how to use them is not only unethical, but it is an essential skill for a communicator.
“Which of this signs might make a Western traveler feel more “positive” about a choice of routes?
Never mind that there is only one spot to place the sign in an airport terminal and the arrow must go the other way. Certainly, you can’t go pointing people in the wrong direction just to make them feel better. And no one would ignore a helpful left-pointing sign because of such a vague feeling. But, be aware that people carry those biases with them, no matter which way they decide to turn. You might not have any choice about which design to use in the airport situation, but you could give careful consideration to how you would use the same sign inside a store to direct shoppers to a merchandise display.
When your audience shares a set of biases, a chart will be more effective if its design plays to those assumptions deliberately. For example, you can probably assume that Westerners will interpret rightward motion as progress. Use that prejudice to your advantage! Don’t try to neutralize their biases, which probably isn’t possible anyway. Simply make your designs consistent with what they expect.
It might seem somehow unethical to reinforce these prejudices, but realize that you can’t escape them. Graphic conventions are as much a part of language as speech. Your choice of the language itself depends upon many conventions, including these notions of direction. Different sets of assumptions and visual biases will apply, for example, to native speakers of Hebrew, Arabic, and Farsi (who read right to left) or Chinese (who sometimes read top to bottom).
In short, your charts aren’t international signs. You can’t make them cross-cultural, and you shouldn’t try. They will always have more impact if you are aware of cultural biases and play shamelessly to them!”
— JONES, Gerald Everett. How to lie with charts. La Puerta. Santa Monica, 2007. p.46-7
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