There is a great lecture series entitled Information Esthetics happening now through mid-July at Chelsea Art Museum.

Organised by Brad Paley

More information:

http://informationesthetics.org/

http://chelseaartmuseum.org/projectroom/2005/informationesthetics/

Upcoming talks:

Lisa Strausfeld, May 26 · Real-time charting
Ms. Strausfeld is a partner in Pentagram, the respected New York design firm. Her dense, readable information displays are well structured, visually rich, and intellectually satisfying.
http://www.pentagram.com/people-strausfeld.htm
           

Bill Buxton, June 16 · Supporting creative analysis
Mr. Buxton is a musician, mountain climber, and interaction designer; former Chief Scientist of Silicon Graphics; and a well-known and controversial computer interface expert. He owns an art gallery in Toronto with his wife and has been developing user interfaces explicitly for designers for over a decade.
http://www.billbuxton.com
           

Ron Rensink, June 30 · Visual perception
Dr. Rensink is one of the world’s experts on “Change Blindness” a feature of the human visual system that allows major changes to happen unnoticed right in front of one’s eyes, allowing (among other things) magic performances to work. He studies human perception, discovering and sharing principles useful in design.
http://www.psych.ubc.ca/~rensink
           

Tamara Munzner, July 14 · Large data sets
Dr. Munzner specializes in information visualization: showing complexities in subjects that range from genetically-determined phylogenetic evolutionary trees to environmental sustainability. Her work is informed by an eye developed under her art-teacher father, and often reveals structure more clearly as a result.
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~tmm