Only slightly related to your very funny comment here, you might enjoy “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information” by Edward Tufte. Not only does he help you to best make the abstract shapes and colors, but there’s an added aspect of the visuals that tickles the mind. That added aspect is how easily some information is communicated along with the image. It’s along the lines of how sometimes someone can tell a joke just by saying something as concisely as possible (even if the content isn’t humorous).

Like you said, whether or not the visuals provide any value is a completely different line of discussion.