http://pages.graphics.cs.wisc.edu/VisSnacks/tags/encodings/ Recent content in Encodings on Visualization Snacks Hugo en-us Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:30:00 -0500 http://pages.graphics.cs.wisc.edu/VisSnacks/tutorials/encodings/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:00:00 -0500 http://pages.graphics.cs.wisc.edu/VisSnacks/tutorials/encodings/ <p>Visualizations are built by <strong>encoding</strong> data into visual properties: position, size, color, shape, and so on. Thinking in terms of these building blocks - rather than in terms of chart types - lets you decompose designs, compare choices, and invent new things. And one building block towers over the others: position. Spend it wisely.</p> http://pages.graphics.cs.wisc.edu/VisSnacks/snacks/charts-are-encodings/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:30:00 -0500 http://pages.graphics.cs.wisc.edu/VisSnacks/snacks/charts-are-encodings/ <p>A chart type is a bundle of encoding choices that someone found useful enough to name. Decomposing charts into their encodings explains why &ldquo;line vs. bar&rdquo; questions have answers, and shows you design choices (like ordering) that the chart names hide.</p>