Modules

A short introduction (2 days over two week) to the topic and the class. We introduce a broad definition of visualizations as solutions to user data tasks and consider how they can be effective at this. We’ll use the basic notion of “what does a visualization make easy to see” to develop intuitions about what makes visualizations effective.

We will look at how we can consider visualizations in terms of building blocks including data and task abstractions and visual encodings. We will see how this allows designing and analyzing visualizations. We will practice design process (including critique). Students will begin to design and analyze visualizations (pen-and-paper).

We will look at strategies for implementing (creating) visualizations and how visualization can be used for exploring data (in addition to communicating stories with it). We will also consider design strategies for two common issues: comparison and scalability.

In this module, we will try to be more “scientific” about how we approach visualizations: bringing more formality into how we evaluate visualization, examining studies to build our understanding, and exploring the cognitive and perceptual foundations. We start with evaluation: why assessing visualizations is hard, and the nested model as a way to locate where a design succeeds or fails. We look at empirical studies: how experiments produce knowledge about visualization, and how to read them critically. Then we turn to the viewer: the perceptual and cognitive foundations of visualization, color (a surprisingly complicated topic), and the cognitive biases that affect how visualizations are read and designed. Throughout, we connect the science to design practice, and students continue to create and critique visualizations.

We will look at some standard “hard problems” that come up including hard data properties (e.g., uncertainty), data types (e.g., networks, high-dimensional records), and applications. We will look at some of the standard approaches to address these problems. The design exercises will give more practice at creating and critiquing visualizations.

The last week of class.