VISUALIZATION
Visual Encoding
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Marks & Channels
• Marks: represent items or links
• Channel = Visual Variable
• Channels: change appearance based on attribute
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Bertin’s Visual Variables
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Mapping Visual Variables to Attribute Types
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Color
Color is an important component of any visualization.
Color can be based on the RGB model.
Color HSV is a common cylindrical-coordinate representation of
points in an RGB color model.
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Color HSV
Based on polar coordinates, not Cartesian coordinates.
HSV is a non-linearly transformed (skewed) version of RGB cube
• Hue: quantity that distinguishes color family, say red from yellow, green
from blue
• Saturation (Chroma): color intensity (strong to weak). Intensity of
distinctive hue, or degree of colour sensation from that of white or grey
• Value (luminance): light color or dark color
Each of these components can be utilized as visual variables.
Note that hue is equivalent to the Color of Bertin’s visual variables.
Similarly, value is related to the Value of Bertin’s visual variables.
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Color HSV
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Color Hue
Good for qualitative data (identity channel)
Limited number of classes/length (~7-10!)
Does not work for quantitative data!
• Selective: yes
• Associative: yes
• Quantitative: no
• Order: no
• Length: limited
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Color for Categories
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Color for Sequences
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Possible Color Sequences
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Shape
Great to recognize many classes.
• No grouping, ordering.
• Selective: yes
• Associative: limited
• Quantitative: no
• Order: no
• Length: vast
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Icons
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Gestalt Principles of Pattern Perception
• Gestalt Principles are principles/laws of human
perception that describe how humans group similar
elements, recognize patterns and simplify complex
images when we perceive objects.
• Gestalt is German for unified whole.
• German psychologists Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka,
and Wolfgang Kohler created the Gestalt Principles
in the 1920s.
• Information Visualization should use these principles
to design effective visualizations.
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Gestalt Law of Pattern Perception (1/2)
Proximity Things close together are
perceptually grouped together,
separating them from those
farther apart.
Closure We try to see collections of
objects as creating a larger,
more complete objects
Similarity We group similar objects
together
Simplicity/ Brain will perceive ambiguous
Prägnanz shapes in as simple a manner
(German for as possible.
good figure)
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Gestalt Law of Pattern Perception (2/2)
Continuity We group elements that
seem to follow a continuous
path in a particular
direction.
Figure & Brain will distinguish
Ground between the objects it
considers to be in the
foreground of an image (the
figure, or focal point) and
the background (the area
on which the figures rest).
Common region We perceive elements that
are in the same closed
region as one group.
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Combining Gestalt Principles
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Combining Similarity & Connectedness
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Combining Similarity & Proximity
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Exercise
For the given visualizations
• Type of visualization
• Determine the data that is represented
– Semantics
– Data Item
– Data Attributes (including type)
– Dimension
– Dataset Type
• Determine Visual Encoding of the data
• Any criticism of the visualization?
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Most Valuable Sports Franchises
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Reading
• Chapter 3