Intro
- Visual thinking is an integral aspect of cognition and the visualizing of abstract concepts.
- Graphic depictions of data and concepts create new ways of seeing things and new ways to approach problems.
- Diagrams, charts and graphs allow use to concretize abstract ideas and concepts.
How Abstract Graphics Work
- Abstract graphics enhance the credibility of a message.
- Each element has a one-to-one correspondence with what it represents.
- Users should only walk away with the same meaning
- Abstract graphs provide a concrete reference for understanding difficult content and facilitate analysis and problem solving
- They can also serve as vehicles for artistic progression when used to display information about science, politics and social statements.
The Cognitive Aspect
- Space conveys meaning
- Abstract graphics are often superior to verbal descriptions
- Abstract graphics allow simultaneously understanding rather than sequential. This helps alleviating part of our mental load.
Applying The Principle
- “The key purpose of nonrepresentational graphics is to create a visual portrayal that extends the viewer’s ability to see, think and know.”
- Designers can create automatic processing in early vision. This helps people rely on their visual perception rather than their working memory.
- Be consistent so that you do not confuse the audience
Big Picture Views
- Diagrams are typically composed of a system’s elements and their interrelationships.
- Not all diagrams are spatially correct. Designers have to make them seems correct without being able to draw things to scale.
- Arrows are important. They can connect elements, guide through compositions and indicate relationships.
Data Displays
- Data displays, such as graphs, visually communicate hidden quantitative information is data sets that would otherwise be difficult to understand.
- Viewers can get an initial understanding of the information in the graph through spatial and size relationships.
- Data displays provide shortcuts to the most important parts of the message. This aids visual processing.
Visualization of Information
- “Information visualizations represent and make accessible the structure and intricate relationships found in large sets of data.”
- “Visualization allows the perception of emergent properties that were not anticipated.”
- To gain insight from visual information we must explore, rearrange and reconstruct.
- Make sure that the visual information complements humans ability to read patterns.
More Than Geography
- Maps allow us to see and imagine the impossible. Like the scale of earth or the solar system.
- Maps should communicate only what features are important to the purpose of the map.
- Maps are informative on several levels:
- One Level: feature info- symbols, icons & text
- Second Level: structural information- distance & spatial relationships.
- Third Level: mental projections- viewer created additions to the map
Snapshot of Time
- “Representations of time help us understand relationships and make connections between temporal events.”
