Information Visualization : Optimizing Design for Human Perception

by Ware, Colin

• ISBN13: 9781558605114
• ISBN10: 1558605118
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-01-01
• Publisher: MORGAN KAUFMAN

Summary

This is the first book to combine a strictly scientific approach to human perception with a practical concern for the rules governing the effective visual presentation of information. Surveying the research of leading psychologists and neurophysiologists, the author isolates key principles at work in vision and perception, and from them, derives specific, effective visualization techniques, suitable for a wide range of scenarios. You can apply these principles in ways to optimize how others perceive visual information-resulting in improved clarity, utility, and persuasiveness. Likewise, you can apply them to your own exploratory data analyses to develop display strategies that make data patterns and their significance easier to discern. Information Visualization transcends the often-divergent approaches to visualization taken by individual disciplines. It will prove a fascinating, practical resource for anyone who uses graphical presentation as a key to successful analysis and communication: graphic artists, user interface/interaction designers, financial analysts, data miners, and managers faced with information-intensive challenges. * Brings current scientific insight to the study of data visualization. * Explains multiple facets of visual perception: color, organization, space, motion, texture, and the relationship between images and words. * Explores strategies for designing glyphs and icons to optimize a GUI's effectiveness and ease of use. * Examines the distinctions between word-based and image-based perception and develops guidelines for choosing between verbal and graphical communication approaches. * Presents successful techniques for displaying geographical and other data in multiple layers. * Offers rules for designing easily navigable data spaces in VRML. * Supports points with numerous illustrations, including over thirty color images.

Table of Contents

Preface	xvii
Color Plates	200
Foundation for a Science of Data Visualization	1	(34)
Visualization Stages	3	(2)
Experimental Semiotics Based on Perception	5	(17)
Semiotics of Graphics	5	(2)
Pictures as Sensory Languages	7	(3)
Sensory versus Arbitrary Symbols	10	(4)
Properties of Sensory and Arbitrary Representation	14	(2)
Testing Claims about Sensory Representations	16	(3)
Arbitrary Conventional Representations	19	(2)
The Study of Arbitrary Conventional Symbols	21	(1)
Gibson's Affordance Theory	22	(3)
A Model of Perceptual Processing	25	(3)
Parallel Processing to Extract Low-Level Properties of the Visual Scene	25	(1)
Sequential Goal-Directed Processing	26	(2)
Types of Data	28	(5)
Entities	28	(1)
Relationships	29	(1)
Attributes of Entities or Relationships	29	(2)
Operations Considered as Data	31	(2)
Conclusion	33	(2)
The Environment, Optics, Resolution, and the Display	35	(38)
The Environment	36	(10)
Visible Light	37	(1)
Ecological Optics	37	(9)
The Eye	46	(20)
The Visual Angle Defined	47	(1)
The Lens	48	(2)
Focus and Augmented-Reality Systems	50	(2)
Focus in Virtual-Reality Displays	52	(2)
Chromatic Aberration	54	(1)
Receptors	55	(1)
Simple Acuities	55	(3)
Acuity Distribution and the Visual Field	58	(2)
Spatial Contrast Sensitivity Function	60	(4)
Visual Stress	64	(2)
The Optimal Display	66	(5)
Aliasing	66	(2)
Number of Dots	68	(1)
Superacuities and Displays	69	(1)
Temporal Requirements of the Perfect Display	70	(1)
Conclusion	71	(2)
Lightness, Brightness, Contrast, and Constancy	73	(30)
Neurons, Receptive Fields, and Brightness Illusions	75	(5)
Simultaneous Brightness Contrast	78	(1)
Mach Bands	78	(1)
The Chevreul Illusion	78	(2)
Simultaneous Contrast and Errors in Reading Maps	80	(4)
Contrast Effects and Artifacts in Computer Graphics	80	(3)
Edge Enhancement	83	(1)
Luminance, Brightness, Lightness, and Gamma	84	(16)
Luminance	86	(2)
Brightness	88	(2)
Adaptation, Contrast, and Lightness Constancy	90	(1)
Contrast and Constancy	91	(2)
Perception of Surface Lightness	93	(1)
Lightness Differences and the Gray Scale	94	(2)
Monitor Illumination and Monitor Surrounds	96	(4)
Conclusion	100	(3)
Color	103	(48)
Trichromacy Theory	105	(2)
Color Blindness	107	(1)
Color Measurement	107	(3)
Change of Primaries	109	(1)
CIE System of Color Standards	110	(5)
Chromaticity Coordinates	112	(3)
Color Differences and Uniform Color Spaces	115	(3)
Opponent Process Theory	118	(6)
Properties of Color Channels	122	(2)
Color Appearance	124	(3)
Color Contrast	125	(1)
Saturation	126	(1)
Brown	126	(1)
Applications of Color in Visualization	127	(21)
Color Specification Interfaces and Color Spaces	128	(5)
Color for Labeling	133	(4)
Color Sequences for Maps	137	(5)
Color Reproduction	142	(3)
Color for Exploring Multidimensional Discrete Data	145	(3)
Conclusion	148	(3)
Visual Attention and Information That Pops Out	151	(50)
Eye Movements	152	(2)
Accommodation	153	(1)
Visual Attention, Searching, and System Monitoring	154	(8)
Eye Movements, Attention, and the Useful Field of View	154	(8)
Reading from the Iconic Buffer	162	(10)
Pre-attentive Processing	163	(5)
Coding with Combinations of Features	168	(1)
Conjunctions with Spatial Dimensions	169	(2)
Designing a Symbol Set	171	(1)
Neural Processing, Graphemes, and Tuned Receptors	172	(4)
The Grapheme	174	(2)
The Gabor Model and Texture in Visualization	176	(4)
Texture Segmentation	177	(1)
Trade-Offs in Information Density---an Uncertainty Principle	178	(2)
Texture Coding Information	180	(8)
The Primary Perceptual Dimensions of Texture	180	(1)
The Generation of Distinct Textures	181	(1)
Spatial-Frequency Channels, Orthogonality, and Maps	182	(4)
Texture Contrast Effects	186	(1)
Other Dimensions of Visual Texture	186	(2)
Glyphs and Multivariate Discrete Data	188	(10)
Restricted Classification Tasks	189	(1)
Speeded Classification Tasks	190	(2)
Integral-Separable Dimension Pairs	192	(2)
Multidimensional Discrete Data	194	(4)
Conclusion	198	(3)
Static and Moving Patterns	201	(40)
Gestalt Laws	203	(11)
Proximity	203	(2)
Similarity	205	(1)
Continuity	206	(2)
Symmetry	208	(1)
Closure	209	(3)
Relative Size	212	(1)
Figure and Ground	212	(2)
More on Contours	214	(5)
Perceiving Direction: Representing Vector Fields	216	(3)
Perception of Transparency: Overlapping Data	219	(3)
The Perceptual Syntax of Diagrams	222	(8)
The Grammar of Node-Link Diagrams	222	(5)
The Grammar of Maps	227	(3)
Patterns in Motion	230	(9)
Form and Contour in Motion	232	(1)
Moving Frames	233	(2)
Expressive Motion	235	(1)
Perception of Causality	235	(2)
Perception of Animate Motion	237	(2)
Enriching Diagrams with Simple Animation	239	(1)
Conclusion	239	(2)
Visual Objects and Data Objects	241	(32)
Image-Based Object Recognition	242	(5)
Applications of Images in User Interfaces	245	(2)
Structure-Based Object Recognition	247	(5)
Geon Theory	248	(1)
Silhouettes	249	(3)
The Object Display and Object-Based Diagrams	252	(5)
The Geon Diagram	255	(2)
Perceiving the Surface Shapes of Objects	257	(13)
Spatial Cues for Representing Scalar Fields	258	(4)
Integration of Cues for Surface Shape	262	(2)
Interaction of Shading and Contour	264	(4)
Guidelines for Displaying Surfaces	268	(1)
Bivariate Maps: Lighting and Surface Color	269	(1)
Integration	270	(2)
Conclusion	272	(1)
Space Perception and the Display of Data in Space	273	(38)
Depth Cue Theory	274	(24)
Perspective Cues	275	(5)
Occlusion	280	(1)
Depth of Focus	280	(1)
Cast Shadows	281	(1)
Shape-from-Shading	282	(1)
Structure-from-Motion	282	(2)
Eye Convergence	284	(1)
Stereoscopic Depth	284	(3)
Problems with Stereoscopic Displays	287	(2)
Making Effective Stereoscopic Displays	289	(4)
Artificial Spatial Cues	293	(2)
Depth Cues in Combination	295	(3)
Task-Based Space Perception	298	(11)
Tracing Data Paths in 3D Graphs	298	(4)
Judging the Morphology of Surfaces and Surface Target Detection	302	(2)
Patterns of Points in 3D Space	304	(1)
Judging Relative Positions of Objects in Space	305	(1)
Judging the Relative Movement of Self within the Environment	306	(1)
Judging the ``Up'' Direction	307	(1)
The Esthetic Impression of 3D Space (Presence)	308	(1)
Conclusion	309	(2)
Images and Words	311	(24)
Coding Words and Images	312	(4)
The Nature of Language	314	(2)
Visual and Spoken Language	316	(13)
Images versus Words	319	(4)
Links between Images and Words	323	(4)
Visual Momentum in Animated Sequences	327	(2)
Animated Visual Languages	329	(3)
Conclusion	332	(3)
Interacting with Visualizations	335	(50)
Visual-Manual Control Loop	336	(7)
Choice Reaction Time	336	(1)
2D Positioning and Selection	337	(2)
Skill Learning	339	(2)
Vigilance	341	(2)
View Refinement and Navigation Loop	343	(23)
Locomotion and Viewpoint Control	343	(10)
Map Orientation	353	(2)
Focus, Context, and Scale	355	(7)
Rapid Interaction with Data	362	(4)
Problem-Solving Loop	366	(16)
Iconic Memory	368	(1)
Working Memory	368	(1)
Long-Term Memory	369	(2)
Chunks and Concepts	371	(1)
Extending Memory and Cognition	371	(3)
Visual Spatial Reasoning	374	(6)
Creative Problem Solving	380	(2)
Conclusion	382	(3)
Appendix A Changing Primaries	385	(2)
Appendix B CIE Color Measurement System	387	(4)
Bibliography	391	(20)
Index	411	(26)
About the Author	437