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About EagerEyes ​

EagerEyes is Robert Kosara’s place to reflect on the world of information visualization and visual communication of data. The goal is to help digest things that are happening in the field and discuss developments that may be tangential or early, but that are likely to have an impact. The opinions expressed here are Robert’s and nobody else’s (see more below).

The Site ​

EagerEyes is Robert Kosara’s place to reflect on the world of information visualization and visual communication of data. The goal is to help digest things that are happening in the field and discuss developments that may be tangential or early, but that are likely to have an impact. The opinions expressed here are Robert’s and nobody else’s (see more below).

The original idea for the site involved the interplay of art and science in visualization. While the focus has shifted, I regularly touch upon questions of representation. In fact, I believe that visualization can be vastly improved by a better understanding issues of representation and reading of data.

Other topics of interest include visualization for the masses, open data, and where the field of visualization is heading. Criticism of visualization techniques and applications, websites, and books is also a regular feature. Discussions of visualization techniques provide insights into the thinking behind them. Around important conferences like IEEE VIS, I will post updates and pointers to things that are going on there.

The first posting on EagerEyes went live on October 1, 2006. While there have been times with more and less activity, I post roughly once a week (typically late Sunday night PST).

This is not a blog. Blogs tend to aim for quick, current commentary. The articles on this website are meant to be of value over a longer time period (except for the ones in the blog category), and are usually much longer than the typical blog posting.

Comments, suggestions, and criticism are strongly encouraged and always welcome. Feel free to comment on articles or send me a message through the contact form.

The Author ​

Robert Kosara is Data Visualization Developer at Observable. Prior to Observable, he was Lead Research Scientist at Tableau Software (2012-2022) and Associate Professor of Computer Science at UNC Charlotte (2005-2012). He has created visualization techniques like Parallel Sets and performed research into the perceptual and cognitive basics of visualization. Recently, Robert’s research has focused on how to communicate and collaborate with data, and how storytelling can be adapted to incorporate data, interaction, and visualization.

Robert received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from Vienna University of Technology (Vienna, Austria). His list of publications is available here. He can be found on Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Google Scholar. You can also use this site’s contact form to send him an email.

EagerEyes is Robert’s personal property and not affiliated with Observable, Tableau Software/Salesforce, UNC Charlotte, or any other entity. The postings here are based on my own opinions and views, and do not reflect those of my employer or anybody else.