Questions of how visualization is read and understood are a common topic in research, and this year was no exception. This part of my IEEE VIS 2017 report covers papers dealing with perceptual issues, the match between visualization and tasks, statistical reasoning, as well as a panel on vision science. [Read more...] about IEEE VIS 2017: Perception, Evaluation, Vision Science
Articles
IEEE VIS 2017: Word Clouds, Stories, Interaction
I usually stick to the InfoVis track at VIS, and that was also the case this time. The papers in this part of my report from VIS 2017 cover text, small visualizations like sparklines and glyphs, tools for showing story structure, and multi-device interaction with data. [Read more...] about IEEE VIS 2017: Word Clouds, Stories, Interaction
IEEE VIS 2017: Keynote and Capstone
Part 2 of my IEEE VIS 2017 report covers the keynote and capstone talks at the conference. They were not just at opposite ends of the conference, but also about as different as they can be in terms of content and delivery. [Read more...] about IEEE VIS 2017: Keynote and Capstone
IEEE VIS 2017: Best Papers and Other Awards
The IEEE VIS 2017 conference took place last week in Phoenix, AZ. I’m slower to write about it than in previous years, but to make up for that I’m not going in chronological order this time, but will break this report up in a more logical manner. This first part covers the opening, which included presentations of the best papers from all three tracks plus a new Test of Time award category. [Read more...] about IEEE VIS 2017: Best Papers and Other Awards
Visualization as a Field Is Still Invisible
A new series by the New York Times is equally exciting and painful: it presents visualizations for discussion in class, but the outside help they are getting is coming from statistics rather than visualization. It’s another reminder of just how far we still have to go to even be noticed as a research field. [Read more...] about Visualization as a Field Is Still Invisible
Vis Potpourri, September 2017
A potpourri is a collection of spices and plants that create a pleasant aroma together. This new series assembles a list of links to recently interesting things in visualization, from both information visualization (InfoVis, which I normally cover on this site) and scientific visualization (SciVis) – the latter covered by new blog collaborator and medical visualization assistant professor, Noeska Smit. [Read more...] about Vis Potpourri, September 2017
Review: Putting Stories to Work and Out On the Wire
Two books I’ve read recently make good points about stories that apply to data stories, without the books being about data: Shawn Callahan’s Putting Stories to Work and Jessica Abel’s Out On the Wire. [Read more...] about Review: Putting Stories to Work and Out On the Wire
The Season of Storytelling: Kicking It Off With A Podcast
It's (almost) Fall – a good time for telling stories! Jon Schwabish invited me to be on his PolicyViz podcast again to kick off its new season. And I have a long list of things to write about around that topic, too.
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Communicating Uncertainty When Lives Are on the Line
Showing when and where natural disasters like hurricanes are going to cause damage is not just a question of aesthetics – it is literally a matter of life and death. The traditional way hurricane forecasts are shown has a number of problems, but are the alternatives actually better? [Read more...] about Communicating Uncertainty When Lives Are on the Line
The Importance of Context
I use a Misfit activity tracker to count my steps. The Misfit app does a decent job of showing me step counts per day and every month, misfit also sends me a summary of the previous month’s activity. Unfortunately, the numbers in that summary are presented without any context, making that summary almost entirely useless. [Read more...] about The Importance of Context