Lec 8 Intro To Information Visualization

Course on Data Analysis and Visualization
Introduction to Information Visualization

- Info Vis 1 -
Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Luminance, Brightness, and Lightness
Luminance: The amount of measured light emitted from any point in

space. This is the only term of the three relating to a physically
measurable quantity.
Brightness: The perceived amount of light from any point in space.

Only self-emitting light sources are considered in this context;
brightness of a color is not meant here.
Lightness: The perceived reflection characteristic of a surface. A white

surface is maximal light, a black one maximal dark. Shade of a color is
also addressed by the term lightness.

Introduction

Introduction
Florence Nightingales digram, which represents the reduction of the deatch rate based on her
changes in hygenic

Introduction
Map of Soho District, London 1845 showing death rates through Cholera and positions of
water pumps

Introduction
Harry Beck: When you are underground it does not matter where your are

1908
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/6439692875/sizes/o/in/photostream/
1933

http://sovibrantopinion8.blogspot.de/2011/04/design-classic-no145-london-underground.html

http://sovibrantopinion8.blogspot.de/2011/04/design-classic-no145-london-underground.html
Today
Future
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2139/2259870535_4fa1a719f9_o.jpg
10

10
Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA Massimo Vignelli
http://s-walker1215-dc.blogspot.de/2012/10/modernism-in-graphic-design.html
11

http://seniorprojects2011.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/ny19722.jpg
http://www.mappery.com/maps/New-York-City-Subway-Map-2.gif
Information Visualization
to visualize [Oxford, 2010]

form a mental image of; imagine
make (something) visible to the eye
Not only produce pretty images, but aid the understanding of data
visualization is interdisciplinary by definition
The difference between InfoVis and SciVis is the type of data being
visualized: Abstract Data vs. Measured Spatial Data
Nevertheless, the differentiation is not 100% clear
Very different definitions out there
In general: Information visualizations objective (as well as scientific

visualization) is to represent data in a way that the human is able to
gain insight to it and get enabled to understand its structure easily.
12

Information Visualization Guidelines
A good visualization considers

1. The user (cognitive skills, pre-knowledge expert vs. novice, disabilities)
2. The task (goals, operations, information, context, etc.)
3. The data
The creation process of visualization applications and data analysis

tools need to involve an incremental development approach
Identify the user group and investigate the pre-conditions
Identify the task and investigate the tasks specific characteristics and
derive the relevant analysis steps from it
Create a prototype and evaluate it in a user study
Repeat
13

The User
The user has been extensively discussed in the first part of this lecture:
Visual Perception
Missing is the higher cognitive functions, such as memory, learning,

and information processing in general on a cognitive level
Missing is the discussion of further modalities like audio, etc.
14

Rasmussens Skill, Rule & Knowledge (SRK) Model of Decision Making
Rasmussen, J. (1983). Skills, rules, and knowledge; signals, signs, and symbols, and other distinctions in human
performance models. Systems, Man and Cybernetics, IEEE Transactions on, (3), 257-266.
15

The User
Nevertheless, the basic knowledge of visual perception helps to

produce good visualization concepts
Interaction is very important: Working with the data (visualization)
enables the user to gain a much deeper insight the human is used to
dynamic processes!
Apply evaluation methods applicable for the aimed at scenario

Create a solid study design, Apply the study to a group of participant,
Evaluate the results
16

The Task
There are various possibilities to investigate tasks

Refer to task analysis research
Hierarchical task models (GOMS, CTT, etc.)
Important is that you are discussing all relevant aspects with the users!
Questions are:
What is your overall goal?
What is your current approach to reach these goals?
What are current visualization approaches you are used to and you are using
in your everyday work?
Helpful is to present possible solutions to the user how a possible

visualization could look like -> From Mock-Ups to Prototypes
Cognitive walk throughs
Think aloud protocols
Diaries of daily work and processes
17

ConccurTaskTrees: Hierachical Task Models by Paterno
18
Enabling
Enabling with information passing
Disabling
Synchronization
Concurrency
Optionality
Iteration

T1 >> T2
T1 []>> T2
T1 [> T2
T1 |[]| T2
T1 ||| T2
[T]
T1* or T1{n}
19

20

Context
What you need:

Understanding what context is
A description of context that is
understandable by the computer
A system that brings the
description and data
representing the context
together
Makes context understandable by

the computer-based system
http://adexchanger.com/comic-strip/adexchanger-context-matters/
21

The Data
Before starting to discuss the visual representation of data and values,

the different types of data should be first classified
The goal of this classification is to describe concepts in InfoVis not like

Color encoding is well suited for the representation of the development
in a the stock market
but
Color encoding is well suited for the representation of categories
22

Visual Representation of Data and Values Data Classification

In general, data classification is very complex task and can be compared
to the classification and description of knowledge
Bertin (1977) proposed a pretty simple classification of data, which
represents relevant features of data
Entities refer to the central objects and information carriers in a domain
Relations specify structures, which entities relates to each other. Many
different types of relations can be imagined. In general, relations can be of
the type
structural or physical
conceptual
causal
temporal
Attributes of entities and relations can further specify these. In general, it

has not to be clear what attribute or what entity/relation is.
This concept is used in formal modeling of ontologies.

Have a closer look to OWL
23

Stevens (1946) proposed a qualitative classification of data attributes

along numeric scales:
1. Nominal: Elements that could not logically ordered, e.g., apple, orange,
grape
2. Ordinal: Elements that could be logically ordered but where the ordering
has no distance metric, e.g., weather situations along a scale of favor
3. Interval: Ordinal attributes that can be equipped with a (discrete) metric,
e.g., arrival time of planes
4. Ratio: Extended Interval scale to the whole range of real numbers, e.g., the
mass of solid physical objects
1.
3.
2.
1
4.
24

1.8
2.45
6.3
1.
Nominal Category Data char
2.
1
Ordinal Discrete Data enum
Ratio + Interval Continous Data int, float
25

3.
1.8
2.45
6.3
4.
The attribution of entities can be of higher dimension

In general, an entity can be represented as field of attributes of different
dimensions -> Data Objects
Operations applied to data objects or more general than entities,

attributes, or relations, which can not be defined as operations
Examples of operations are:
26
Mathematical operations
Merge of two lists
Invert values
Instantiation of entities or relations

Visual Representation of Data and Values
Central requirements of the visualization of data and values are:
Present more than one value at a time

Relevant dependencies and correlation should be visible at one glance
Should be intuitive and simple to understand
Should match the basic visual and perceptual characteristics of the
human visual cognition
In the following, the visual representation of single values will be

followed by the representation of multiple values up to multidimensional data representations
27

Overview
User
Task
Requirements
Data
28
Structure

Representations
Literature and References
Robert Spence, (2014), Information Visualization: An Introduction,

Springer.
Edward R. Tufte, (1991), Envisioning Information, Graphics Press.
Edward R. Tufte, (2001), The Visual Display of Quantitative Information,
Graphics Press.
Scott Murray, (2013), Interactive Data Visualization for the Web,
OReilly
All material not equipped with additional references (URL) on the slides
is taken from the above books.
29

Single Value Representation

(0-dimensional)
30

A simple example for the representation of a

single value is the altimeter used in airplanes.
This instrument is responsible for various

accidents
By changes in attention and focusing to other
contexts, changes in the altimeter can overseen
very easily
http://www.m0a.com/altimeter/
31

Change Blindness
This effect is known as change blindness. Human perception is

unaware of small changes in complex environments or in more or less
complex representations.
32

2200
2200
2000
2000
1800
1800
1600
1600
15
1400
1200
33

20
00
15
1400
1200
20
00
1-Dimensional Value Representation
34

Representation of Value Sets One Dimension
Example: Visualize the prize of various cars, which are related to a

linear scale
Question: What is most effective? What should be identified in the

data?
Focusing on
Mean values
Distribution
Min and Max (price/s)
Possible Visualization Methods: Dot Plot, Box Plot, Histogram
35

Representation of Value Sets One Dimension

60
Price k
60
Price k
10
50
50
8
40
40
6
30
30
4
20
20
2
10
10
00 - 20
00
00
Dot Plot
36
Box Plot

20 - 30
30 - 40
40 - 50
Histogram
50 - 60
Box Plot and Histogram

60
Price k
Box Plot:
50
Central Line specifies the Median

End of Boxes specify 25 and 75 percentile
End of Lines specify 5 and 95 percentile
Dots show outliers
10
40
Histogram:
30
8
http://www.vorkon.de/VorKon-12.1-Leseprobe/drittanbieter/Anleitungen/vorkon/07112101/
Doku/Doku/digikam/maininterfaceimgproperties3.png
Represent
6
frequency/occurrence of
values in a value set or of
specific characteristics 4
20
10
2
0
00
00 - 20
37

20 - 30
30 - 40
40 - 50
50 - 60
Presentation of Values Sets One Dimension
The values do not have to be interval or ratio values but can be also
nominal
Example: EZChooser (Wittenburg et al. 2010)

Enables the user to identify the number of cars available in a category
Nissan
38
Ford
Ferrari

MG
Cadillac
39

Dimensionality of Data
Data points can be matched to a certain (parameter) dimensionality:

Consider every data point as a tuple ti of parameters, such that
ti = (p1, , pn),
where n specifies the dimensionality of the data point ti and p1 to pn
specify the values of the n parameter of point ti. The set
T = (t1, , tm)
of a finite number m of data values is defined as data set.
Example: 2 dimensions (numberOfBedrooms [], price [k])

(1, 108), (1, 115), (1, 135), (1,150), , (4, 150), , (5, 195)
Example: 3 dimensions (timeToWork [min], numberOfBedrooms [], price [k])
(30, 1, 108), , (25, 3, 140), , (15, 5, 180)
40

Presentation of Values Sets Two Dimension
Example: 2 dimensions (numberOfBedrooms [], price [k])

(1, 108), (1, 115), (1, 135), (1,150), , (4, 150), , (5, 195)
Number of
bedrooms
Price [k]
41

Scatter Plot
Basic Scatter Plot can visualize twodimensional data
Number of
bedrooms
Possible interpretations are

Identification of trends
Local trade-offs
Outliers
Price [k]
A specific area for scatter plots is in timedependent data, such as Spiking Plots in
Neuroscience
https://capocaccia.ethz.ch/capo/wiki/2013/spinnaker13
42

Spiking Plots
43

Presentation of Value Sets Two Dimension

Function Plot
Bar Chart
jcharts.sourcefourge.net
Scatter Plot
Heat Maps
http://www.infovis.info/
https://capocaccia.ethz.ch/capo/wiki/2013/spinnaker13
44

45

46

Australia
New
Zealand
47

48

3D Data
http://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/70569/interpreting-3d-scatter-plot
49

X: % of working age population

Y: % of population above 65
Color: fertility rate
Size: total population by area
Line: time 1960 - 2012
3D Data
50
N-Dimensional Value Representation
51

Presentation of Value Sets N Dimensions
A well known and nice concept is the so called Small Multiples

described by Tufte, 2013
In general: A data set is presented in many small drawings, where one

dimension is altered between all drawings, such as time, position, etc.
Small Multiples are very good in making changes visible along the
altered dimension
It enables the user to compare different views to the data with each other in a
very simple and convenient way.
52

Small Multiples Historic Example
Christiaan Huygens, Systema Saturnium (The Hague,

1659), p. 55. Cited by Edward R. Tufte, (1991) p.67.
Envisioning Information Graphics Press. Cheshire,
Connecticut
53

Small Multiples Examples
http://dougmccune.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/small_multiples_small.png
- Crime data from San Francisco http://apps.sfgov.org/datafiles/index.php?dir=Police&by=name&order=asc

- Double Bar Charts
54

55

http://media.juiceanalytics.com/images/smallmultiples1.png
56

http://www.infovis-wiki.net/index.php?title=Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2008/09_-_Gruppe_06_-_Aufgabe_1_-_Small_Multiples

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Course on Data Analysis and Visualization

Introduction to Information Visualization

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Luminance, Brightness, and Lightness

Luminance: The amount of measured light emitted from any point in

Brightness: The perceived amount of light from any point in space.

Lightness: The perceived reflection characteristic of a surface. A white

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA Massimo Vignelli

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

to visualize [Oxford, 2010]

In general: Information visualizations objective (as well as scientific

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Information Visualization Guidelines

A good visualization considers

The creation process of visualization applications and data analysis

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Missing is the higher cognitive functions, such as memory, learning,

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Rasmussens Skill, Rule & Knowledge (SRK) Model of Decision Making

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Nevertheless, the basic knowledge of visual perception helps to

Apply evaluation methods applicable for the aimed at scenario

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

There are various possibilities to investigate tasks

Helpful is to present possible solutions to the user how a possible

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

ConccurTaskTrees: Hierachical Task Models by Paterno

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

ConccurTaskTrees: Hierachical Task Models by Paterno

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

ConccurTaskTrees: Hierachical Task Models by Paterno

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

What you need:

Makes context understandable by

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Before starting to discuss the visual representation of data and values,

The goal of this classification is to describe concepts in InfoVis not like

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Visual Representation of Data and Values Data Classification

Attributes of entities and relations can further specify these. In general, it

This concept is used in formal modeling of ontologies.

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Visual Representation of Data and Values Data Classification

Stevens (1946) proposed a qualitative classification of data attributes

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Visual Representation of Data and Values Data Classification

Nominal Category Data char

Ordinal Discrete Data enum

Ratio + Interval Continous Data int, float

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Visual Representation of Data and Values Data Classification

The attribution of entities can be of higher dimension

Operations applied to data objects or more general than entities,

Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Weyers | Virtual Reality & Immersive Visualization | WS 2015/16 |

Visual Representation of Data and Values