Visual Clutter

Definition

• Clutter is the state in which excess items, or their representation or organization, lead to a degradation of performance at some task. [1]

• Clutter may refer to any of the following: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clutter
  • A confusing or disorderly state or collection; or the creation thereof. Excessive, unnecessary or uncontrolled clutter in a home or office is a sign of compulsive hoarding.
  • Cluttering, a communication disorder
  • The Clutter family, whose murder was documented in the Truman Capote "nonfiction novel" In Cold Blood
  • A type of light pollution
  • Unwanted echoes in electronic systems, particularly in refference to radars. Such echoes are typically returned from ground, sea, rain, animals, chaff and atmospheric turbulences.
  • The jumble of odd posts placed in the first Top Level Post of a User Friendly member's diary by the Cluttersquad

Introduction

Clutter is an important phenomenon in our lives, and an important consideration in the design of user interfaces and information visualizations. Many existing visualization systems are designed to reduce clutter by filtering what objects or information the user sees, or using non-linear magnification techniques so that objects in the center of the screen are allowed more display area. Tips for designing web pages, maps, and other visualizations often focus on techniques for displaying a large amount of information while keeping clutter to a minimum through careful choices of representation and organization of that information.[1]