Visualization Design Patterns
Overview
For any design discipline, including Information and Scientific Visualization, there are design problems within the domain that tend to arise time and again. Although effective solutions may be known, they are not helpful unless that knowledge is coherently structured and communicated to colleagues. Without good structure, design knowledge may be disparate and disjointed, and relationships among solutions may not be apparent. Without good communication, designers who are unaware of solutions may be forced to ‘reinvent the wheel’, wasting unnecessary effort on a problem that has already been solved by others. Some means of capturing and codifying solutions to Information Visualisation design problems would be useful for those engaged in practice. The Visualization Design Patterns described here have been proposed for this purpose.
Foundational Patterns
These patterns are the building blocks of Visualizations. They are more "reference patterns" than true "design patterns". Visualization designers will assume they are a given component of visualization design. The patterns are included to provide a common technical lexicon, to build a lingua franca used throughout the language, to encourage communications between novices and experts, and to facilitate a discussion of pros and cons.
Visualization Architecture
Interaction Patterns
User intent-based categories of interaction techniques [1]
- Reconfigure: show me a different arrangement
- Encode: show me a different representation
- Filter: show me something conditionally
- Abstract/Elaborate: show me more or less detail
- Connect: show me related items
- Explore: show me something else
- Select: mark something as interesting
- Other
See also: Interaction Design Patterns (wikipedia article) (roulette online)
Display Rendering Patterns
- Appropriate Visual Objects
- Level of Detail
- 2d Representation
- 3d Representation
- Reference Context
- Redundant Encoding
- Small Multiples
- Datatips
- Legends
- Visual Separation
- Familiar Organizational Device
- Non-Familiar Organizational Device
Programming Patterns
These are patterns related to the backend programming of visualization systems. They are organised according to the Model-View-Controller approach, though other organizational systems may also be appropriate.
Heer and Agrawala's paper Software Design Patterns for Information Visualization[2] provides a useful overview of software design patterns specific to infovis tasks.
Data Modelling and Management
View
Controller
Development Patterns
These patterns relate to the systems development lifecycle and to the activities involved in implementing and testing software.
Diagnosis
For techniques used during the design process to evaluate coding and design-time decisions.
Evaluation and Testing
Quality Assurance, Evaluation, and Usability testing methods to close the stun gun feedback loop during the development lifecycle.
References
- ↑ Yi, J. S., Kang, Y. A., Stasko, J., & Jacko, J. A. (2007). Toward a Deeper Understanding of the Role of Interaction in Information Visualization. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG), 13(6). Presented in InfoVis 2007, Sacramento, California, October 28 - November 1, 1224-1231. (see also Toward a Deeper Understanding of the Role of Interaction in Information Visualization (presentation))
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 see Heer, J. & Agrawala, M., 2006. Software Design Patterns for Information Visualization. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VISUALIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS, 12(5), p.853.