Future Explorations in Visualizing Information for Non-experts
Below and Page 52: Hurricane Heat Map. The graphics combine a user’s endogenous attention and the chunking of elements. The user can customize the interface and explore different layers of information.
The framework laid out in this investigation, especially the translated work of Patterson, et al. provides a unique and useful structure for exploring information visualizations in a variety of contexts. Information visualizations provide a unique opportunity to convey complex information to non-expert users, but the creators of these visualizations must consider the accessibility of their visualization techniques. Designers can expand on the leverage points presented by Patterson et al. by exploring tools familiar to designers, such as developing narrative structures. Research shows that users retain and process information best when it is presented in a narrative format (Goodman et al., 2017). Narrative is a familiar tool in the designer’s handbook, one that can be used to translate complex information into a format that non-experts can understand. Designers exploring information visualizations, as well as uncertainty, can build off of this research to explore how the overall narrative of a story can impact the accessibility of information and a visualization’s ability to convey uncertainty. Designers can play an integral role in making information accessible in a variety of contexts. For example, scientific papers rely heavily on subject specific visualizations that act as a form of jargon, rendering most of the information they convey inaccessible to those outside the field of study. Current research looks at revolutionizing the structure of scientific papers and developing the “paper” of the future, which includes interactive information visualizations (Goodman et al., 2017). Designers can play a unique role in research like this, examining the structure and usability of these interactive visualizations, as well as their accessibility to non-experts.
design.ncsu.edu/thenfinally
MGD Bulletin 2018
56