Information visualization

Information visualization is a complex research area. It builds on theory in information design, computer graphics, human-computer interaction and cognitive science.

Practical application of information visualization in computer programs involves selecting, transforming and representing abstract data in a form that facilitates human interaction for exploration and understanding.

Important aspects of information visualization are the interactivity and dynamics of the visual representation. Strong techniques enables the user to modify the visualization in real-time, thus affording unparallelled perception of patterns and structural relations in the abstract data in question.

Although much work in information visualization regards to visual forms, auditory and other sensory representations are also of concern.

References

• Spence, Robert. Information Visualization, ACM Press, 2001, ISBN 0-201-59626-1.
• Card, Stuart K., Mackinlay, Jock D., Shneiderman, Ben. Readings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think, Academic Press, 1999, ISBN 1-55860-533-9.

Examples of tools

• http://www.touchgraph.com/TGGoogleBrowser