Because every place worth going can be found on a topo map.
Effective visualization is more than putting together a nifty bar chart. And while all the spangles and doodads that allow us to display truly prodigious amounts of data in an accessible manner, they can often lead us to lose sight of what we are actually trying to do: communicate. If the end user of the representation can’t easily find the information they need in the graphic all then all the razzle-dazzle in the world gets you exactly no where.
I will try not to be overly critical of this week’s reading on user studies, since I did find it interesting and useful. However, I also found it rather common-sensical. Of course user studies are useful for determining what sorts of visual representations are most accessible, (Kosara, et al) and clearly bloggers making graphs to post elsewhere will do most of their commenting on other forums. (Danis, et al) Perhaps I oversimplify, but not by much.
That in itself may be the story, however. Intended use is not isomorphic to actual use. Manyeyes, despite the intentions of its creators, is not a community forum, it is a community tool. People find ways to hide their data behind obscure titles and codes and take their discussions off site. As Kosara, et al. noted, certain commonly used methods of indicating depth in 2-D actually serve to confuse the viewer. People are complex. Our visual systems process sensory data in ways we don’t fully understand, and peoples interactions with their environments (and the visualizations within them) are often unpredictable.
So what is the take away from this week? Test run your visualizations? That seems too simple. Complex problems require non-formulaic solutions? That one seems like a cop out. I posted a link to cymbolism.com earlier today and to this a couple weeks ago, but I bring them up again to illustrate what (I think) is the point. It is almost impossible for a single person to understand all the ways people may interact with a complex system. Factors from synesthetic linkages to social interactions shape the way we relate to and process information. Especially when our goal is to influence exactly that we have to be humble about our ability to control how people use what we create. In the end, out only choice is to let someone else get behind the keyboard for once and see what they do.
