OA-Graphs: Orientation Agnostic Graphs for improving the legibility of simple visualizations on horizontal displays
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Date
2011-04-07T15:25:41Z
Authors
Alallah, Fouad Shoie
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Abstract
Horizontal displays, such as tabletop systems, are emerging as the de facto platform for engaging participants in collaborative tasks. Despite significant efforts in improving the interactivity of information on such systems, very little research has been invested in understanding how groups of people view data visualizations in such environments. Numerous studies introduced different techniques to support viewing visualization for groups of people, such as duplicating or reorienting the visual displays. However, when visualizations compete for pixels on the display, prior solutions do not work effectively.
In this thesis, I explore whether orientation on horizontal displays impacts the legibility of simple visualizations such as graphs. I have found that users are best at reading a graph when it is right side up, and takes them 20% less time than when it is read upside down. The main objective of this thesis was to investigate whether the readability and understandability of simple graphs can be improved. I have introduced the Orientation Agnostic Graph (OA-Graph) which is legible regardless of orientation. The OA-Graph uses a radial layout which has several interesting properties such as implicit orientation, points equidistant to center, and flexible rearrangement. OA-Graphs perform better than graphs that are presented upside down. I have converted several popular types of graphs into their OA counterpart for improved legibility on tabletop systems. Guidelines are presented that describe how other visualizations can be converted to being orientation agnostic.
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Keywords
Visualization, Orientation, Tabletop, Collaborative, Graphs, Charts, Interactive, HCI, Multi-touch, Horizontal display
Citation
Fouad Shoie Alallah, Mahtab Nezhadasl, Pourang Irani, and Dean Jin. Visualizing the decision-making process in a face-to-face meeting. In IV ’07: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Information Visualization, pages 168–176, Washington, DC, USA, 2007. IEEE Computer Society.
Fouad Shoie Alallah, Pourang Irani, and Dean Jin. Meetviz: A tool for visualizing the social interactions in a face-to-face meeting. In IV ’08: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference Information Visualization Poster Session, Columbus, Ohio, USA, 2008.
Fouad Shoie Alallah, Pourang Irani, and Dean Jin. OA-Graphs: Orientation Agnostic Graphs for improving the legibility of charts on horizontal displays. In ITS ’10: Proceedings of the ACM International Conference on Interactive Tabletop Surfaces, pages 211–220, Saarbrücken, Germany, November 2010. ACM Press.
Fouad Shoie Alallah, Pourang Irani, and Dean Jin. Meetviz: A tool for visualizing the social interactions in a face-to-face meeting. In IV ’08: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference Information Visualization Poster Session, Columbus, Ohio, USA, 2008.
Fouad Shoie Alallah, Pourang Irani, and Dean Jin. OA-Graphs: Orientation Agnostic Graphs for improving the legibility of charts on horizontal displays. In ITS ’10: Proceedings of the ACM International Conference on Interactive Tabletop Surfaces, pages 211–220, Saarbrücken, Germany, November 2010. ACM Press.