3.28 Perception/decoding: Visual tasks and channels/mappings

• Data values (on variables) can be represented more/less well through different visual representations
• Channels/mappings: Useful conception (see Munzner 2014, 101–3; Healy 2018, Ch. 1.5)
  • Inspect and discuss channels/mappings in Fig. 1.24 and 1.25
• Constraint: Channel/mapping needs to be capable to represent data
  • Unordered categories \(\neq\) continuous gradient
  • Continuous variable \(\neq\) series of shapes
• Some mappings are more effective for comparisons
  • e.g., ordered data → position on common scale
• Effectiveness depends on perceptual details
  • e.g., sequence of colors you choose for 4-category ordered variable
• Channels/mappings = building blocks for graphs \(\neq\) graph itself

References

Healy, Kieran. 2018. Data Visualization: A Practical Introduction. Princeton University Press.

Munzner, Tamara. 2014. Visualization Analysis and Design. CRC Press.