iVisDesigner: Expressive Interactive Design of Information Visualizations

Abstract

We present the design, implementation and evaluation of iVisDesigner, a web-based system that enables users to design information visualizations for complex datasets interactively, without the need for textual programming. Our system achieves high interactive expressiveness through conceptual modularity, covering a broad information visualization design space. iVisDesigner supports the interactive design of interactive visualizations, such as provisioning for responsive graph layouts and different types of brushing and linking interactions. We present the system design and implementation, exemplify it through a variety of illustrative visualization designs and discuss its limitations. A performance analysis and an informal user study are presented to evaluate the system.

Critical Reflections on Visualization Authoring Systems

“…Finally, another class of interactive systems can be described as visual builders, and our three systems are members of this class, along with systems such as iVisDesigner [33], iVolver [26], InfoNice [45], Data-Driven Guides [15], DataInk [50], and VisComposer [23]. Though their interfaces tend to be more complicated than those of template-and shelf-based systems, visual builders provide authors with fine control in specifying marks, glyphs, coordinate systems, and layouts.…”

Expressive Authoring of Node-Link Diagrams With Graphies

“…However, while expressive tools enable the creation of a wide range of visualizations, they work with tabular data, and have little or no support for network data structures. Those that do, such as iVisDesigner [34] or Charticulator [35], are forced to expose the concepts of nodes and links in an indirect, somewhat cumbersome manner, failing to explicitly represent the multivariate data in the context of the network's topology [31].…”

Investigating the Manual View Specification and Visualization by Demonstration Paradigms for Visualization Construction

“…These tools take a different approach from tools such as MS Excel, as they enable users to draw customized visual glyphs and arrange visual elements on a canvas from which data mappings are created. Examples of visualization authoring tools that implement this design include Data Illustrator [LTW∗18], Data‐Driven Guides [KSL∗17], Charticulator [RLB19], and iVisDesigner [RTY14].…”