Principles of Information Visualization

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What are Principles of Information Visualization?

Not all data that we want to design information visualizations for has a linear structure. In fact, many data sets are completely non-linear in nature (think of stations on the London Underground, for example). In these cases, we will need to develop a visualization which represents the network between the data points which are either connected to each other or contained from each other. There are four basic principles that need to be adhered to in order to create useful network information visualizations.

Literature on Principles of Information Visualization

Here’s the entire UX literature on Principles of Information Visualization by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Learn more about Principles of Information Visualization

Take a deep dive into Principles of Information Visualization with our course Information Visualization .

Information visualization skills are in high demand, partly thanks to the rise in big data. Tech research giant Gartner Inc. observed that digital transformation has put data at the center of every organization. With the ever-increasing amount of information being gathered and analyzed, there’s an increasing need to present data in meaningful and understandable ways.

In fact, even if you are not involved in big data, information visualization will be able to help in your work processes as a designer. This is because many design processes—including conducting user interviews and analyzing user flows and sales funnels—involve the collation and presentation of information. Information visualization turns raw data into meaningful patterns, which will help you find actionable insights. From designing meaningful interfaces, to processing your own UX research, information visualization is an indispensable tool in your UX design kit.

This course is presented by Alan Dix, a former professor at Lancaster University in the UK. A world-renowned authority in the field of human-computer interaction, Alan is the author of the university-level textbook Human-Computer Interaction. “Information Visualization” is full of simple but practical lessons to guide your development in information visualization. We start with the basics of what information visualization is, including its history and necessity, and then walk you through the initial steps in creating your own information visualizations. While there’s plenty of theory here, we’ve got plenty of practice for you, too.

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