2007/09/22: Persuasion with Data Visualization

Summary of:

In this paper, Viegas and Wattenberg argue for the incorporation of perspective in creating information visualizations. Traditionally, analytical visualization tools have been designed to minimize distortion; to remove the point of view of the designer so that the visualization can offer an objective view of the data to the user and leave them to make their own conclusions. They suggest instead that designers should seek to incorporate particular perspectives on data sets if such a perspective makes the visualization more appropriate to a given task, and then extend that by saying that in some cases, we must acknowledge that the goal of a visualization is not only to analyze, but to persuade: "there are often valid reasons to want to change the way people think and it may be that much of the value of visualization comes from its ability to change attitudes" (p. 10). [ Read More ... ]