Chart or Graph

Examples:

Line charts
Scatter charts
Pie charts
Bar graphs
Timelines

Context: There is a lot of homogeneous data to show the user, possibly in multiple data sets. This is likely to be needed in a High-density Information Display, or a Status Display, or even a Control Panel.

Problem: How should the information be organized?

Forces:

The user wants to get a "big picture" quickly.
Getting specific data out of it is secondary or unimportant.
Graphs facilitate easy comparison of values to each other.
Pictures have a bigger immediate, emotional impact than numbers.

Solution: Show the data plotted against time or some other variable. Plot it together with other variables for further comparison. [unfinished]

Notes: Tufte's books go into great detail about these.

Comments to: jtidwell@alum.mit.edu
Last modified May 17, 1999