CAREER: Supporting Data Visualization Design Practice

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to advance the practice of data visualization design and strengthen relationships between the research and practitioner communities. Data visualization design is becoming increasingly popular as a profession, and the role of data analysis, presentation, and communication in professional and public contexts is increasingly relevant to everyday life. This makes it important to understand how designers can make use of academic research on visualization design, as well as places where design practice points to gaps in the research literature. To address these questions, this project will take a specific focus on the cognition of data visualization designers—how they think, work through problems, and develop solutions—and the kinds of knowledge they rely on while they design. The research team will also study relationships between the research and practice communities, looking for ways to strengthen awareness, communication, and knowledge production and use between them. Outcomes of this research are expected to influence professional design practice and lead to the development of better materials and strategies for training future visualization design professionals. This project has three primary technical aims: (1) characterize decision making and cognitive errors in data visualization practice, focusing on problem formulation and solution generation in real-world practice; (2) map the landscape of data visualization design knowledge, focusing on characterizing existing knowledge, understanding its underlying organizational principles, and investigating its generation and use in practice; and (3) analyze relationships between the data visualization research and practice communities, focusing on modeling current methods of knowledge sharing and proposing new mechanisms of knowledge production and transfer. The work will draw on theoretical frameworks relating to design judgment and decision making, fixation and other cognitive errors, design knowledge, and research-practice relationships. Design practice will be investigated using a variety of methods, including design probes, semi-structured interviews, diary studies, design challenges, and co-creation workshops. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.