DE705 Interactive Data Visualization & DE303 Information Graphics and Visualization
Autumn 2026
Course Overview
Information graphics reveal the hidden, explain the complex, and illuminate the obscure. Constructing visual representations of information is not a simple translation of what can be read into what can be seen. It requires filtering information, establishing relationships, discerning patterns, and representing them in ways that help a viewer construct meaningful knowledge.
Recent advances in technology have enabled the creation, recording, and analysis of vast amounts of data. Where data was once scarce, it is now abundant. Computer science has made major progress in handling and analyzing that data, but the methods needed to display and communicate it effectively still require deliberate design training. This course addresses that gap through principles from graphic design, visual art, perceptual psychology, and cognitive science.
Course Objectives
- Understand core visualization techniques and theory, including data models, graphical perception, encoding, and interaction.
- Plan data-based storytelling through charts, maps, and diagrams.
- Build and evaluate visualization systems through practical assignments.
- Read and discuss research literature in visualization and information design.
Course Contents
- Information visualization overview and historical perspective
- Vision, perception, and cognition principles for information visualization
- Data principles, models, dimensions, and analysis
- Information taxonomy
- Visual encoding of data
- Mapping, cartography, and geo-visualization
- Visualization tools and strategies
- Data stories and presentation
- Short exercises and a mini project in visual representation of data
Schedule
| Session | Topics | Assignment or Activity | Additional Readings and Resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 01 | Lecture 01: Introduction to Data Visualization | Assignment 1: Visualization Critique | A Tour through the Visualization Zoo. Jeffrey Heer, Michael Bostock, Vadim Ogievetsky. Communications of the ACM, 53(6), pp. 59-67, Jun 2010. The Value of Information Visualization. Jarke van Wijk. Proceedings of the IEEE Visualization Conference, pp. 79-86, 2005. |
| Day 02 | Lecture 02: Visualization Typology; review of Assignment 1 | Assignment 2: Chart Deconstruction and Redesign | Visualization Typology proposed by Scott Berinato. From Viz to Data. A periodic table of visualization methods. |
| Day 03 | Lecture 03: Data; review of Assignment 2 | Assignment 3: Comparative Visualizations | On the Theory of Scales of Measurement. S. S. Stevens. Science New Series, Vol. 103, No. 2684, pp. 677-680. Jun 1946. Reflections on how designers design with data. Alex Bigelow, Steven Drucker, Danyel Fisher, Miriah Meyer. AVI ‘14 Proceedings of the 2014 International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces, pp. 17-24. The eyes have it: a task by data type taxonomy for information visualizations. |
| Day 04 | Lecture 04: Data Abstraction; Lecture 05: Task Abstraction; review of Assignment 3 | Assignment 4: Visualizing Burtin’s Antibiotic Data | Visualization Analysis and Design by Tamara Munzner. Her lecture video of the Data Abstraction chapter. Her lecture video of the Task Abstraction chapter. |
| Day 05 | Lecture 06: Geo Visualization; review of Assignment 4 | Assignment 5: Schematic Hometown Map | How Maps Work Denis Wood, Cartographica, Vol 29 Numbers 3 & 4 Autumn/Winter 1992, pp. 66-74. The Image of The City Kevin Lynch, 1960. Getting There: The science of driving directions Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 24 April 2006. Rendering effective route maps: improving usability through generalization Maneesh Agrawala and Chris Stolte, SIGGRAPH ‘01 Proceedings of the 28th annual conference on Computer graphics and interactive techniques, pp. 241-249. |
| Day 06 | Lecture 08: Visual Encoding; review of Assignment 5 | Assignment 6 (Group): Exploratory Data Analysis and Visualization | Nature Methods Points of View columns on Data Visualization |
| Day 07 | Continuation of Lecture 08: Visual Encoding; review of Assignments 5 and 6 | ||
| Day 08 | Lecture 09: Design Hueristics; presentation of Assignment 6 | ||
| Days 09 to 12 | Dataviz Tools | Activity: Data Visualization Tools | This is a collection of some of the many data visualisation and related tools, applications, toolkits, libraries, platforms, and packages. Another well-curated list of dataviz tools. |
Assessment
Assignment 1: Visualization Critique
10%
Assignment 2: Chart Deconstruction & Redesign
10%
Assignment 3: Comparative Visualizations
15%
Assignment 4: Visualizing Burtin's Antibiotic Data
15%
Assignment 5: Schematic Hometown Map
20%
Assignment 6 (Group): Exploratory Data Analysis & Visualization
30%
Textbook
There is no required textbook for the course. Lecture slides are made available as PDFs for reference.
Reference Books
- Bertin, Jacques. Semiology of Graphics: Diagrams, Networks, Maps.
- Cairo, Alberto. The Functional Art.
- Few, Stephen. Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten.
- Fry, Ben. Visualizing Data: Exploring and Explaining Data with the Processing Environment.
- Harmon, Katherine. You Are Here.
- Harris, Robert L. Information Graphics: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference.
- Helfand, Jessica. Reinventing the Wheel.
- Holmes, Nigel. Designer’s Guide to Creating Charts and Diagrams.
- Holmes, Nigel. Wordless Diagrams.
- Institute for Information Design Japan. Information Design Source Book.
- Jacobson, Robert. Information Design.
- McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics.
- Mijksenaar, Paul and Piet Westendorp. Open Here: The Art of Instructional Design.
- Mijksenaar, Paul. Visual Function: An Introduction to Information Design.
- Munzner, Tamara. Visualization Analysis and Design.
- Myer, Eric K. Designing Infographics.
- Tufte, Edward. Envisioning Information.
- Tufte, Edward. Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative.
- Tufte, Edward. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.
- Ware, Colin. Information Visualization, Third Edition: Perception for Design.
- Yau, Nathan. Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics.
- Yau, Nathan. Data Points: Visualization That Means Something.
Contact
You can reach Prof. Venkatesh Rajamanickam via email.