Trees and graphs are relevant to many online tasks such as visualizing social networks, product catalogs, educational portals, digital libraries, the semantic web, concept maps and personalized information management. SpicyNodes is an information-visualization technology that builds upon existing research on radial tree layouts and graph structures. Users can browse a tree, clicking from node to node, as well as successively viewing a node, immediately related nodes and the path back to the ""home" nodes. SpicyNodes' layout algorithms maintain balanced layouts using a hybrid mixture of a geometric layout (a succession of spanning radial trees) and force-directed layouts to minimize overlapping nodes, plus several other improvements over prior art. It provides XML-based API and GUI authoring tools. The goal of the SpicyNodes project is to implement familiar principles of radial maps and focus+context with an attractive and inviting look and feel in an open system that is accessible to virtually any Internet user.

The need for information has increased exponentially over the past decades. The current systems for constructing, exploring, classifying, organizing, and searching information face the growing challenge of enabling their users to operate efficiently and intuitively in knowledge-heavy environments. This paper presents SpicyNodes, an advanced user interface for difficult interaction contexts. It is based on an underlying structure known as a radial map, which allows users to manipulate and interact in a natural manner with entities called nodes. This technology overcomes certain limitations of existing solutions and solves the problem of browsing complex sets of linked information. SpicyNodes is also an organic system that projects users into a living space, stimulating exploratory behavior and fostering creative thought. Our interactive radial layout is used for educational purposes and has the potential for numerous other applications.

The Information Age has posed new challenges to the presentation and communication of knowledge. In their attempts to handle the abundance of information in an effective way, people have come to rely on maps. Maps are a useful tool for visualization and the arrangement of concepts as they mark the current location in the context of their surroundings. This paper presents SpicyNodes, an improved method of organizing and visually presenting web-based information using radial tree maps. The project encourages creative thought on two levels. For those who create, it provides a platform for organizing and displaying information in a creative manner, and sharing those methods with others. For users, it allows the exploration of complex systems while gaining the perspective of a broader context. By presenting information in a natural and intuitive way, such radial maps can help people think in novel and creative ways. It may also aid and find application in the learning process of kids and students with learning disabilities.