Information visualization has often focused on providing deep insight for expert user populations and on techniques for amplifying cognition through complicated interactive visual models. This paper proposes a new subdomain for infovis research that complements the focus on analytic tasks and expert use. Instead of work-related and analytically driven infovis, we propose Casual Information Visualization (or Casual Infovis) as a complement to more traditional infovis domains. Traditional infovis systems, techniques, and methods do not easily lend themselves to the broad range of user populations, from expert to novices, or from work tasks to more everyday situations. We propose definitions, perspectives, and research directions for further investigations of this emerging subfield. These perspectives build from ambient information visualization [32], social visualization, and also from artistic work that visualizes information [41]. We seek to provide a perspective on infovis that integrates these research agendas under a coherent vocabulary and framework for design. We enumerate the following contributions. First, we demonstrate how blurry the boundary of infovis is by examining systems that exhibit many of the putative proper ties of infovis systems, but perhaps would not be considered so. Second, we explore the notion of insight and how, instead of a monolithic definition of insight, there may be multiple types, each with particular characteristics. Third, we discuss design challenges for systems intended for casual audiences. Finally we conclude with challenges for system evaluation in this emerging subfield.
This article describes development of the concept of Information Art, a type of ambient or peripheral display involving user-specified electronic paintings in which resident objects change appearance and position to foster awareness of personally relevant information. Our approach differs from others, however, in emphasizing end-user control and flexibility in monitored information and its resultant representation. The article provides an overview of the system's capabilities and describes an initial pilot study in which displays were given to four people to use for an extended period of time. Reactions were quite favorable and the trial use provided suggestions for system improvements.
We introduce Imprint, a casual information visualization kiosk that displays data extracted from a printer queue. We designed the system to be open-ended, and to support a workgroup in reflection and conversation about the data. Imprint's visualizations depict environmental issues, such as energy consumption and paper consumption of the printers, as well as social information, such as popular concepts from the printed matter. Imprint is intended to spark reflection and conversation, and to bring data into discussions about paper usage and "waste." Our goal is not to explicitly reduce paper, energy, or toner consumption, but instead to open conversations by community members. Our work highlights a design approach for semi-public displays of personal data.
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