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We examine input visualizations, visual representations that are designed to collect (and represent) new data rather than encode preexisting datasets. Information visualization is commonly used to reveal insights and stories within existing data. As a result, most contemporary visualization approaches assume existing datasets as the starting point for design, through which that data is mapped to visual encodings. Meanwhile, the implications of visualizations as inputs and as data sources have received little attention—despite the existence of visual and physical examples stretching back centuries. In this paper, we present a design space of 50 input visualizations analyzing their visual representation, data, artifact, context, and input. Based on this, we identify input modalities, purposes of input visualizations, and a set of design considerations. Finally, we discuss the relationship between input visualization and traditional visualization design and suggest opportunities for future research to better understand these visual representations and their potential.

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We present EvoIsland, a scalable interactive evolutionary user interface framework inspired by the spatially isolated land masses seen on Earth. Our generalizable interaction system encourages creators to spatially explore a wide range of design possibilities through the combination, separation, and rearrangement of hexagonal tiles on a grid. As these tiles are grouped into islandlike clusters, localized populations of designs form through an underlying evolutionary system. The interactions that take place within EvoIsland provide content creators with new ways to shape, display and assess populations in evolutionary systems that produce a wide range of solutions with visual phenotype outputs.

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We take the well-established use of physical scale models in architecture and identify new opportunities for using them to interactively visualize and examine multiple streams of geospatial data. Overlaying, comparing, or integrating visualizations of complementary data sets in the same physical space is often challenging given the constraints of various data types and the limited design space of possible visual encodings. Our vision of “simultaneous worlds” uses physical models as a substrate upon which visualizations of multiple data streams can be dynamically and concurrently integrated. To explore the potential of this concept, we created three design explorations that use an illuminated campus model to integrate visualizations about building energy use, climate, and movement paths on a university campus. We use a research through design approach, documenting how our interdisciplinary collaborations with domain experts, students, and architects informed our designs. Based on our observations, we characterize the benefits of models for 1) situating visualizations, 2) composing visualizations, and 3) manipulating and authoring visualizations. Our work highlights the potential of physical models to support embodied exploration of spatial and non-spatial visualizations through fluid interactions.

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We explore the design and utility of situated manual self-tracking visualizations on dedicated displays that integrate data tracking into existing practices and physical environments. Situating self-tracking tools in relevant locations is a promising approach to enable reflection on and awareness of data without needing to rely on sensorized tracking or personal devices. In both a long-term autobiographical design process and a co-design study with six participants, we rapidly prototyped and deployed 30 situated self-tracking applications over a ten month period. Grounded in the experience of designing and living with these trackers, we contribute findings on logging and data entry, the use of situated displays, and the visual design and customization of trackers. Our results demonstrate the potential of customizable dedicated self-tracking visualizations that are situated in relevant physical spaces, and suggest future research opportunities and new potential applications for situated visualizations.

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We explore the use of cinematic “pre-visualization” (previs) techniques as a rapid ideation and design futuring method for human computer interaction (HCI) research. Previs approaches, which are widely used in animation and film production, use digital design tools to create medium-fidelity videos that capture richer interaction, motion, and context than sketches or static illustrations. When used as a design futuring method, previs can facilitate rapid, iterative discussions that reveal tensions, challenges, and opportunities for new research. We performed eight one-week design futuring sprints, in which individual HCI researchers collaborated with a lead designer to produce concept sketches, storyboards, and videos that examined future applications of their research. From these experiences, we identify recurring themes and challenges and present a One Week Futuring Workbook that other researchers can use to guide their own futuring sprints. We also highlight how variations of our approach could support other speculative design practices.

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We explore how the lens of fictional superpowers can help characterize how visualizations empower people and provide inspiration for new visualization systems. Researchers and practitioners often tout visualizations' ability to “make the invisible visible” and to “enhance cognitive abilities.” Meanwhile superhero comics and other modern fiction often depict characters with similarly fantastic abilities that allow them to see and interpret the world in ways that transcend traditional human perception. We investigate the intersection of these domains, and show how the language of superpowers can be used to characterize existing visualization systems and suggest opportunities for new and empowering ones. We introduce two frameworks: The first characterizes seven underlying mechanisms that form the basis for a variety of visual superpowers portrayed in fiction. The second identifies seven ways in which visualization tools and interfaces can instill a sense of empowerment in the people who use them. Building on these observations, we illustrate a diverse set of “visualization superpowers” and highlight opportunities for the visualization community to create new systems and interactions that empower new experiences with data. Material and illustrations are available under CC-BY 4.0 at osf.io/8yhfz.

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We present I/O Bits, a prototype personal informatics system that explores the potential for user-driven and situated self-tracking. With simple tactile inputs and small e-paper visualizations, I/O Bits are dedicated physical devices that allow individuals to track and visualize different kinds of personal activities in-situ. This is in contrast to most self-tracking systems, which automate data collection, centralize information displays, or integrate into multi-purpose devices like smartwatches or mobile phones. We report findings from an e-paper visualization workshop and a prototype deployment where participants constructed their own I/O Bits and used them to track a range of personal data. Based on these experiences, we contribute insights and opportunities for situated and user-driven personal informatics.

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Immersive Analytics is a quickly evolving field that unites several areas such as visualisation, immersive environments, and human-computer interaction to support human data analysis with emerging technologies. This research has thrived over the past years with multiple workshops, seminars, and a growing body of publications, spanning several conferences. Given the rapid advancement of interaction technologies and novel application domains, this paper aims toward a broader research agenda to enable widespread adoption. We present 17 key research challenges developed over multiple sessions by a diverse group of 24 international experts, initiated from a virtual scientific workshop at ACM CHI 2020. These challenges aim to coordinate future work by providing a systematic roadmap of current directions and impending hurdles to facilitate productive and effective applications for Immersive Analytics.

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We introduce three novel data visualizations, called perspective charts, based on the concept of size constancy in linear perspective projection. Bar charts are a popular and commonly used tool for the interpretation of datasets, however, representing datasets with multi-scale variation is challenging in a bar chart due to limitations in viewing space. Each of our designs focuses on the static representation of datasets with large ranges with respect to important variations in the data. Through a user study, we measure the effectiveness of our designs for representing these datasets in comparison to traditional methods, such as a standard bar chart or a broken-axis bar chart, and state-of-the-art methods, such as a scale-stack bar chart. The evaluation reveals that our designs allow pieces of data to be visually compared at a level of accuracy similar to traditional visualizations. Our designs demonstrate advantages when compared to state-of-the-art visualizations designed to represent datasets with large outliers.

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We were approached by a group of healthcare providers who are involved in the care of chronic patients looking for potential technologies to facilitate the process of reviewing patient-generated data during clinical visits. Aiming at understanding the healthcare providers’ attitudes towards reviewing patient-generated data, we (1) conducted a focus group with a mixed group of healthcare providers. Next, to gain the patients’ perspectives, we (2) interviewed eight chronic patients, collected a sample of their data and designed a series of visualizations representing patient data we collected. Last, we (3) sought feedback on the visualization designs from healthcare providers who requested this exploration. We found four factors shaping patient-generated data: data & context, patient’s motivation, patient’s time commitment, and patient’s support circle. Informed by the results of our studies, we discussed the importance of designing patient-generated visualizations for individuals by considering both patient and healthcare provider rather than designing with the purpose of generalization and provided guidelines for designing future patient-generated data visualizations.

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We describe a design space of view manipulation interactions for small data-driven contextual visualizations (word-scale visualizations). These interaction techniques support an active reading experience and engage readers through exploration of embedded visualizations whose placement and content connect them to specific terms in a document. A reader could, for example, use our proposed interaction techniques to explore word-scale visualizations of stock market trends for companies listed in a market overview article. When readers wish to engage more deeply with the data, they can collect, arrange, compare, and navigate the document using the embedded word-scale visualizations, permitting more visualization-centric analyses. We support our design space with a concrete implementation, illustrate it with examples from three application domains, and report results from two experiments. The experiments show how view manipulation interactions helped readers examine embedded visualizations more quickly and with less scrolling and yielded qualitative feedback on usability and future opportunities.

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Complex data visualization design projects often entail collaboration between people with different visualization-related skills. For example, many teams include both designers who create new visualization designs and developers who implement the resulting visualization software. We identify gaps between data characterization tools, visualization design tools, and development platforms that pose challenges for designer-developer teams working to create new data visualizations. While it is common for commercial interaction design tools to support collaboration between designers and developers, creating data visualizations poses several unique challenges that are not supported by current tools. In particular, visualization designers must characterize and build an understanding of the underlying data, then specify layouts, data encodings, and other data-driven parameters that will be robust across many different data values. In larger teams, designers must also clearly communicate these mappings and their dependencies to developers, clients, and other collaborators. We report observations and reflections from five large multidisciplinary visualization design projects and highlight six data-specific visualization challenges for design specification and handoff. These challenges include adapting to changing data, anticipating edge cases in data, understanding technical challenges, articulating data-dependent interactions, communicating data mappings, and preserving the integrity of data mappings across iterations. Based on these observations, we identify opportunities for future tools for prototyping, testing, and communicating data-driven designs, which might contribute to more successful and collaborative data visualization design.

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We report on findings from seven design workshops that used ideation and sketching activities to prototype new situated visualizations - representations of data that are displayed in proximity to the physical referents (such as people, objects, and locations) to which the data is related. Designing situated visualizations requires a fine-grained understanding of the context in which the visualizations are placed, as well as an exploration of different options for placement and form factors, which existing methods for visualization design do not account for. Focusing on small displays as a target platform, we reflect on our experiences of using a diverse range of sketching activities, materials, and prompts. Based on these observations, we identify challenges and opportunities for sketching and ideating situated visualizations. We also outline the space of design activities for situated visualization and highlight promising methods for both designers and researchers.

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Astral is a prototyping tool for authoring mobile and smart object interactive behaviours. It mirrors selected display contents of desktop applications onto mobile devices (smartphones and smartwatches), and streams/remaps mobile sensor data to desktop input events (mouse or keyboard) to manipulate selected desktop contents. This allows designers to use familiar desktop applications (e.g. PowerPoint, AfterEffects) to prototype rich interactive behaviours. Astral combines and integrates display mirroring, sensor streaming and input remapping, where designers can exploit familiar desktop applications to prototype, explore and fine-tune dynamic interactive behaviours. With Astral, designers can visually author rules to test real-time behaviours while interactions take place, as well as after the interaction has occurred. We demonstrate Astral's applicability, workflow and expressiveness within the interaction design process through both new examples and replication of prior approaches that illustrate how various familiar desktop applications are leveraged and repurposed.

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We investigate how people discover the functionality of an interactive visualization that was designed for the general public. While interactive visualizations are increasingly available for public use, we still know little about how the general public discovers what they can do with these visualizations and what interactions are available. Developing a better understanding of this discovery process can help inform the design of visualizations for the general public, which in turn can help make data more accessible. To unpack this problem, we conducted a lab study in which participants were free to use their own methods to discover the functionality of a connected set of interactive visualizations of public energy data. We collected eye movement data and interaction logs as well as video and audio recordings. By analyzing this combined data, we extract exploration strategies that the participants employed to discover the functionality in these interactive visualizations. These exploration strategies illuminate possible design directions for improving the discoverability of a visualization's functionality.

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Providing data visualization authoring tools for the general public remains an ongoing challenge. Inspired by block-printing, we explore how visualization stamps as a physical visualization authoring tool could leverage both visual freedom and ease of repetition. We conducted a workshop with two groups---visualization experts and non-experts---where participants authored visualizations on paper using hand-carved stamps made from potatoes and sponges. The low-fidelity medium freed participants to test new stamp patterns and accept mistakes. From the created visualizations, we observed several unique traits and uses of block-printing tools for visualization authoring, including: modularity of patterns, annotation guides, creation of multiple patterns from one stamp, and various techniques to apply data onto paper. We discuss the issues around expressivity and effectiveness of block-printed stamps in visualization authoring, and identify implications for the design and assembly of primitives in potential visualization stamp kits, as well as applications for future use in non-digital environments.

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In improvisational theatre (improv), actors perform unscripted scenes together, collectively creating a narrative. Audience suggestions introduce randomness and build audience engagement, but can be challenging to mediate at scale. We present Robot Improv Puppet Theatre (RIPT), which includes a performance robot (Pokey) who performs gestures and dialogue in short-form improv scenes based on audience input from a mobile interface. We evaluated RIPT in several initial informal performances, and in a rehearsal with seven professional improvisers. The improvisers noted how audience prompts can have a big impact on the scene - highlighting the delicate balance between ambiguity and constraints in improv. The open structure of RIPT performances allows for multiple interpretations of how to perform with Pokey, including one-on-one conversations or multi-performer scenes. While Pokey lacks key qualities of a good improviser, improvisers found his serendipitous dialogue and gestures particularly rewarding.

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Because gesture design for augmented reality (AR) remains idiosyncratic, people cannot necessarily use gestures learned in one AR application in another. To design discoverable gestures, we need to understand what gestures people expect to use. We explore how the scale of AR affects the gestures people expect to use to interact with 3D holograms. Using an elicitation study, we asked participants to generate gestures in response to holographic task referents, where we varied the scale of holograms from desktop-scale to room-scale objects. We found that the scale of objects and scenes in the AR experience moderates the generated gestures. Most gestures were informed by physical interaction, and when people interacted from a distance, they sought a good perspective on the target object before and during the interaction. These results suggest that gesture designers need to account for scale, and should not simply reuse gestures across different hologram sizes.

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Electronic fashion (eFashion) garments use technology to augment the human body with wearable interaction. In developing ideas, eFashion designers need to prototype the role and behavior of the interactive garment in context; however, current wearable prototyping toolkits require semi-permanent construction with physical materials that cannot easily be altered. We present Bod-IDE, an augmented reality 'mirror' that allows eFashion designers to create virtual interactive garment prototypes. Designers can quickly build, refine, and test on-the-body interactions without the need to connect or program electronics. By envisioning interaction with the body in mind, eFashion designers can focus more on reimagining the relationship between bodies, clothing, and technology.

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Toolkit research plays an important role in the field of HCI, as it can heavily influence both the design and implementation of interactive systems. For publication, the HCI community typically expects toolkit research to include an evaluation component. The problem is that toolkit evaluation is challenging, as it is often unclear what 'evaluating' a toolkit means and what methods are appropriate. To address this problem, we analyzed 68 published toolkit papers. From our analysis, we provide an overview of, reflection on, and discussion of evaluation methods for toolkit contributions. We identify and discuss the value of four toolkit evaluation strategies, including the associated techniques that each employs. We offer a categorization of evaluation strategies for toolkit researchers, along with a discussion of the value, potential limitations, and trade-offs associated with each strategy.

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In this paper, we discuss the role of the movement trajectory and velocity enabled by our tele-robotic system (ReMa) for remote collaboration on physical tasks. Our system reproduces changes in object orientation and position at a remote location using a humanoid robotic arm. However, even minor kinematics differences between robot and human arm can result in awkward or exaggerated robot movements. As a result, user communication with the robotic system can become less efficient, less fluent and more time intensive.

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We contribute an investigation of the design and function of word-scale graphics and visualizations embedded in text documents. Word-scale graphics include both data-driven representations such as word-scale visualizations and sparklines, and non-data-driven visual marks. Their design, function, and use has so far received little research attention. We present the results of an open ended exploratory study with nine graphic designers. The study resulted in a rich collection of different types of graphics, data provenance, and relationships between text, graphics, and data. Based on this corpus, we present a systematic overview of word-scale graphic designs, and examine how designers used them. We also discuss the designers' goals in creating their graphics, and characterize how they used word-scale graphics to visualize data, add emphasis, and create alternative narratives. Building on these examples, we discuss implications for the design of authoring tools for word-scale graphics and visualizations, and explore how new authoring environments could make it easier for designers to integrate them into documents.

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We discuss touch-based navigation of 3D visualizations in a combined monoscopic and stereoscopic viewing environment. We identify a set of interaction modes, and a workflow that helps users transition between these modes to improve their interaction experience. In our discussion we analyze, in particular, the control-display space mapping between the different reference frames of the stereoscopic and monoscopic displays. We show how this mapping supports interactive data exploration, but may also lead to conflicts between the stereoscopic and monoscopic views due to users' movement in space; we resolve these problems through synchronization. To support our discussion, we present results from an exploratory observational evaluation with domain experts in fluid mechanics and structural biology. These experts explored domain-specific datasets using variations of a system that embodies the interaction modes and workflows; we report on their interactions and qualitative feedback on the system and its workflow.

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Remote controls facilitate interactions at-a-distance with appliances. However, the complexity, diversity, and increasing number of digital appliances in ubiquitous computing ecologies make it increasingly difficult to: (1) discover which appliances are controllable; (2) select a particular appliance from the large number available; (3) view information about its status; and (4) control the appliance in a pertinent manner. To mitigate these problems we contribute proxemic-aware controls, which exploit the spatial relationships between a person's handheld device and all surrounding appliances to create a dynamic appliance control interface. Specifically, a person can discover and select an appliance by the way one orients a mobile device around the room, and then progressively view the appliance's status and control its features in increasing detail by simply moving towards it. We illustrate proxemic-aware controls of assorted appliances through various scenarios. We then provide a generalized conceptual framework that informs future designs of proxemic-aware controls.

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Software is typically developed incrementally and released in stages. Planning these releases involves deciding which features of the system should be implemented for each release. This is a complex planning process involving numerous trade-offs-constraints and factors that often make decisions difficult. Since the success of a product depends on this plan, it is important to understand the trade-offs between different release plans in order to make an informed choice. We present STRATOS, a tool that simultaneously visualizes several software release plans. The visualization shows several attributes about each plan that are important to planners. Multiple plans are shown in a single layout to help planners find and understand the trade-offs between alternative plans. We evaluated our tool via a qualitative study and found that STRATOS enables a range of decision-making processes, helping participants decide on which plan is most optimal.

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We explore interactive relief shearing, a set of non-intrusive, direct manipulation interactions that expose depth and shape information in terrain maps using ephemeral animations. Reading and interpreting topography and relief on terrain maps is an important aspect of map use, but extracting depth information from 2D maps is notoriously difficult. Modern mapping software attempts to alleviate this limitation by presenting digital terrain using 3D views. However, 3D views introduce occlusion, complicate distance estimations, and typically require more complex interactions. In contrast, our approach reveals depth information via shearing animations on 2D maps, and can be paired with existing interactions such as pan and zoom. We examine explicit, integrated, and hybrid interactions for triggering relief shearing and present a version that uses device tilt to control depth effects. Our evaluation shows that these interactive techniques improve depth perception when compared to standard 2D and perspective views.

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In our data-rich society, it is increasingly important that all people are able to use and understand data. Large data sets commonly require expert knowledge to design and disseminate accessible and information-rich visualizations, resulting in visualizations that work well for experts but are less accessible for the general public. My research question addresses how we can support the use of visualization to increase data accessibility for the general public. One approach is to encourage people to self-author data representations suited to their own comprehension needs using simple techniques. However, providing data visualization authoring tools for the general public remains an ongoing challenge. My thesis explores the use of physical tools—specifically, rulers and block-printing stamps—as novel methods of authoring data visualizations, leveraging the advantages of ready-made visualization templates while providing freedom to personalize visual elements. To first explore the possibility of designing physical tools for authoring data visualizations, I present prototypes for several modifiable, computationally-fabricated ruler and stamp designs, created with the goal of allowing users to quickly create repeating visual elements when authoring visual elements on paper. From my design efforts, stamps show promise as low-effort, easy-to-create tools; I therefore conducted a workshop study to understand how people approach visualization authoring when given the ability to create their own physical template tools. In this study, participants authored visualizations on paper using hand-carved stamps made from potatoes and sponges. My results show that participants were able to author meaningful data visualizations from their self-created stamps, as well as several unique traits and uses of block-printing stamps. I conclude the thesis by discussing issues around expressivity and effectiveness of personalizing physical authoring tools, identify implications for the design and assembly of primitives in potential visualization authoring kits, and applications for physical authoring tools in the bigger scope of data democratization.

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Interactive garments enable new forms of communication between our bodies and with other people. In electronic fashion (eFashion) design, interactive garments on high fashion runways envision how people might use interactive technologies to enhance our clothing with new sensing and output capabilities. Researchers and fashion designers have since explored new interactive textiles that enable aesthetics-driven, interactive, and new material properties to explore on clothing. While there exist physical tools to implement interactive garments and software tools to create the visual aesthetic of a garment, these tools cannot yet enable designers to use new eFashion technologies in their garments because they require engineering expertise and specialized laboratory equipment. In this thesis, I explore the use of computer-aided prototyping tools to develop interactive eFashion garments. I present case studies with makers and two experienced eFashion designers about their design practices and formulate design guidelines for prototyping tools. I then present two prototyping tools for implementation and exploration of interactive garments. Finally, I discuss future work for physical and virtual prototyping tools in eFashion.

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What if one could paint music? Music is often shaped by the medium we use to interact with it, and thus the development of different ways to compose and experience music can open up new creative possibilities to people. This somewhat whimsical proposition of painting music, and a quest to find a new medium to create, experience, and interact with music, gave impetus and shape to the development of a musical interface known as Vuzik. Vuzik is an interface for creating and visualizing music through painting gestures on a large interactive surface. This thesis presents the vision, design and implementation of Vuzik. It then describes explorations of it as a tool for music education, and for the performance and creation of electronic music. Finally, it presents evaluation efforts of Vuzik in its performance of each of these explorations, and reflects on their implications regarding the nature and potential of Vuzik.

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