Pulsing Blood Vessels: A Figurative Approach to Traffic Visualization

摘要

By using semantic figurative metaphors, a visualization designer invests in a more figurative graphic representation, seeking provocative perspectives on common topics and trying to invoke emotional responses while clearly communicating meaningful data stories. The use of figurative metaphors in visualization, however, involves adding nondata aspects to a visualization. The authors survey this exploratory side of visualization, using a visualization of Lisbon traffic data as a system of pulsing blood vessels as an example, and discuss the strengths and limitations of such as approach.