A stellar icon (20) for representing multivariate data includes finger members (25) corresponding to constituents of a sample with a length corresponding to an expression of an attribute of the constituent. The finger members are positioned on the base member (23) so that the finger members corresponding to a constituent with an expression of attribute within a certain range are on the upper portion of the base member, and the finger members corresponding to a constituent with an expression of an attribute that is not in the range are positioned on the lower portion of the base member. A method and system for forming the stellar icon include forming a transformation table (47) including data regarding the range and constituents and attributes to be represented. The transformation table is used to determine the relative position of each finger member on the base member and to determine the length of the finger member so that the length corresponds to the expression of the attribute.
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