7.
Marks and Channels
Definitions: Marks
A mark is a basic graphical element in an image.
Marks are geometric primitives classified
according to the number of dimensions they
require.
Examples: points (0D), lines (1D), areas (2D) and
volumes (3D).
Volume marks are not commonly used.
Points – 0D Lines – 1D Areas – 2D
Marks
Marks are the basic visual elements used to represent data
points. They form the visual "objects" in a chart.Examples
of marks:
Points: Used in scatter plots to represent individual data
points.
Lines: Used in line charts to show trends or relationships.
Bars: Used in bar charts to represent magnitudes or
categories.
Areas: Used in area charts to show cumulative values.
Definitions: Channels
A visual channel is a way to control the
appearance of marks, independent of the
dimensionality of the geometric primitives.
There are some commonly seen channel
types:
position, color, shape, tilt and size.
There are other possible channels such as depth,
luminance, saturation, curvature, etc.
Channels
also known as angle
5
Importance of Marks and Channels
Effective Communication:
Marks and channels translate raw data into
visual forms that are easy to interpret.
Accurate Representation:
Proper use of marks and channels ensures the
data is represented clearly, avoiding
misinterpretation.
Flexibility in Design:
A wide range of marks and channels allows for
creative and customized visualizations to suit
different datasets.
Importance of Marks and Channels
Improved Comparisons:
Channels like position, size, and color help users
compare values and identify patterns efficiently.
Clarity and Accessibility:
Choosing the right channels (e.g., position for
accuracy, color for categorical data) improves
readability for diverse audiences.
Data-Driven Insights:
Marks and channels highlight relationships,
trends, and outliers, enabling faster insights
from complex datasets.
Example: Scatterplot
Marks: Points represent individual data points.
Channels: Position on the X and Y axes shows
variables, color distinguishes categories, and
size indicates magnitude.
Using Marks and Channels
Using marks and channels effectively is crucial for
creating clear and impactful visualizations.
Marks represent the data, while channels encode its
meaning.
By selecting the right combination, you can design
visualizations that are both informative and visually
appealing.
Using Marks and Channels
The use of marks and channels in visualization
idiom design should be guided by the principles
of expressiveness and effectiveness.
These ideas can be combined to create a ranking
of channels according to the type of data that is
being visually encoded.
Those attributes indentified as the most
important ones should be encoded with the
highest ranked channel.
Expressiveness and Effectiveness
Expressiveness ensures that the visualization
communicates all and only the relevant
information in the dataset.
It focuses on whether the visualization
accurately represents the data.
The identity channels are the correct match for
unordered categorical attribute, and the
magnitude channels are good matches for
ordered (i.e., ordinal and quantitative) attribut1e3
s.
Expressiveness and Effectiveness
Effectiveness focuses on how easily and
accurately the audience can interpret the
visualization. It considers human perception and
cognitive efficiency.
The most important attributes should be encoded
with the most effective channels in order to be
most noticeable.
Less important attributes can be matched with
less effective channel.
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Channel Ranking
states
Spatial channels are the only ones
that appear on both lists at
the top.
None of the others are effective
for
both data types.
The above channels are for 2D, and
3D depth is a much lower channel.
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Channel Effectiveness
How do we identify the effectiveness of a channel?
This can be analyzed according to the criteria of
accuracy, discriminability, separability, the
ability to provide visual popout, and the ability
to provide perceptual grouping.
Relative vs. Absolute Judgments
The human perceptual system is fundamentally
based on relative judgments, not absolute ones.
Weber’s Law: The difference in stimulus
intensity I is a fixed percentage K of the object
magnitude: I/I = K.
Weber’s Law tells us why position along a scale
can be more accurately perceived than a pure
length judgment of position without a scale.
Relative vs. Absolute
Judgments: 2/7
The
The lengths of unframed, Adding a frame allows Aligning the bars also
unaligned rectangles of us to compare the makes the judgment
slightly different sizes are very different sizes of easier.
hard to compare the unfiled
rectangles
between the bars 50
and frame tops
Relative vs. Absolute
Judgments
Our perception of color and luminance is completely
contextual, based on the contrast with surrounding
colors.
Again, this is relative.
Relative vs. Absolute
Judgments: 4/7
Our
The two squares A and Superimposing a gray mask on
B the image shows that they are
appear very different! in fact almost identical
Relative vs. Absolute
Judgments: 5/7
Color perception is also relative to surrounding
colors and depends on context.
In the images below, both cubes have tiles that
appear to be red.
Relative vs. Absolute
Judgments: 6/7
Masking the intervening context shows that the
colors are very different: with yellowish lighting,
they are orange; with bluish lighting, they are
purple.
Relative vs. Absolute
Judgments
Our visual system can provide color
constancy so that the same surface is
identifiable across a broad set of illumination
conditions, even though a physical light meter
would yield very different readings
While the visual system works well in natural
environments, many of its mechanisms work
against simple approaches to visually encoding
information with color.
Think about the white balance mechanism in
your digital cameras. 55
8.- Rules of Thumb
No Unjustified 3D
Avoid using 3D charts unless absolutely
necessary.
3D visuals often distort data, making it harder to
compare values or perceive proportions.
Example: A 3D bar chart can make bar heights
unclear due to perspective issues.
No Unjustified 2D
Even in 2D visualizations, ensure every element
has a clear purpose.
Unnecessary embellishments or decorations can
distract viewers.
Example: Avoid adding gradients, shadows, or
unnecessary shapes unless they add clarity or
meaning.
Eyes Beat Memory
Present data in a way that minimizes the
cognitive load(mental processes related to
thinking, understanding, learning, and
remembering) on your audience.
Humans process visual comparisons more easily
than recalling or calculating data.
Example: Place related data side by side or use
position/length rather than expecting viewers to
remember values.
Thank
You
