Does the Orientation of an Euler Diagram Affect User Comprehension?

Andrew Blake, Gem Stapleton, Peter Rodgers, Liz Cheek, John Howse

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding with ISSN or ISBNConference contribution with ISSN or ISBNpeer-review

Abstract

Euler diagrams, which form the basis of numerous visual languages, can be an effective representation of information when they are both well-matched and well-formed. However, being well-matched and well-formed alone does not imply effectiveness. Other diagrammatical properties need to be considered. Information visualization theorists have known for some time that orientation has the potential to affect our interpretation of diagrams. This paper begins by explaining why well-matched and well-formed drawing principles are insufficient and discusses why we should study the orientation of Euler diagrams. To this end an empirical study is presented, designed to observe the effect of orientation upon the comprehension of Euler diagrams. The paper concludes that the orientation of Euler diagrams does not significantly affect comprehension.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 18th international conference on distributed multimedia systems, international workshop on visual languages and computing
Place of PublicationMiami
Pages185-190
Number of pages6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Dec 2012
EventProceedings of the 18th international conference on distributed multimedia systems, international workshop on visual languages and computing - Miami, 2012
Duration: 19 Dec 2012 → …

Conference

ConferenceProceedings of the 18th international conference on distributed multimedia systems, international workshop on visual languages and computing
Period19/12/12 → …

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