Hey Micah, thanks for the kind words! So yeah, absolutely, this is sort of a sliver of a view of the possibilities. It’s really to help get the data vis folks thinking about other possibilities beyond the obvious.
To the cynical data vis person I would say this: first, you can have two 3 axis data sets side by side in the same visual space and layout as the two 2 axis data sets, which is hugely beneficial. Second, most folks are not data vis experts, and they are befuddled by large and complex data sets. The target of these examples is, say, someone running several convenience stores. They use Excel to manage their business, but must juggle many multiples of data sheets, despite the general interrelation of the sheets. Tertiarily I would point to the neuroscience that suggests creating a sense of physical place reduces cognitive load and increases comprehension of and memory of data and its location. Lastly I would note that in spatial interfaces, especially by beginning to play with 4 dimensional geometry, we move far far beyond two simple two axis charts.
Hey Micah, thanks for the kind words! So yeah, absolutely, this is sort of a sliver of a view of the possibilities. It’s really to help get the data vis folks thinking about other possibilities beyond the obvious.
To the cynical data vis person I would say this: first, you can have two 3 axis data sets side by side in the same visual space and layout as the two 2 axis data sets, which is hugely beneficial. Second, most folks are not data vis experts, and they are befuddled by large and complex data sets. The target of these examples is, say, someone running several convenience stores. They use Excel to manage their business, but must juggle many multiples of data sheets, despite the general interrelation of the sheets. Tertiarily I would point to the neuroscience that suggests creating a sense of physical place reduces cognitive load and increases comprehension of and memory of data and its location. Lastly I would note that in spatial interfaces, especially by beginning to play with 4 dimensional geometry, we move far far beyond two simple two axis charts.
