JISAR

Journal of Information Systems Applied Research

Volume 11

V11 N1 Pages 34-46

March 2018

Minimalism in Data Visualization: Perceptions of Beauty, Clarity, Effectiveness, and Simplicity

Stephen Hill
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Wilmington, NC 28403-5611, USA

Barry Wray
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Wilmington, NC 28403-5611, USA

Christopher Sibona
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Wilmington, NC 28403-5611, USA


Abstract: Minimalism in data visualization has been espoused by experts such as Edward Tufte for many years. In this work, minimalism in basic charts, as represented by the data-ink ratio in those charts is examined. A survey was developed and respondents were asked to provide their perceptions of a series of barplots and scatterplots on the dimensions of beauty, clarity, effectiveness, and simplicity. Differing data-ink ratios were presented in the charts, with high data-ink ratio charts representing minimalist design. Analysis of the survey respondents’ perceptions suggested that visualizations with lower data-ink ratios were better on each of the dimensions. This finding is in contrast to the philosophy espoused by Tufte and is in line the findings of other previous work. Conclusions, discussion, and opportunities for future work are provided.

Keywords: analytics, minimalism, perception, Visualization

Download this article: JISAR - V11 N1 Page 34.pdf

Recommended Citation: Hill, S., Wray, B., Sibona, C. (2018). Minimalism in Data Visualization: Perceptions of Beauty, Clarity, Effectiveness, and Simplicity. Journal of Information Systems Applied Research, 11(1) pp 34-46. http://jisar.org/2018-11/ ISSN: 1946-1836. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of CONISAR 2017)