A Theory of Automated Design of Visual Information Presentations

Abstract : This paper reports on an elaborated theory of graphical display that describes how to automate the generation of tables and diagrams to represent relations occurring in technical data. This theory is an extension and reformulation of our earlier theory. It includes a semantic framework for expressing the translation of relations into graphics. The framework allows for fine-grained control of synthesis and for human factors guidance. Methods are presented for synthesis of multi-page and multi-screen graphics, for the graceful integration of tables and diagrams, for composite maps such as used for color coding, and for development of plot charts.