‘Re-visualizing’ thematic diagrams to design a user-oriented atlas: Interpretive animations and multiple interactions

Multiple and esthetical diagram design in thematic atlas needs a harmony between graphic complexity and visual legibility. For better user cognition on map diagrams, a conceptual model of ‘re-visualization’ is schematized to define secondary explanation of original visualizations by visualizing their structure and meaning. So two alternative solutions are then proposed based on Flash architecture and techniques. One is interpretive animations through a predefined sequence of key diagramming scenarios, which deconstructs cartographers' constructing process following a ‘cognitive logic time’. The other uses multiple interactions allowing investigations on the detailed configuration of thematic diagrams while supporting comparisons in different information aspects. The final practical demonstrations, from our project ‘Climatological Atlas of Typical Cyclones Affecting China (1951–2000)’, verify that the proposed methodology is effective to design more readable user-oriented atlases, while attracts users' concentration and benefits their understanding on complex thematic diagrams.