Any transformation of non-trivial data into an image will leave out information, but there must be at least some relevant aspects of the data that can be read. The most important criteria is that the visualization must provide a way to learn something about the data. The result must be readable and recognizable.If the image is only a small part of the process, it is not visualization. Also, the visual must be the primary means of communication, other modalities can only provide additional information. It may seem obvious that a visualization has to produce an image, but that is not always so clear. Visualization transforms from the invisible to the visible. This rules out photography and image processing. That means that the data must come from something that is abstract or at least not immediately visible (like the inside of the human body). A visualization’s purpose is the communication of data. A good visualization certainly has to do more, but these criteria are useful to draw the line between a lot of things that are often called visualization and what we consider visualization in this field. The following are three minimal criteria that any visualization has to fulfill to be considered a pragmatic visualization. More importantly: what is not a visualization? It is easy to argue that anything visual is a visualization in some way – but does that mean anything? Here is a definition of visualization and a few examples to illustrate the different criteria. What is a visualization? The word is problematic, and there have been very few definitions that try to define this field we are working in.
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