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Improving force-directed graph drawings by making compromises between aesthetics
conference contribution
posted on 2023-05-23, 08:40 authored by Huang, W, Eades, P, Hong, S-H, Lin, C-CMany automatic graph drawing algorithms implement only one or two aesthetic criteria since most aesthetics conflict with each other. Empirical research has shown that although those algorithms are based on different aesthetics, drawings produced by them have comparable effectiveness. The comparable effectiveness raises a question about necessity of choosing one algorithm against another for drawing graphs when human performance is a main concern. In this paper, we argue that effectiveness can be improved when algorithms are designed by making compromises between aesthetics, rather than trying to satisfy one or two of them to the fullest. In particular, this paper presents a user study. The study compares effectiveness of drawings produced by two different force-directed methods, Classical spring algorithm and BIGANGLE. BIGANGLE produces drawings with a few aesthetics being improved at the same time. The experimental results indicate that BIGANGLE induces significantly better performance of humans in perceiving shortest paths between two nodes.
History
Publication title
Proceedings of 2010 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric ComputingEditors
IEEEPagination
176-183ISBN
978-0-7695-4206-5Department/School
School of Information and Communication TechnologyPublisher
IEEEPlace of publication
USAEvent title
2010 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric ComputingEvent Venue
Madrid, SpainDate of Event (Start Date)
2010-09-21Date of Event (End Date)
2010-09-25Rights statement
Copyright 2010 IEEERepository Status
- Restricted