Sep 19 2019

Stephen Few Blog Post on Multivariate Visualization

Categories: General Dave Rathbun @ 9:23 am

Really good read, in my opinion. Here’s the opening paragraph:

Almost all data visualizations are multivariate (i.e., they display more than one variable), but there are practical limits to the number of variables that a single graph can display. These limits vary depending on the approach that’s used. Three graphical approaches are currently available for displaying multiple variables:

  • Encode each variable using a different visual attribute
  • Encode every variable using the same visual attribute
  • Increase the number of variables using small multiples

In this article, we’ll consider each.

The Perceptual and Cognitive Limits of Multivariate Data Visualization

If you don’t follow Stephen Few, it’s worth the few moments of your time to go have a look.

One Response to “Stephen Few Blog Post on Multivariate Visualization”

  1. Comment by Dell Stinnett-Christy

    Hi Dave!

    I’m so glad you’ve posted this. I’m a big follower of Stephen Few – I find he gets to the meat of the issues with many of the visualizations that are out there. Gee-whiz is not necessarily better – your brain has to be able to understand what you’re looking at in order to find meaning in it.