Spring 2027 · Syllabus preview
Special Topics · Graduate · 3 credits
Syllabus preview based on Spring 2026. The Spring 2027 schedule, assignments, grading, and policies have not yet been confirmed.
Course description
Design interactive visual systems that help people explore, analyze, and communicate abstract data. The course combines perception, cognition, interaction design, and visualization research with hands-on development using D3.js, Vega-Lite, and modern web technologies.
Research discussions and hands-on projects in interactive visualization. The previous offering paired lectures with paper presentations and programming labs.
Prerequisites & preparation
Prior programming experience is recommended. JavaScript or web development experience is helpful but not required.
Learning objectives
- Explain perceptual, cognitive, and ethical foundations of information visualization.
- Critique visualization designs and research for effectiveness, interpretability, and communication.
- Design visual encodings and interaction techniques grounded in research.
- Implement interactive web-based visualizations with D3.js and JavaScript.
- Identify research opportunities in visualization and human–computer interaction.
Topics
- Visual perception and graphical integrity
- Multivariate representations and interaction
- Data humanism and storytelling
- Text, visual analytics, and time series
- Hierarchies, networks, and geospatial visualization
Tools & readings from the previous offering
- Modern browser, code editor, GitHub account, and Node.js
- D3.js and Vega-Lite
- Tamara Munzner — Visualization Analysis and Design
- Scott Murray — Interactive Data Visualization for the Web
- Colin Ware — Information Visualization: Perception for Design
- Edward Tufte — The Visual Display of Quantitative Information