On the role of metaphor in information visualization
John S. Risch

TL;DR
This paper examines how visual metaphors grounded in cognitive image schemas enhance understanding in information visualization, proposing a theoretical framework for designing more intuitive graphics.
Contribution
It advances the theory that image schemas underpin effective visual metaphors in information graphics, offering a predictive framework for visualization design.
Findings
Graphical metaphors invoke image schemas to improve comprehension.
Structural alignment with image schemas correlates with perceived intuitiveness.
Proposes an inventory of image schemas for designing better visualizations.
Abstract
The concept of metaphor, in particular graphical (or visual) metaphor, is central to the field of information visualization. Information graphics and interactive information visualization systems employ a variety of metaphorical devices to make abstract, complex, voluminous, or otherwise difficult-to-comprehend information understandable in graphical terms. This paper explores the use of metaphor in information visualization, advancing the theory previously argued by Johnson, Lakoff, Tversky et al. that many information graphics are metaphorically understood in terms of cognitively entrenched spatial patterns known as image schemas. These patterns serve to structure and constrain abstract reasoning processes via metaphorical projection operations that are grounded in everyday perceptual experiences with phenomena such as containment, movement, and force dynamics. Building on previous…
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Taxonomy
TopicsLanguage, Metaphor, and Cognition · Advanced Text Analysis Techniques · Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
