Escaping Flatland: Designing data visualizations in augmented reality

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  • April 29, 2020
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Abstract
  • Augmented reality is becoming increasingly common in digital news, as nearly every major newsroom has released AR-driven stories in recent years. For this technology to become more than a fad, AR creators will need to pay attention to the user experience and find ways of telling stories that people will understand and remember. This study aims to solve a small part of that challenge, through a user-testing study of data visualizations in augmented reality. Drawing upon the 2D data visualization theories of Edward Tufte, Jaques Bertin, and others, three visualizations were created in AR and examined using user testing methodologies set out by previous AR researchers, as well as user experience researchers like Nielsen and Norman. Twenty-three undergraduate students viewed the augmented reality in the context of a sample news article, then answered comprehension questions and were interviewed about their experiences. Their reactions showed that AR design has particular complications to be careful of: users frequently expressed confusion about objects being occluded behind each other, labels being hard to read, and scales being difficult to measure. All their observations were condensed into five key best practices for AR development: “Keep all items in view,” “Optimize for macro/micro compositions,” “Assume users won’t move around,” “Use labels sparingly,” and “Allow opportunities to learn and fail.” With these guidelines, future development of AR data visualizations can continue to improve user experiences and help promote more widespread adoption of this new technology.
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  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • King, Steven
    • Affiliation: Hussman School of Journalism and Media
  • Ruel, Laura
    • Affiliation: Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Degree
  • Bachelor of Arts
Graduation year
  • 2020
Language
  • English

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