ABSTRACT
The goal of this chapter is to provide some guidelines for designing suc-
cessful visualizations. A successful visualization is one that efficiently and
accurately conveys the desired information to the targeted audience, while
bearing in mind the task or purpose of the visualization (exploration, con-
firmation, presentation). For any particular set of data there is a myriad of
possible methods for mapping data components to graphical entities and at-
tributes. Similarly, there exists a wide range of interactive tools that the user
may be provided. Selecting the most effective combinations of techniques is
by no means a straightforward process.
