ABSTRACT
The goal of this chapter is to provide some guidelines for designing successful 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, confirmation, presentation). For any particular set of data there is a myriad of possible methods for mapping data components to graphical entities and attributes. 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.
