Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Applying visual attributes can be one of the most exciting steps in creating
a graph—the story of the data starts to be revealed as visual attributes
add information on top of the topology. Starting with the basics of size,
color, and labels can be an effective way to add information and to increase
visual clarity in a graph. Many more attributes are available but should
be approached with some caution because a graph can be made more
complicated and more difficult to understand if too many different or
advanced attributes are combined at once.
A legend is extremely useful to include as well. Once two or three different
visual attributes are used, it is important to be able to quickly and easily
recall the configuration.
Just as the visual attributes help reveal the graph's story, interaction
becomes the next step in understanding the graph. As you'll see in Chapter
6, interactions enable you to explore the graph in more detail, zooming in,
filtering out weak edges or small nodes, probing for data details, isolating
subsets, and so on, which can help the viewer gain additional insights.
