The Design of Interactive Spatio-Temporal Information Visualization – A Conceptual Model

Interactive spatio-temporal (ST) visualization is a powerful tool for effectively communicating complex information by allowing users to locate and understand events in a specific time and location, as well as interact with their evolution. This research explores the design of interactive geospatial-temporal visualization and examines its design process. The study is divided into three phases. The first phase presents the results of interviews with experts in information visualization and proposes a definition of requirements, factors, and dimensions for designing such an interface. Moreover, the experts use the Think Aloud method to provide insight into their design process towards a hypothetical spatio-temporal visualization briefing. Subsequently, the second phase proposes a conceptual model based on the common patterns identified in the experts' processes, which are complemented with additional interface components. To conclude, the third phase evaluates the conceptual model's performance and relevance with one existing interactive spatio-temporal visualization.