Information Visualization

Humans are very effective to process pictures and images. Human perceptual system can find patterns in pictures that would be difficult maybe impossible to extract with a computer.

Information visualization exploit this ability: it transforms information into a visual representation reling on human brain to process it. The purpose of information visualization may be communication or data exploration.

My research work focused on data exploration. Information visualization systems provide visual and interactive tools to observe, manipulate and make sense of the information.

HCI

Human Computer Interaction is an interdiciplinary research field. It combines computer science and various fields from social sciences such as psychology or anthropology to engineering with electronics, optics or even mechanics including also graphical or industrial design. HCI aims at discovering new interaction techniques and improving user interfaces. Interfaces may be either software or hardware.

[mirror space]

[fold n'drop] [magglite]

Our research team in|situ relies on participatory design. The methodology involves users at all stages of the interface design. We use observation, brainstorming, prototyping and evaluation to exchange with the user and create novel interfaces.

Psychology

Psychology provides us methods such as field studies, controlled experiments or longitudinal studies to assess the quality of user interfaces, interaction techniques and readability of visual representations. We conduct both quantitative and qualitative research, analyzing quantitative data issued from software or hardware use and qualitative data issued from video or interviews with users.

Cognitive psychology studies our mental process, our cognition. It is a wide research field including works on memory, attention, perception, reasoning, creativity or problem solving. We are especially interested in perception and information processing.

Cognitive psychology can play an important role in the design of information visualization systems, attempting to explain how people read and understand graphical representations.