Big-Picture Views
Arrows can be used to direct, connect, point to importance, and indicate relationships. Can depict movement or a path or conversion. Arrows also have been converted into other symbols such as cyclic or reciprocal relationships. Big Picture views allows the viewer to enter the topic from a global scale to understand the overall and than interact on a local scale to get detail.
Data Displays
The phenomena derived from the numbers are of most interest to people. A pie-chart is the most common understood graph. Graphs convey meaning through spatial positioning and relational size. Graphs will turn up long-term memories to decipher them. A data display is effective if it provides a shortcut to the intended message, promoting visual processing and bypassing the need to make numerical computations.
Visualization of Information
Information visualization makes a representation of complex information systems that will work not with our working memory but will expand the way our brain can comprehend things like time and space.
More than Geography
Today most of our maps are not topographical. We really don't use those in our society anymore. I bet 1 out of a 100 have ever used one. So we as designers are making maps that are more engaging and speak a certain language to the viewer. Think Disneyland, all you want to know is how to get to Space Mountain as fast as you can so your map must be easily understood. This is accomplished by correct vantage point, graphics that represent the terrain and relevant imagery, landmarks, choice of typeface, and use of symbols.
Snapshots of Time
This is any visual representation of time. Most commonly known as the timeline. Seen in our textbooks since we have grown up. Representing the WWI or the evolution of the Universe. They can be as precise as we want to as vast as we want. As designers it is our goal to transfer a straight line with dates to an experience of time evolving as a story is transcribing.
