Event-related potential and oscillatory cortical activities of artistic methodology in information visualization design in human–computer interface

Abstract

Data visualization is essential for interface design in human–computer interaction. With the advances in information technology, artists and designers have used creative thoughts and artistic methodologies in information design and data visualization. We design a method that minimizes readers’ time to memorize data or information through event-related potential (ERP), electroencephalography (EEG) topography, brain connectivity, and volume source estimation analyses. We developed four information visualization interfaces by importing career data from the World Bank Data: integrated generative artistic design (IGAD), separated generative artistic design (SGAD), integrated line chart design (ILCD), and separated line chart design (SLCD). We then compared subjective evaluations and brain electrophysiological biofeedback on user experience (UX) with the aesthetics and usability of user interface design. We enroled 52 healthy subjects (26 men and 26 women) for psychological or physiological differences. The line chart wireframe design and initial animation arousal were found to be more acceptable than the generative style through P200 and N200 analyses. Meanwhile, late positive complex (LPC) and subjective evaluations showed that SGAD is the most beautiful interface for information visualization design. LPC showed generative art as more appealing than the line chart in the left and middle brain regions from the frontal-to-central lobes. We found that decreased delta, theta, and alpha and increased gamma lead to significant memory enhancement in ILCD compared to IGAD. Men and women were found to have different relative power activations in delta, theta, alpha, and gamma. The sex-based difference in visual working memory in theta and gamma connectivity in frontal-to-central brain regions occurred in the ILCD interface design. The difference between delta activation on line chart design and theta and gamma activated in the frontal-parietal-occipital brain in SGAD helped reveal how different designs influence the same data result through connectivity analysis. Volume estimation revealed that the activations vary between brain regions across the one-minute analysis. The subjective evaluation produced different results from LPC objective evaluation aesthetic judgement but the same results in SGAD interface design. We found that memory performance decreases from SLCD, ILCD, SGAD, to IGAD. We also found that most people quickly memorized incrementing and decrementing data trends, which can help future human–computer interface and information visualization design.