Experiencing bivariate colour scales on animated maps

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe examined animated maps on which two different datasets are presented together in order to test the applicability of the bivariate colour scales to moving phenomena. Experimental software, combining meteorological datasets, was implemented to study two different use cases: the comparison between a predicted model and the actual observations of a single phenomenon, and the causality between two independent phenomena. The characteristics of different datasets and tasks were taken into account when designing the visualizations for these two combinations. These visualizations were then evaluated in group interviews. The results from the interviews indicate that designing the colours for animated bivariate maps differs remarkably from the colours of static bivariate maps, and the applicability of previous bivariate data visualization guidelines can be questioned. The spatial coverage, geometrical complexity and movement of the phenomena have a significant effect on bivariate animations.