AbstractThe intersection dimension of a bipartite graph with respect to a type L is the smallest number t for which it is possible to assign sets Ax⊆{1, …, t} of labels to vertices x so that any two vertices x and y from different parts are adjacent if and only if |Ax∩Ay|∈L. The weight of such a representation is the sum Σx|Ax| over all vertices x. We exhibit explicit bipartite n × n graphs whose intersection dimension is (i) at least n1/|L| with respect to any type L, (ii) at least $\sqrt{n}$ with respect to any type of the form L={k, k+ 1, …}, and (iii) at least n1/|R| with respect to any type of the form L={k|k modp∈R}, where p is a prime number. We also show that any intersection representation of a Hadamard graph must have weight about n lnn/ln lnn, independent on the used type L. Finally, we formulate several problems about intersection dimensions of graphs related to some basic open problems in the complexity of boolean functions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 61: 55‐75, 2009