Semantic depth of field
Robert Kosara, Silvia Miksch, Helwig Hauser · 2005
Pointing the user to the parts of a visual display that are currently the most relevant is an important task in information visualization. The same problem exists in photography, where a number of solutions have been known for a long time. One of these methods is depth of field (DOF), which depicts objects in or out of focus depending on their distance from the camera. We propose the generalization of this idea to a concept we call semantic depth of field (SDOF), where the sharpness of objects is controlled by their current relevance, rather than their distance. This enables the user to quickly switch between different sets of criteria without having to get used to a different visualization layout or geometric distortion. We present several visual metaphors based on SDOF and show examples of their use. Because DOF is widely used in photography and cinematography, SDOF should be easy to understand for most users. CR Categories: I.3.6 [Methodology and Techniques]: Interaction techniques Keywords: Information Visualization, Focus and Context, NonRealistic Rendering 1