Abstract
As the primary metaphor for computer use shifts from an extension of
the personal desktop to a gateway into a vast information space, representing
this expanse of information on our relatively small screens is becoming
increasingly problematic. One possible solution for this screen real estate
problem is to make multi-scale presentations by magnifying areas of interest
and compressing others. The creation of these presentations makes use of some
form of distortion. Distortion in turn changes the way in which information
can accurately be read. In this paper we describe a study about relative
difficulty in reading distortions. We investigate the effect of introducing
viewing cues such as the cartographic grid and shading on people's ability to
interpret distortions. We look at two interpretation issues: whether people
can locate the region of magnification and whether people can read changes in
degree of magnification of these regions. We present the findings of this
study and a discussion of its results.
Notes
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