Evaluating three-dimensional information visualization designs: a case study of three designs

A number of 3D information visualization designs have been invented during the last few years. However, comparisons of such designs have been scarce, making it difficult for application developers to select a suitable design. This paper reports on a case study where three existing visualization designs have been implemented and evaluated. We found that the three information visualization designs have inherent problems when used for visualizing different data sets, and that certain tasks cannot be supported by the designs. A general methodology for evaluation is presented, which comprises the evaluation of suitability for different data sets as well as the evaluation of support for user tasks.