time-i-gram: A Grammar for Interactive Visualization of Time-based Data

three visualizations of time-based data created using time-i-gram. time-i-gram's declarative grammar extends the functionalities of Gosling.js to enable the creation of various time-based data visualizations across different application domains

Abstract

The importance of temporal aspects in data analysis and visualization is paramount across various disciplines. Due to the unique characteristics of time, multi-scale temporal analysis, comparisons over different periods, and the examination of variable correlations pose particular challenges for visualization methods. Currently, existing grammars for data visualization cannot model advanced time characteristics adequately. To fill this gap, we present a novel time-based visualization grammar. Our contribution is twofold: Firstly, we introduce a comprehensive grammar designed for time-based visualization, providing a versatile toolkit for a wide range of analytical needs and user preferences. Secondly, we implement this grammar in time-i-gram.

Citation

V Stoiber, N Gehlenborg, W Aigner, M Streit. “time-i-gram: A Grammar for Interactive Visualization of Time-based Data”, OSF Preprints (2024). doi:10.31219/osf.io/m9ubg