Affective Congruence in Visualization Design: Influences on Reading Categorical Maps

Area of Science:

• Data Visualization
• Cognitive Psychology
• Cartography

Background:

• Color palettes in data visualization can evoke affective qualities.
• Emotive data, inherent or designed, is common in visualizations.
• The interaction between color affect and data context in visualization is understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of affectively congruent versus incongruent color schemes on categorical map-reading response.
• To measure objective and subjective responses to maps with varying color-data affect congruence.
• To provide design recommendations for thematic map creation.

Main Methods:

• A crowdsourced study was conducted to assess map-reader responses.
• Objective measures included pattern detection and area comparison.
• Subjective measures involved assessing affective quality, appropriateness, and preference.

Main Results:

• Affectively congruent colors amplified perceived affective qualities in maps with emotive topics.
• Affectively incongruent colors potentially led to confusion among map readers.
• Affective congruence demonstrated a particularly strong influence on maps depicting positive-leaning data.

Conclusions:

• Color-data affective congruence significantly impacts map interpretation.
• Designers should consider affective congruence when selecting color schemes for thematic maps.
• Recommendations are provided for balancing color congruence with other design factors.