A design space for exploring rich and complex information environments

In this paper we discuss the visualization and interaction paradigms based on overview+detail and focus+context models, proposing a design methodology suitable for rich information environments, made of multivariate data and multidevice deployment. We propose to identify a set of meaningful categories of information visualization and interaction corresponding to different user goals and exploration spaces, starting from a global universe of discourse and going down into the ultimate data items, through discrete intermediate steps corresponding to structured context and overview levels. Each category defines an association with a specific knowledge goal, the deployment on a suitable class of devices and the access through adequate interaction techniques. Such design methodology is applied to two case studies, one in the domain of energy consumption management, the other in cultural heritage fruition.