Hello graduate students,

Please join us for a student round table with Fanny Chevalier. Her research lies at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Information Visualization (Infovis) and covers a wide range of interests, from visual exploration of complex data, visualization education, computing tools supporting the flow of creativity, the design and perception of animated transitions, and sketch-based interfaces.

The round table will take place on Friday March 3rd, 2:45-3:45 PM at BA5187 (Bahen Centre, 5th floor). Access to this room is via DGP lab, BA5166.

You are also encouraged to attend Fanny's talk, taking place on Thursday March 2nd at 11AM, BA1220. See details below.

Cheers,
Nicole

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Invited research seminar hosted jointly by the departments of Computer Science and Statistical Sciences

"Left-brain, Right-brain: Designing Interaction for Visual Analytics and Creativity”

Fanny Chevalier, INRIA

Thursday, March 2, 2017, at 11:00 AM
BA1220 (Bahen Centre, 40 St.George Street)

Abstract

Analytic and creative tasks are often thought to be governed by opposite sides of the brain. On the one hand, creativity is typically considered right-brain: a spontaneous, free-form, and artistic pursuit driven by intuition. In light of these characteristics, creative authoring software has sought to preserve continuity across tasks during the creative process through direct manipulation. On the other hand, analysis is generally regarded as left-brain: a logical, methodical, and systematic process driven by rationale. It is not surprising, then, that current visual analytics tools continue to largely rely on an interaction model made up of a series of discrete operations to manipulate data. But is there no creativity in analysis?

In this talk, I argue that analysis is no less a creative process and that operationalization can hinder the creativity of analysis in exploratory scenarios. Just as creative authoring tools have aimed for directness, next generation visual analytics tools should also empower analysts through control and immediacy. I will demonstrate through a selection of my research that the same design principles can be applied to support continuous processes in both visual analytics and creative authoring endeavours and discuss prospective directions for visualization research that build on these principles.

Biography:

Fanny Chevalier is a Research Scientist at Inria, France, where she conducts research in data visualization and human-computer interaction. In particular, she has been interested in  addressing the challenges involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of novel interactive tools supporting visual analytics and creative activities, with a primary focus on interactive tools for the visual exploration of rich and complex data, visualization education, the design and perception of animated transitions, and sketch-based interfaces. Prior to joining Inria, Dr. Chevalier was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto, Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU), and Inria-Microsoft joint center in Paris. She obtained her PhD in Computer Science from the Université de Bordeaux in 2007. She is the recipient of an Inria grant for scientific excellence (PEDR) and her research papers have received awards at the premier venues in Human-Computer Interaction (ACM CHI, ACM UIST). She has also consistently served in the organising and program committees for ACM CHI, ACM UIST and IEEE Infovis conferences for the past five years.