Transparent Layering for Visualizing Dynamic Graphs Using the Flip Book Metaphor

Visualizing dynamic graphs is challenging because changing node and edge attributes as well as topological alterations need to be encoded in the visual representation. However, existing approaches such as animation, juxtaposition, and superimposition do not scale well. In this poster we propose a novel layering approach for visualizing dynamic graphs where the graph for each point in time is a single layer and parts of each layer are slightly shifted based on a degree-of-interest (DOI) function. In contrast to 2.5D representations that also use layering, users cannot freely change the viewing perspective but are restricted to the top view, avoiding occlusion and distortion problems. We demonstrate the layering approach by applying the concept to two graph visualizations: a node-link diagram and a radial hierarchy visualization.