Virtual participation: Zoom details available here
Speaker: Dr Rita Borgo, King's College London
Title: "From Perception to Insight: Human Factors in Visual Analytics"
Abstract: We often hear the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”, but which words does it convey, and how clearly? In this talk, I will explore the role of data visualisation as a tool for making sense of complex, high-dimensional data, particularly in contexts where both clarity and interpretability are critical. I will discuss the challenges that arise when translating complex data into visual form, and the cognitive and perceptual factors that influence how people understand what they see. Drawing on research in human-centred design and human factors, I will highlight how integrating insights from psychology and design can help engineers and data scientists create more effective visualisation tools, tools that align with how users think, perceive, and reason with data.
Biography: Rita Borgo is a Reader in Data Visualization in the Department of Informatics at King’s College London (KCL), where she serves as Head of the Human Centred Computing research group and Deputy Director of the Centre for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) – London. Her research lies at the intersection of Information Visualization and Visual Analytics, with a particular emphasis on the integration of human factors in visualisation design and evaluation. Her work follows an ambitious research agenda centred on the development of novel data visualisation techniques for the interactive rendering and manipulation of large, high-dimensional, and multivariate datasets. Notably, her seminal contributions have helped establish the field of glyph-based visualisation. Her research has received sustained support from the Royal Society, EPSRC, the European Union, and industry partners. The impact of her work spans diverse application domains, including Explainable AI, Urban Science, and Big Data Analytics.