Spring 2026
Meets: Mon./Wed. 3:30-4:45pm, Gould-Simpson, Rm 701
Instructor: Joshua A. Levine
Office: GS 754
Office Hours: By appointment, Schedule via Calendly
Course Syllabus
D2L
Piazza
Course Calendar
(tentative, subject to change)
| Week |
Date |
Monday |
Date |
Wednesday |
|
| 1 |
Jan 12 |
-- No Class -- |
Jan 14 |
Introduction |
| 2 |
Jan 19 |
-- MLK Jr. Day -- |
Jan 21 |
HTML/Javascript Basics |
| 3 |
Jan 26 |
d3 Intro |
Jan 28 |
d3 Joins and Scales |
| 4 |
Feb 02 |
Design Principles |
Feb 04 |
Perception |
| 5 |
Feb 09 |
Data Abstraction |
Feb 11 |
Visual Encoding |
| 6 |
Feb 16 |
Color |
Feb 18 |
Tasks and Interaction |
| 7 |
Feb 23 |
Views, Focus+Context |
Feb 25 |
Tabular Arrangements |
| 8 |
Mar 02 |
Hierarchies/Trees |
Mar 04 |
Graphs |
| 9 |
Mar 09 |
-- Spring Break -- |
Mar 11 |
-- Spring Break -- |
| 10 |
Mar 16 |
Cartography |
Mar 18 |
Interpolation |
| 11 |
Mar 23 |
Volumetric Data |
Mar 25 |
Volume Rendering |
| 12 |
Mar 30 |
Transfer Function Design |
Apr 01 |
Isosurfaces |
| 13 |
Apr 06 |
Topology |
Apr 08 |
Flow Data |
| 14 |
Apr 13 |
Flow Visualization |
Apr 15 |
FlowVis: Features, Time |
| 15 |
Apr 20 |
Text and Sets |
Apr 22 |
Special Topics |
| 16 |
Apr 27 |
Retrospective |
Apr 29 |
Project Presentations |
| 17 |
May 04 |
Project Presentations |
May 06 |
Project Presentations |
Highlighted dates have an assignment due by the start of class.
Highlighted dates have a project milestone due by the start of class.
Boxed dates correspond to the nearest class day to the deadlines for dropping without a W (Feb. 10, 2026) and withdrawing (Mar. 31, 2026) for this semester. See Spring 2026 Graduate Dates and Deadlines for complete details.
Link to Google drive folder with all lecture slides
Lecture 01 - Introduction ( slides)
Date: January 14, 2026
Required Reading:
Optional Reading:
- Hans Rosling, TED 2006
- A Tour through the Visualization Zoo., Jeffrey Heer, Michael Bostock, Vadim Ogievetsky. Communications of the ACM, 53(6) pp. 59-67, Jun 2010.
- How to Read a Visualization Research Paper: Extracting the Essentials. Robert S. Laramee. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications (IEEE CG&A), Vol. 31, No. 3, May/June 2011, pages 78-82.
- The Value of Visualization. Jarke van Wijk. Proceedings of the IEEE Visualization Conference, pp. 79-86, 2005.
Lecture 02 - HTML/Javascript Basics ( draft slides)
Date: January 21, 2026
Required Reading:
- The Basics of the Web Stack - Carlos Scheidegger (CSC 444 Fall 2019).
- Javascript - Carlos Scheidegger (CSC 444 Fall 2019).
- Murray, Chapter 3 (all pages except for the section on Javasript) (Note: the textbook is available electronically through the UA Library for those on campus)
Optional Reading:
Lecture 03 - d3 Intro
Date: January 26, 2026
Required Reading:
- Murray, Chapter 5,6 (Note: the textbook is available electronically through the UA Library for those on campus)
- DOM Manipulation - Carlos Scheidegger (CSC 444 Fall 2019).
- Welcome to d3 - Carlos Scheidegger (CSC 444 Fall 2019).
Optional Reading:
Lecture 04 - d3 Joins and Scales
Date: January 28, 2026
Required Reading:
- Murray, Chapter 7 (Note: the textbook is available electronically through the UA Library for those on campus)
- d3 Scales - Carlos Scheidegger (CSC 444 Fall 2019).
Optional Reading:
- d3 Drills - Carlos Scheidegger (CSC 444 Fall 2019).
Lecture 05 - Design Principles
Date: February 02, 2026
Required Reading:
- Munzner, Chapter 1, 6.10 (Note: the textbook is available electronically through the UA Library for those on campus)
Optional Reading:
- The good, the bad, and the biased: five ways visualizations can mislead (and how to fix them). Danielle Albers Szafir. Interactions. 2018.
- Design Principles for Visual Communication. Maneesh Agrawala, Wilmot Li, Floraine Berthouzoz. Communications of the ACM, 54(4), pp. 60-69, Apr 2011.
- 99% Details. Podcast from 99% Invisible, Sep 2010.
- Negative Space. Bang Wong. Nature Methods 8:1, Dec. 2010.
- Design of data figures. Bang Wong. Nature Methods 7:665, Sept 2010.
- Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2001.
Lecture 06 - Perception
Date: February 04, 2026
Required Reading:
Optional Reading:
|
Design Critiques
Assigned/Due: Rolling
P01
- Proposal
Assigned: Jan 28
Due: Feb 25 11:59:59 PM
Graded: Mar 04
P02
- Progress Update
Assigned: Feb 25
Due: Apr 01 11:59:59 PM
Graded: Apr 08
P03
- Project Presentation
Assigned: Apr 01
Due: Apr 29 11:59:59 PM
Graded: May 12
P04
- Final Report
Assigned: Apr 06
Due: May 06 11:59:59 PM
Graded: May 12
A00
- Survey
Assigned: Jan 14
Due: Jan 26 11:59:59 PM
Graded: Feb 02
A01
- D3 Basics
Assigned: Jan 26
Due: Feb 09 11:59:59 PM
Graded: Feb 16
A02
- SPLOMs
Assigned: Feb 09
Due: Feb 23 11:59:59 PM
Graded: Mar 02
A03
- Parallel Coordinates
Assigned: Feb 23
Due: Mar 16 11:59:59 PM
Graded: Mar 23
A04
- Treemaps
Assigned: Mar 16
Due: Mar 30 11:59:59 PM
Graded: Apr 06
A05
- Transfer Functions
Assigned: Mar 30
Due: Apr 13 11:59:59 PM
Graded: Apr 20
A06
- Flow Visualization
Assigned: Apr 13
Due: Apr 27 11:59:59 PM
Graded: May 04
|