A diagram

A diagram is a two-dimensional geometric (can be three-dimensional also) symbolic representation of information according to some visualization technique. They have been used since ancient times but became more prevalent during the Enlightenment.[1] Sometimes, the technique uses a three-dimensional visualization which is then projected onto the two-dimensional surface. The word graph is sometimes used as a synonym for diagram.

The term diagram in its commonly used sense can have a general or specific meaning:

visual information device : Like the term "illustration" the diagram is used as a collective term standing for the whole class of technical genres, including graphs, technical drawings and tables.[2]

specific kind of visual display : This is the genre that shows qualitative data with shapes that are connected by lines, arrows, or other visual links.

In science the term is used in both ways. For example Anderson (1997) stated more generally: "diagrams are pictorial, yet abstract, representations of information, and maps, line graphs, bar charts, engineering blueprints, and architects' sketches are all examples of diagrams, whereas photographs and video are not".[3] On the other hand Lowe (1993) defined diagrams as specifically "abstract graphic portrayals of the subject matter they represent".[4]

In the specific sense diagrams and charts contrast with computer graphics, technical illustrations, infographics, maps, and technical drawings, by showing "abstract rather than literal representations of information".[2] The essence of a diagram can be seen as:[2]

a form of visual formatting devices

a display that does not show quantitative data (numerical data), but rather relationships and abstract information

with building blocks such as geometrical shapes connected by lines, arrows, or other visual links.

Or in Hall's (1996) words "diagrams are simplified figures, caricatures in a way, intended to convey essential meaning".[5] These simplified figures are often based on a set of rules. The basic shape according to White (1984) can be characterized in terms of "elegance, clarity, ease, pattern, simplicity, and validity".[2] Elegance is basically determined by whether or not the diagram is "the simplest and most fitting solution to a problem".[6]

References[edit]

Jump up ^ Eddy, Matthew Daniel (2014). "How to See a Diagram: A Visual Anthropology of Chemical Affinity". Osiris: 178–196.

^ Jump up to: a b c d Brasseur, Lee E. (2003). Visualizing technical information: a cultural critique. Amityville, N.Y: Baywood Pub. ISBN 0-89503-240-6.

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