Color, change, and control of quantitative data display

Calico, a dynamic tool for the creation and manipulation of color mappings for the exploration of multivariate, quantitative data, was used to study the effects of user control and smooth change on user preference, accuracy, and confidence. The results of the study, as well as other user experiences with Calico, support the hypothesis that dynamic manipulation of color mappings is a useful feature of systems for the exploration of quantitative data using color. The main effect observed is a clear user preference for representations providing control over the mapping, a small but significant increase in accuracy, and greater confidence in information gleaned from manipulable displays. A smaller and less consistent effect showed greater user preference for an confidence in representations which provided smooth change between images