Made to Feel: How Designers Bring Emotions into Affective Visualization

2026-07-01

AI Summary

This study addresses the limited understanding of how emotion is integrated into the design process within affective visualization research. Through semi-structured interviews with 15 visualization practitioners and a mixed-methods thematic analysis, the work systematically examines the mechanisms by which emotion is incorporated in practice across three dimensions: data, design, and audience. The findings reveal, for the first time, that emotional intent often emerges organically during design and that emotional impact arises from the synergistic effect of holistic design decisions rather than the summation of individual visual elements. The paper articulates emotion’s functional roles in guiding entry points, fostering engagement, and shaping interpretive outcomes, distills key design strategies, and identifies the evaluation of emotional efficacy as a primary challenge in the field.

Abstract

Affective visualization is increasingly studied in visualization research, yet how designers bring emotions into their visualization work remains unexplored. This paper addresses this gap through semi-structured interviews with 15 visualization practitioners. Using hybrid thematic analysis, we identify: (1) three functions that emotions can serve for viewers (entry, engagement, outcome); (2) three facets of how designers work with emotion (data, design, audience), along with design strategies; and (3) ethical considerations in the design process. We also observe that affective intent often emerges during the design process rather than being planned from the outset, and that emotional impact arises from accumulated design choices rather than isolated visual elements. Finally, we highlight evaluation as a key challenge identified by our participants.

Problem

• affective visualization
• emotion
• design process
• visualization design
• emotional intent

Innovation

• affective visualization
• emotion design
• design process
• thematic analysis
• ethical considerations