What makes a compelling visualization?

When the topic of information visualization gets brought up, my mind usually wanders to Edward Tufte. Then I might think a bit about the Conceptual Models course from CMU, remembering that fun visualization we made about the course registration process.

I think whether a visualization is enjoyable or aesthetically pleasing is a matter of taste. For example, I tend to not be a very big fan of text-based models (like the Java technology concept map), while most of my peers seem to think they’re pretty great. However, when it comes to the effectiveness of a visualization, it comes down to whether or not it saves time in learning the information it’s trying to convey.

That’s why when I saw this rehash of a common clock, I was a little skeptical.

Sure, there’s always room for improvement in any design, and analog clocks are no exception. But using a dot for each second in the day doesn’t seem the right way to do it; or, if it is, then the layout is ruining the visualization. The grouping of the dots in this clock don’t correspond to any unit of time that we’re familiar with (minutes or hours), instead, a small square is 1 minute and 40 seconds, and a big square is 2 hours, 46 minutes, and 40 seconds. Meanwhile, units of time that we’re used to (hours and minutes) are awkward subsections of squares. The number of seconds in a day isn’t a perfect square… so it doesn’t seem like a perfect square is representing that number well.

That said, it’s an interesting concept to communicate a commonplace idea. Similar to the binary clock, it can be an art piece as well as a time piece. And when people come over to my apartment, they will give it a funny look and, after a minute, ask what the hell is on top of my TV. Nonchalantly, I would say that it’s a clock, and let them stare for a while longer.