The FatFonts technique is based on a new type of numeric typeface designed for visualization purposes that bridge the gap between numeric and visual representations. FatFonts are based on Indo-arabic numerals but, unlike regular numeric typefaces, the amount of ink (dark pixels) used for each digit is proportional to its quantitative value. This enables accurate reading of the numerical data while preserving an overall visual context
“Underlines are visually separate from the letters. Thus, they can be perceived strongly as an added mark. Further, since they are separate, a viewer can readily attend to an underline independently from other cues – for example, bold, italic, and case are all intrinsic to the letter and require cognitive effort to separate them. As an underline is essentially a line, it can have attributes such as width, length, and style (e.g. dot, dash, single, double, wavy, color, etc.).
Some visualizations use almost-underlines to create labeled bar charts, such as Felton’s 2013
Annual Report. These suggest underlines may encode quantities by their length within text. Figure 3.16 is a compact bar chart created simply using underlines.”
Dear data 3/20/2022
