Putting science first: distinguishing visualizations from pretty pictures

IEEE Comput Graph Appl. 2014 Jul-Aug;34(4):63-9. doi: 10.1109/MCG.2014.71.

Abstract

How do we tell whether a proposed visualization is a valid pictorial representation of the truth or just an accidental but appealing image? Art and science can work brilliantly together in visualization science, but we must know when, and how, to distinguish them.