A Survey on Annotations in Information Visualization: Empirical Insights, Applications, and Challenges

Md Dilshadur Rahman, Bhavana Doppalapudi, Ghulam Jilani Quadri and Paul Rosen

(in press) To appear in IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 2025.

Annotation survey teaser

Abstract

We present a comprehensive survey on the use of annotations in information visualization, highlighting their crucial role in improving audience understanding and engagement with visual data. Our investigation encompasses empirical studies on annotations, showcasing their impact on user engagement, interaction, comprehension, and memorability across various contexts. We also study existing tools and techniques for creating annotations and their diverse applications, enhancing understanding of both practical and theoretical aspects. Additionally, we identify research gaps and propose potential future research directions, making this survey a resource for researchers, visualization designers, and practitioners. An interactive web resource detailing the surveyed papers is available at https://shape-vis.github.io/annotation_star/.

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Citation

@article{mdrahman2025survey,
  title   = {A Survey on Annotations in Information Visualization: Empirical Insights, Applications, and Challenges},
  author  = {Rahman, Md Dilshadur and Doppalapudi, Bhavana and Quadri, Ghulam Jilani and Rosen, Paul},
  journal = {IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.48550/arXiv.2410.05579}
}