CIS 3755: Introduction to Information Visualization explores how data can be transformed into clear, compelling, and interactive visual representations. Originally introduced as a special topics course (CIS 4330/4360) in Spring 2022, this class quickly gained popularity and was offered three times before earning its own permanent course number. Today, it serves as an entry point for students interested in data visualization, human–computer interaction, and visual analytics.
About the Instructor
This course is taught by Stephen MacNeil, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at Temple University. Dr. MacNeil also directs the Temple HCI Lab and the OwlHacks Hackathon also at Temple University.
Interested in more HCI or research?
Explore related Temple courses and research-oriented opportunities.
Students who want to go deeper into human-computer interaction, design, research, and adjacent CS topics can browse additional courses taught by Stephen MacNeil.
Course Format and Topics
The course combines two tightly connected components:
Active Learning Lectures – Students engage with the conceptual foundations of visualization, learning how visual encoding, perception, and design decisions shape understanding.
Hands-On Labs – Using D3.js, students apply these concepts to design and implement interactive data visualizations.
Key topics include:
- Visual marks and channels
- Common visualization idioms
- Interaction techniques for exploration and analysis
- Perception and the psychology of visual encoding
- Color theory and effective design principles
The course culminates in a final visualization project, where students bring together design thinking, technical skills, and creativity to communicate complex information through data.
Course Schedule
While the course schedule often changes slightly from semester-to-semester, it generally covers the following topics in each week.
- What is Information Visualization?
- Marks and Channels (Visual Encoding)
- Data Collection and Data Types
- Representation
- Misrepresentation (How Charts Lie)
- Design Sprint (Paper Prototyping)
- Visualization Toolkits
- Spring Break
- Geomaps and Projection
- Interaction
- Project Pitches (Telling Stories with Data)
- Designing Studies and Evaluation
- Graphs and Uncertainty
- Project Work (Prototyping)
- Project Work (Implementation)
- Project Showcase
Past Projects
This course is designed to ensure that you have a portfolio item you can share with potential employers. As such, you will develop and deploy a custom web-based visualization. This portfolio piece will demonstrate your ability to:
- Build web visualizations
- Tell stories with data
- Identify and scope important problems
See projects from the first time the course was offered in the following link: