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Information visualizations can amplify human cognition by transferring strenuous cognitive operations with abstract data into visual reasoning processes with external graphic representations. Cognitive scientists have conceptualized the internal representations emerging in such distributed cognitive systems as mental models, whose structures and dynamics are modeled on the basis of the external representations. While visual-syntactical rules for the construction of simple representations are well defined by different visualization methods and can be relatively easily internalized by the user, an essential question remains how to synthesize coherent macromodels from multiple views. To address this question from a mental models perspective, we assemble and discuss visual coherence techniques, which assist users in assembling “bigger pictures” of complex, abstract subject matters. As such we contribute to a macrosyntax for information visualizations, to more systematically support macrocognitive synthesis and reasoning operations. We delineate and exemplify three different strategies of coherence techniques: methods to support the initial construction of mental models, methods to support the sequential integration of information, and methods to support the synchronous integration of local insights into a global representation.

This paper describes the results achieved through an integrated assignment performed during the 2nd semester of 2019 in the undergraduate course of Fashion Design at the State University of Londrina (UEL, in the Portuguese acronym), whose pedagogical project is grounded on the Project-Based Learning (PjBL) and on an interdisciplinary approach.Conducted with the first-year students, this study intends to analyze the pedagogical efforts performed to promote the development of their ability with the formal syntax in fashion design and the garment pattern making as parts that combine to build the project thinking. In order to do so, we applied a methodological approach based on a collection of imagery boards and the organization of the MODThink model (EMÍDIO, 2018).

Empirical research suggests that programming language syntax is a common impediment for beginners, a concern that is mitigated to a varying degree by visual programming. In this paper, we introduce a novel visual programming language that is founded on program synthesis and the programming-by-demonstration paradigm. By using an intuitive visual syntax, we show how we can meet our primary goal of providing support to computer programming novices in exploring foundational programming concepts. We present the language's current and planned use in computer science education, provide preliminary evidence for its effectiveness, and discuss its future possibilities.

Diagrams are an integral part of our communication and thus automated processing of diagrams becomes increasingly relevant. One way to realise automated processing is by using declarative specifications of diagrams. These declarative specifications have similarities to domain knowledge modelled in ontologies. The Web Ontology Language (OWL), an open standard of W3C, is a prominent ontology language to model domain knowledge. In this paper, OWL is evaluated for its suitability to specify visual syntax of diagrams. Specifically, reviews of literature are conducted to establish relevant evaluation criteria and to obtain evidence about OWL for the established criteria. The evaluation indicates that OWL is used widely, which could be attributed to its standardisation and expressiveness, and consequently, it has extensive tool support, including reasoners and editors, with noticeable presence of open source tools. The evaluation also indicates that although OWL has been used successfully for diagram specifications, further research is required to understand entirely its strengths and limitations as a visual syntax specification technique.

The Itamaraty Palace, headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is considered as one of Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer’s referential works and it is a highlight at the Ministries Esplanade in Brasilia, Brazil’s Federal District. The aim of this study is to analyze the building in the light of the visual syntax tools. The analysis is based on the visual attributes and composition rules described by Professor Donis A. Dondis in her book A Primer of Visual Literacy and seeks to fulfil the lack of a document expressing the architect’s intention. The object of study is analyzed on three scales: the urban context, the composition of volumes of the ministries’ buildings complex, and the scale of the building, in this specific case the palace. The purpose is to complement recent research on the Itamaraty Palace and provide elements for new hypothesis about this object.

The higher education in fashion design must be able to promote skills that allow the student to connect variables and concepts in the search for coherent solutions throughout the design process. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss a didactic action called Projeto Integrador, promoted by the Fashion Design Course at Universidade Estadual de Londrina, which operates according to a pedagogical project based on ProjectBased Learning (PjBL) and the interdisciplinary approach. Presents the didactic efforts made to promote the development of the skills involved in the visual syntax of the fashion garments and the fundamental concepts of modeling throughout the de- sign process. The results achieved were positive for the educational context, promo- ting theorical and practical connections and the students’ immersion in the process of synthesis of syntactic principles and formal experimentation. La formación de un diseñador de moda debe promover habilidades que le per- mitan conectar variables y conceptos en la búsqueda de soluciones coherentes a lo largo del proceso de diseño. En ese sentido, este texto tiene como objetivo presentar una acción didáctica titulada Project Integrador, realizada en el Curso de Diseño de Moda en la Universidade Estadual de Londrina, que funciona conforme a un proyecto pedagógico centrado en el Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos (PjBL) y en el enfoque interdisciplinario. Se abordan los esfuerzos didácticos llevados a cabo para promo- ver el desarrollo de las habilidades involucradas en la sintaxis visual de la forma de la vestimenta y en los fundamentos de patronaje durante el proceso proyectual. Los resultados obtenidos han sido positivos para el contexto educativo, impulsando co- nexiones teórico-prácticas y la inmersión de los estudiantes en el proceso de síntesis de los principios sintácticos y de la experimentación de la forma. A formação de um designer de moda deve promover competências que permitam ao estudante conectar variáveis e conceitos na busca de soluções coerentes ao longo do processo projetual. Para tanto, este texto tem como propósito discorrer sobre uma ação didática denominada Projeto Integrador, realizada no Curso de Design de Moda da Universidade Estadual de Londrina, que atua segundo um projeto pedagógico fundamentado na Aprendizagem Baseada em Projetos (PjBL) e na abordagem interdisciplinar. Apresenta-se os esforços didáticos realizados para promover o desenvolvimento das habilidades atuantes na sintaxe visual da forma do vestuário de moda e dos fundamentos da modelagem no decorrer do processo projetual. Os resultados alcançados foram positivos para o contexto educacional, promovendo conexões teórico-práticas e a imersão dos estudantes no processo de síntese dos princípios sintáticos e da experimentação da forma.

O artigo enfatiza a formação da habilidade para articular a sintaxe visual/formal como via fundamental para a consolidação do pensamento projetual entre estudantes de design de moda. A partir de uma abordagem exploratória, integra dois enfoques de pesquisa: o primeiro estuda a autorregulação da aprendizagem no ensino de projeto e o segundo aborda estratégias metodológicas para o desenvolvimento da h abilidade de síntese compositiva. Nesse sentido, o recorte proposto examina as práticas dirigidas à aprendizagem de Metodologia Visual no Bacharelado em Design de Moda da Universidade Estadual de Londrina, indagando sobre as contribuições efetivas da manip ulação criativa experimental e da decomposição de enunciados visuais. Para tanto, analisa uma ação pedagógica combinada, visando à comprovação de sua eficácia didática. As inferências resultantes confirmam o potencial da referida ação e das estratégias de aprendizagem autorregulada como facilitadoras da capacidade de gerar conceitos expressivos e configurar artefatos no campo da moda.

Many programming problems call for turning geometrical thoughts into code: tables, hierarchical structures, nests of objects, trees, forests, graphs, and so on. Linear text does not do justice to such thoughts. But, it has been the dominant programming medium for the past and will remain so for the foreseeable future. This paper proposes a novel mechanism for conveniently extending textual programming languages with problem-specific visual syntax. It argues the necessity of this language feature, demonstrates the feasibility with a robust prototype, and sketches a design plan for adapting the idea to other languages.

This chapter provides an analysis of the relationship between Violeta Parra’s art, Chilean crafts and Chilean traditions. Chilean traditional culture is the most important framework with which to understand the unique visual syntax that Parra developed. Parra’s art was profoundly influenced by traditional cultural practices and artefacts created by working-class Chileans and indigenous groups like the Nazca-Wari, Aymara and Mapuche peoples. Parra’s research on these cultures manifests itself in the subjects, mediums and aesthetics of her visual art. Religion is another recurring motif in Parra’s work, and it is also discussed in this chapter, specifically the link between her representations of religion and popular conceptions of faith in Chile. This chapter also includes a reflection on the diversity of the exhibition spaces Parra used and the way these relate to her overall artistic ethos.

The decorative oeuvre of Mikhail Vrubel from the 1890s to early 1900s was doubly transgressive: it moved beyond the confines of a “minor” art on the one hand, and a narrowly regional and nationalist agenda on the other. The ceramic medium in particular allowed Vrubel the aesthetic and conceptual freedom to articulate some of his most revolutionary and innovative ideas, resulting in a distinct and original visual syntax, which sowed the seeds for subsequent Russian modernist movements, including the neoprimistivist, constructivist, and productivist avant-gardes—a link that has been rarely examined by scholars. More specifically, this essay considers how and why Vrubel had failed to finish his monumental panel Mikula Selianinovich and Volga (1896) for the Nizhnii Novgorod Fair of 1896 on account of his artistic frustrations with the piece, but was able to successfully recreate the same work three years later as a decorative majolica fireplace (1899–1900), which ultimately garnered him a gold medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 and elicited widespread praise both in the Russian and French press.

Graph Transformation (GraTra) provides a formal, declarative means of specifying model transformation. In practice, GraTra rule applications are often programmed via an additional language with which the order of rule applications can be suitably controlled. Story-Driven Modelling (SDM) is a dialect of programmed GraTra, originally developed as part of the Fujaba CASE tool suite. Using an intuitive, UML-inspired visual syntax, SDM provides usual imperative control flow constructs such as sequences, conditionals and loops that are fairly simple, but whose interaction with individual GraTra rules is nonetheless non-trivial. In this paper, we present the first results of our ongoing work towards providing a formal step semantics for SDM, which focuses on the execution of an SDM specification., Comment: In Proceedings GaM 2016, arXiv:1612.01053

The outreach project “The CAp-UERJ and its Visual Impressions” expands the critical and aesthetic articulations about the curricular discipline Visual Arts and Art History, linked to the Department of Arts Education / DEFA. It has been registered since 2015 in the Outreach Department (DEPEXT) of Rio de Janeiro State University. The project studies the visual identity of students, from elementary education to high school of Institute of Application/Cap-UERJ, taken into account a survey of aesthetic objects in school environment which are relevant to the critical and cultural education. By expanding the aesthetic recurrences in art historiography and visual syntax using personal items from school routine (backpacks, shoes, cases, notebooks, etc.), the project carries out plastic-visual experimentation when it proposes the creation of new patterns which are related to the identity and cultural education of students in Rio de Janeiro.

Nous abordons ici l’etude de la phenomenologie des objets visuels a partir de comptes rendus verbaux, de reponses a des questions ou de descriptions spontanees, ainsi que d’associations libres. Nous demandons meme parfois aux sujets de realiser de simples croquis. Cet eventail de methodes permet de sonder la structure profonde de la conscience visuelle. Celle-ci est avant tout revelee par ce qui n’est pas spontanement mentionne par des qualites accidentelles ou encore par des changements induits lors de variations ou ajouts mineurs. Nous avons trouve une concordance remarquable parmi un grand nombre de participants. Ceci demonte que les comptes-rendus verbaux permettent d’explorer puissamment la structure de la conscience visuelle. Tout comme le langage, les « objets visuels simples » ont des racines profondes dans la conscience. Ces fondations « invisibles » servent a definir des figures simples, un « carre » par exemple, comme des objets prototypiques et uniques. La nature des « objets visuels » implique ainsi l’existence d’un « vaste domaine invisible ». Sans une telle prise en compte, la comprehension correcte de la nature de l’objet visuel n’est pas possible. Cette decouverte devrait permettre de mener a une theorie de la syntaxe formelle des formes visuelles fondamentales.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of creating a declarative user interface language suitable for rapid prototyping of mobile and Web apps. Moreover, this paper presents a new framework for creating responsive user interfaces using JavaScript. Design/methodology/approach – Very little existing research has been done in JavaScript-specific declarative user interface (UI) languages for mobile Web apps. This paper introduces a new framework, along with several case studies that create modern responsive designs programmatically. Findings – The fully implemented prototype verifies the feasibility of a JavaScript-based declarative user interface library. This paper demonstrates that existing solutions are unwieldy and cumbersome to dynamically create and adjust nodes within a visual syntax of program code. Originality/value – This paper presents the Guix.js platform, a declarative UI library for rapid development of Web-based mobile interfaces in JavaScript.

Difficulties of understanding and use are now encountered by users of diagrams derived from visual modeling languages, most often used in the IT fields. By following the work of Moody, we try to answer this thesis problem on cognitive effectiveness by bringing user-centered elements and cognitive psychology, Des difficultés de compréhension et d’utilisation sont aujourd’hui rencontrées par les utilisateurs des diagrammes issus des langages visuels de modélisation, le plus souvent utilisés dans les domaines de l’IT. En suivant les travaux de Moody, nous tentons de répondre à cette problématique de thèse sur l’efficacité cognitive en apportant des éléments issus de la psychologie cognitive et centrés sur les utilisateurs.

his paper presents an analysis on the visual composition of Londrina State University entrance exam’s posters. The study took into consideration the pieces designed by students of the institution in the Graphic Design course, aiming to highlight the importance of knowledge and mastery of Design fundamentals for the construction of visual messages and identifying pragnanz* in order to strengthen the University brand. Design fundamentals listed by Lupton (2014) were used as a guideline. The study sought to understand the importance of this educational activity for the professional and academic development of participants, and to keep records of the activity, given the historical role in regional design. Este artigo apresenta uma análise da composição visual dos cartazes do vestibular da Universidade Estadual de Londrina. Considerou as peças desenvolvidas pelos alunos do curso de Design Gráfico da mesma instituição, com o objetivo de ressaltar a importância do conhecimento e domínio dos fundamentos básicos do Design para a construção de mensagens visuais e identificar elementos pregnantes para o fortalecimento da identidade visual da Universidade. Utilizou como diretriz os fundamentos do Design elencados por Lupton (2014). Buscou compreender a importância desta iniciativa para o desenvolvimento profissional e acadêmico dos participantes e registrar o acervo considerando sua devida importância histórica para o design regional.

Opening in 1976 with the exhibition, &ldquo, Through the Looking Glass&rdquo, the Museum of Holography (MOH) emphasized from the beginning the importance of artistic holography with the inclusion of several holograms by artists whose primary practice was holography, articulating for the first time a distinction between artists, scientists and technicians. While the scientific and engineering principles underlying the technology could educate a public, holograms made by artists provided the visual syntax for the creative possibilities holography could offer. The MOH continued to encourage and support artists&rsquo, work throughout its history, amassing a large collection of holograms representative of the most prolific period of artistic activity from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum (MIT Museum) in Boston acquired the entire archive including artistic and technical holograms as well as all related materials when the MOH closed in 1992. This paper will seek to explore whether the medium of holography within the visual arts has led to fine art museum acquisitions in the intervening decades.

WebML is a domain-specific language used to design complex data-intensive Web applications at a conceptual level. As WebML was devised to support design tasks, the need to define a visual notation for the language was identified from the very beginning. Each WebML element is consequently associated with a separate graphical symbol which was mainly defined with the idea of providing simple and expressive modelling artefacts rather than by adopting a rigorous scientific approach. As a result, the graphical models defined with WebML may sometimes prevent proper communication from taking place between the various stakeholders. In fact, this is a common issue for most of the existing model-based proposals that have emerged during the last few years under the umbrella of model-driven engineering. In order to illustrate this issue and foster in using a scientific basis to design, evaluate, improve and compare visual notations, this paper analyses WebML according to a set of solid principles, based on the theoretical and empirical evidence concerning the cognitive effectiveness of visual notations. As a result, we have identified a set of possible improvements, some of which have been verified by an empirical study. Furthermore, a number of findings, experiences and lessons learnt on the assessment of visual notations are presented.

From the perspective of the visual syntax approach, this article discusses aspects of plus size fashion segment, having in view the authorial consumption phenomenon. Aiming to verify the need of enhancement of the products that constitutes this market, the opportunity to provide improvements in the communicative function of fashion for these consumers will be approached. For that, fashion related studies, contemporary consumers trends and communication will be mentioned, as well as issues related to the search of an aesthetic unit established as positive incontrast to female bodies outside of the idealized standard. Thus, by emphasizing the communication skills of fashion, which seem to pass through a process of limitation when considering the difficulties of the plus size clothing consumer women to express themselves in dressing, it seeks to show that the fashion market and the plus size consumers could benefit from the improvement through development and provision of fashion products that satisfy the appearance desires of these women. Por meio da perspectiva do campo da sintaxe visual, o presente artigo aborda aspectos relativos à moda e ao segmento plus size, tendo em vista o fenômeno do consumo autoral. Visando constatar a necessidade do aprimoramento de produtos que compõem esse mercado, será abordada a oportunidade de proporcionar melhorias na função comunicativa da moda em relação a essas consumidoras. Para tanto, estudos relativos à moda, às tendências de consumo contemporâneo e à comunicação serão mencionados, bem como questões relativas à busca por uma unidade estética estabelecida como positiva em contraste com corpos femininos fora do padrão idealizado. Dessa forma, ao enfatizar a capacidade comunicativa da moda, a qual demonstra passar por um processo de limitação ao analisar as dificuldades por parte das consumidoras plus size em expressar-se ao se vestir, busca-se evidenciar que tanto o mercado quanto as consumidoras de moda maior podem se beneficiar ao sanar tais necessidades por meio do desenvolvimento e da disponibilização de produtos de moda que satisfaçam os anseios em relação à aparência dessas mulheres.

Graphical models are useful for discussing different aspects of processes, structures or requirements. The visual syntax of a standard modelling language cannot support all such aspects. There are several cases where it would be desirable to decorate the symbols in a diagram with additional visual annotations. This way, it is possible to include specific information (such as security requirements) that cannot be expressed graphically when using the standard modelling language. In our paper, we present plug-ins for the Eclipse Modelling Framework that make it possible to decorate diagrams with additional visual annotations. These plug-ins can be added to Eclipse-based modelling tools, thus allowing them to enrich the expressiveness of their diagrams.

Miltos Sachtouris (1919-2005) has traditionally been included in the "first postwar generation" of Greek poets, many of whom spent time in prison or internal exile for their activities on the left, and whose plainspoken verse is known for its straightforward discussions of war and politics. In order to incorporate Sachtouris's oblique, surrealistic poems into this larger group of writings, critics have often focused on those poems legible as historical allegories, presenting his poetry as steeped in essentially realistic images drawn from the everyday horrors of wartime Greece. Yet the grammatical indeterminacy of his language often renders those "images" ultimately unimaginable. Sachtouris's work can still be seen to resonate with that of the postwar generation, however, if we look at the quite literal images of his poems on the page. Through a close examination of Sachtouris's 1945 multi-part poem "The Forgotten Woman," this article demonstrates how Sachtouris's linguistic and visual syntax alike explore the political possibilities of the resistant and the opaque, offering a new model for political engagement in writing.

Feature models are used to represent the variability and commonality of software product lines (SPL), and to decide on the configuration of specific applications. Several variants based on tree or graph hierarchical structures have been proposed. These structures are completed with additional constraints, generally expressed in parallel with the feature diagram. This paper proposes the use of hypergraphs to integrate both concepts in a unique characterization. Therefore, the definition, validation and selection of feature configurations can be internally based on the hypergraph properties and well-known algorithms, while the concrete visual syntax remains unchanged for domain engineers. The implemented hypergraph algorithms have been tested using a complete set of feature diagrams. Finally a feature meta-model can be derived directly from the formal definitions, providing the foundations for building feature modeling tools.

RESUMO : Exp andindo proposicoes de Souza Junior (2015c), o presente artigo analisa os padroes de propagacao de praticas linguistico-midiaticas, em forma de selfie , que se tornaram alvo de proibicao nas cabinas de votacao por parte da Justica Eleitoral brasileira, a partir da eleicao de 2014. Sugerindo uma analise ascendente baseada na Linguistica e na Semiotica-social, procura-se ampliar investigacoes de natureza comunicacional e fotografica propostas em Shifman (2014), definindo-se, por dois tracos composicionais, o padrao inicial de construcao de um selfie postado: a) sua estruturacao multimodal (a sintaxe visual do selfie ); b) sua proposicao multimodal (propositos externados nesse post ). Em seguida, pela metodologia de “analise propagatoria” (SOUZA JUNIOR, 2014), confronta-se tal padrao inicial com demais padroes presentes no corpus . Atraves da “analise relacional” (SOUZA JUNIOR, 2015a), verifica-se, entao, como os padroes de estruturacao e proposicao multimodais que deram origem ao evento digital #selfienaurna iriam se desenvolver, isto e: de modo majoritariamente homogeneo – posicao encontrada em Dawkins ( 1979, 1982 ) ; e seguida por Recuero ( 2006) – ou heterogeneo – argumentacao apresentada em Dennett ( 1995 ) ; e corroborada em Souza Junior ( 2014, 2015a). Os resultados indicam que a evolucao do fenomeno #selfienaurna se mostra majoritariamente heterogenea quanto aos aspectos de propagaca o investigados. PALAVRAS - CHAVE : memes da internet; s elfie ; Linguistica Sistemico-funcional; Multimodalidade e Sintaxe Visual; Semiotica Social e Analise Ascendente. ABSTRACT : Expanding prop ositions of Souza Junior (2015c), the present paper analyses the propagation patterns of media/linguistic practices, encapsulated in selfies, which the Brazilian Electoral Justice termed a ‘forbidden act’ – whenever selfies were to be taken inside voting booths and/or posted online from there, during the 2014 Brazilian elections. Suggesting a bottom-up Linguistics and social-semiotics-oriented analysis, seeking to expand the investigative limits of a pictorial and Communication-oriented analysis presented in Shifman (2014), the paper, firstly, examined the selfie post that originated the digital event #selfienaurna (i.e. selfie in the voting booth). Secondly, the article defined that post’s initial compositional pattern in terms of: a) multimodal construction (its visual syntax); b) multimodal proposition (the purpose the purpose expressed through that picture). Then, the methodology of “propagatory analysis” (SOUZA JUNIOR, 2014) was used to confront the initial pattern with other occurrences found in the corpus. Carrying out a “relational analysis” (SOUZA JUNIOR, 2015a), this study investigated how the pattern that generated #selfienaurna would evolve, namely: mostly homogeneously – positioning found in Dawkins ( 1979, 1982 ) ; and followed by Recuero ( 2006) – or het erogeneously - proposition presented in Dennett ( 1995 ) ; and corroborated in Souza Junior ( 2014, 2015a). Results showed that the propagation of #selfienaurna evolved mostly heterogeneously, regarding the items investigated. KEYWORDS : i nternet memes; selfie; Systemic-functional Linguistics; Multimodality and Visual Syntax; Social-semiotics and Bottom-up Analysis.

This paper introduces triggered message sequence charts (TMSCs), a graphical, mathematically well-founded framework for capturing scenario-based system requirements of distributed systems. Like message sequence charts (MSCs), TMSCs are graphical depictions of scenarios, or exchanges of messages between processes in a distributed system. Unlike MSCs, however, TMSCs are equipped with a notion of trigger that permits requirements to be made conditional, a notion of partiality indicating that a scenario may be subsequently extended, and a notion of refinement for assessing whether or not a more detailed specification correctly elaborates on a less detailed one. The TMSC notation also includes a collection of composition operators allowing structure to be introduced into scenario specifications so that interactions among different scenarios may be studied. In the first part of this paper, TMSCs are introduced and their use in support of requirements modeling is illustrated via two extended examples. The second part develops the mathematical underpinnings of the language

A close reading of recent print ads reveals current trends or themes in the recombination of signs that attempt to keep one step ahead of a media-literate audience. The signs are not new, but the r...

This study is part of the surveys conducted in the doctoral research about the methodological tools of fashion design, which focuses in the techniques and methods for the elaboration of visual support of the semantic aspects of clothing products in the educational context. In assessing the design process in this field, it was analyzed the interaction system between the fashion clothing product and its users. An exploratory research was conducted, including literature review and documentary analysis, through which we identified the main requirements of interaction between product and user. The criteria identified as essential for examining the body-artifact-environmental system are distributed in projective parameters of physical adaptation, expression and representation. For these reasons, this article aims to relate concepts drawn from theories of human factors, hedonomics, communication and emotional design, to demonstrate then that fashion clothing is a dynamic and interactive space that mediates the relationship with the environment. Therefore, this text addresses clothing as an amplified interactive space, envisioning exchanges that perform with the body, the surrounding space (physical and cultural) and time. By associating the literature and the documentary analysis of academic practices, it was possible to highlight the key indicators to understand the attributes that guide the development of wearable interfaces. Among these attributes, the communicative potential receives greater emphasis, as these artifacts are converted into individual vehicles of expression and collective identification, becoming instruments of symbolic constructions and mobile records of the space-time relations incorporated in the material culture. The results reinforces the hypothesis of a methodological approach to fashion design in which the visual thinking and systemic reasoning is valued, in order to integrate the socio-cultural codes to the usability requirements of the products, allowing the aesthetic-symbolic factors to create identification links and build the affective experience.

The visual syntax of modelling languages can support (or impede) the intuitive understandability of a model. We observed the process of problem solving with two notation variants of i* diagrams by means of an eye-tracking device. The number of wrongly answered questions was significantly lower when the alternative i* notation suggested by Moody et al. was used. For the eye-tracking metrics “time to solve a task” and “number of eye fixations”, no such significant result can be given. Furthermore, we identified a deficiency for the “dependency” symbol in the alternative notation.

We present a new ontology visualization tool, that uses Euler diagrams to represent concepts. The use of Euler diagrams as a visualisation tool allows the visual syntax to be well matched to its meaning.