Context-Aware Modular Visualization for Cultural Heritage: A Constraint-Driven Design Space

Cultural heritage studies are characterized by heterogeneous and multimodal data, which pose challenges to the design of effective visualization systems in various analytical contexts. Current visualization systems in this area are typically tool-centered, which restricts flexibility in adapting to diverse user needs, data types, and analysis contexts. In this paper, we examine visualization practices in cultural heritage studies through an exploratory study carried out in the context of the ReXplora project, seeking to uncover recurring patterns of analysis needs and visualization practices. From this, we develop a constraint-driven approach to visualization design and coin the term visualization building blocks, referring to modular visualization elements that can be assembled based on constraints in specific contexts. The proposed abstraction offers a preliminary model for reasoning about visualization design in different cultural heritage scenarios.