Paul C. Parsons, associate professor, and Prakash Chandra Shukla, a Ph.D. student, both from Purdue Polytechnic’s School of Applied and Creative Computing, received a Best Paper Award at IEEE VIS 2025, the leading international venue for research in data visualization.
The conference, held in Vienna, Austria, selected their paper as one of only five winners from a pool of more than 500 submissions. The work was featured during the conference's plenary opening session on Nov. 3.
The paper, titled "Beyond Problem Solving: Framing and Problem–Solution Co-Evolution in Data Visualization Design," challenges the traditional understanding of how visualization professionals work. While common models suggest a linear process of moving from a problem to a solution, Parsons and Shukla found that experts actually co-evolve their understanding of the problem and the emerging solution simultaneously.
The researchers used a multi-phase empirical design to reach these conclusions, collecting data through design probes, diary records from ongoing projects, and in-depth interviews with professional practitioners.
The study introduces new vocabulary to the field to describe how designers navigate ambiguity. The authors identified "bridges"—tools like sketches, metaphors, and heuristics that connect a problem to a solution—and "primary generators," which are early ideas that orient the exploration process.
The award committee recognized the work for its strong empirical grounding and its potential to influence both research methods and pedagogy. The findings suggest that visualization education should expand beyond technical problem-solving to include training in interpretive judgment and problem framing.
Additional information
