Readable Graph Drawing

Graphs are not only a common tool for modelling and solving problems in computer science, but are also often used for visualizing data. Concrete drawings of graphs are understood also by non-experts; the representation of a link or a connection is intuitive. Moreover, methods for graph drawing can be used for visualizing real networks such as metro networks. We develop and investigate algorithms for creating readable drawings of graphs.
The literature describes many provably good algorithms for drawing graphs. Rarely, however, do these algorithms produce well-readable drawings. That is because it is often already hard to optimize only one desired criterion such as the number of bends or the number of edge crossings. This leads to other readability requirements not being fulfilled, perhaps because some edges are very long or some have many bends. It can, therefore, also make sense to do without solving partial problems optimally and rather balance several criteria against each other. A drawing can, for example, become better readable if there are slightly more crossings but all with large crossing angles.
Most existing algorithms for graph drawing work, furthermore, only on planar graphs, that is, graphs that can be drawn without crossings. Especially graphs based on real-world data are, however, usually not planar. If such graphs are large, which is not unusual, then single nodes or edges are hardly distinguishable in a drawing. There exist several approaches to draw such graphs: groups of edges are bundled or clusters of nodes are formed. So far, however, there is no method that always produces readable drawings.
Researchers
- Alexander Wolff
- Boris Klemz
- Oksana Firman
- Johannes Zink
- Felix Klesen
- Tim Hegemann
- Marie Diana Sieper
- Jonathan Klawitter (bis 2021)
- Myroslav Kryven (bis 2021)
- André Löffler (bis 2020)
- Steven Chaplick (bis 2020)
- Philipp Kindermann (bis 2020)
- Fabian Lipp (bis 2018)
- Martin Fink (bis 2014)
Publications
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Computing Optimal-Height Tangles Faster in Proc. 27th Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’19), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, D. Archambault, C. D. T{’o}th (eds.) (2019). (Vol. 11904) 203–215.
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Compact Drawings of 1-Planar Graphs with Right-Angle Crossings and Few Bends in Computational Geometry: Theory and Applications (2019). 84 50–68.
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Stick Graphs with Length Constraints in Proc. 27th Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’19), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, D. Archambault, C. D. T{’o}th (eds.) (2019). (Vol. 11904) 3–17.
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Drawing Graphs on Few Circles and Few Spheres in Journal of Graph Algorithms & Applications (2019). 23(2) 371–391.
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Orthogonal and Smooth Orthogonal Layouts of 1-Planar Graphs with Low Edge Complexity in Proc. 26th Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’18), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, T. Biedl, A. Kerren (eds.) (2018). (Vol. 11282) 509–523.
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Computing Storylines with Few Block Crossings in Proc. 25th Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’17), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, F. Frati, K.-L. Ma (eds.) (2018). (Vol. 10692) 365–378.
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Planar L-Drawings of Directed Graphs in Proc. 25th Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’17), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, F. Frati, K.-L. Ma (eds.) (2018). (Vol. 10692) 465–478.
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Compact Drawings of 1-Planar Graphs with Right-Angle Crossings and Few Bends in Proc. 26th Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’18), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, T. Biedl, A. Kerren (eds.) (2018). (Vol. 11282) 137–151.
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Beyond Outerplanarity in Proc. 25th Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’17), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, F. Frati, K.-L. Ma (eds.) (2018). (Vol. 10692) 546–559.
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On the Maximum Crossing Number in Journal of Graph Algorithms & Applications (2018). 22(1) 67–87.
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Obstructing Visibilities with One Obstacle in Proc. 24th Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’16), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Y. Hu, M. N{"o}llenburg (eds.) (2016). (Vol. 9801) 295–308.
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Drawing Graphs on Few Lines and Few Planes in Proc. 24th Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’16), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Y. Hu, M. N{"o}llenburg (eds.) (2016). (Vol. 9801) 166–180.
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Snapping Graph Drawings to the Grid Optimally in Proc. 24th Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’16), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Y. Hu, M. N{"o}llenburg (eds.) (2016). (Vol. 9801) 144–151.
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Block Crossings in Storyline Visualizations in Proc. 24th Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’16), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Y. Hu, M. N{"o}llenburg (eds.) (2016). (Vol. 9801) 382–398.
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Faster Force-Directed Graph Drawing with the Well-Separated Pair Decomposition in Proc. 23rd Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’15), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, E. {Di Giacomo}, A. Lubiw (eds.) (2015). (Vol. 9411) 52–59.
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Pixel and Voxel Representations of Graphs in Proc. 23rd Int. Symp. Graph Drawing & Network Vis. (GD’15), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, E. {Di Giacomo}, A. Lubiw (eds.) (2015). (Vol. 9411) 472–486.
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Drawing Graphs within Restricted Area in Proc. 22nd Int. Sympos. Graph Drawing (GD’14), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, C. Duncan, A. Symvonis (eds.) (2014). (Vol. 8871) 367–379.
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On Monotone Drawings of Trees in Proc. 22nd Int. Sympos. Graph Drawing (GD’14), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, C. Duncan, A. Symvonis (eds.) (2014). (Vol. 8871) 488–500.
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Luatodonotes: Boundary Labeling for Annotations in Texts in Proc. 22nd Int. Sympos. Graph Drawing (GD’14), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, C. Duncan, A. Symvonis (eds.) (2014). (Vol. 8871) 76–88.
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Drawing (Complete) Binary Tanglegrams: Hardness, Approximation, Fixed-Parameter Tractability in Algorithmica (2012). 62(1--2) 309–332.
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Drawing Graphs with Vertices at Specified Positions and Crossings at Large Angles in Proc. Workshop Algorithms Comput. (WALCOM’12), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, {Md. S. Rahman, {Shin- ichi} Nakano (eds.) (2012). (Vol. 7157) 186–197.
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Schematization in Cartography, Visualization, and Computational Geometry in Dagstuhl Seminar Proceedings (2011). (Vol. 10461) Schloss Dagstuhl~-- Leibniz-Zentrum f{"u}r Informatik.
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Drawing and Labeling High-Quality Metro Maps by Mixed-Integer Programming in IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (2011). 17(5) 626–641.
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Manhattan-Geodesic Embedding of Planar Graphs in Proc. 17th Int. Sympos. Graph Drawing (GD’09), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, D. Eppstein, E. R. Gansner (eds.) (2010). (Vol. 5849) 207–218.
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Untangling a Planar Graph in Discrete & Computational Geometry (2009). 42(4) 542–569.
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Drawing Binary Tanglegrams: An Experimental Evaluation in Proc. 11th Workshop Algorithm Engineering and Experiments (ALENEX’09) (2009). 106–119.
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Cover Contact Graphs in Proc. 15th Int. Sympos. Graph Drawing (GD’07), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, S.-H. Hong, T. Nishizeki, W. Quan (eds.) (2008). (Vol. 4875) 171–182.
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Straightening Drawings of Clustered Hierarchical Graphs in Proc. 33rd Int. Conf. Current Trends Theory & Practice Comput. Sci. (SOFSEM’07), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, J. van Leeuwen, G. F. Italiano, W. van der Hoek, C. Meinel, H. Sack, F. Plasil (eds.) (2007). (Vol. 4362) 177–186.
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Minimizing Intra-Edge Crossings in Wiring Diagrams and Public Transport Maps in Proc. 14th Int. Sympos. Graph Drawing (GD’06), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, M. Kaufmann, D. Wagner (eds.) (2007). (Vol. 4372) 270–281.
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Drawing Subway Maps: A Survey in Informatik~-- Forschung & Entwicklung (2007). 22(1) 23–44.
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Boundary Labeling: Models and Efficient Algorithms for Rectangular Maps in Computational Geometry: Theory and Applications (2007). 36(3) 215–236.
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{Geometrische Netzwerke und ihre Visualisierung} (2005, June).