# Assessing the Quality of a Visualization

It is important to know how to assess the quality of a visualization. Knowing how to do so will allow us to choose one visualization over another.

A lot, however, depends on the goal of the visualization.

For example, if the aim is to convey certain information effectively, a visualization that is easier/faster to read and interpret would definitely be preferred to a visualization that isn't.

Generally speaking, designing an effective visualization warrants the need for:

* **Knowing the Design Space**: It is important to be able to create multiple alternative designs
* **Being Able to Compare the Alternatives**: To do so, it is important to have an understanding of how the human perception of graphical representations works

Evaluation of the quality of a visualization is covered in a later section.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://vikram-bajaj.gitbook.io/cs-gy-6313-information-visualization/assessing-the-quality-of-a-visualization.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.