The Social Construction of Visualizations: Practitioner Challenges and Experiences of Visualizing Race and Gender Demographic Data

TL;DR

This paper investigates how visualization designers account for the socially constructed nature of race and gender data when designing visuals. Through 17 semi-structured interviews, it analyzes designers' beliefs, values, biases, and positionalities, framing visualization as a politically situated practice guided by situated knowledges. Findings show that demographic categories are socially constructed, neutrality and objectivity are contested, and power dynamics shape design decisions, with risks around misinterpretation and misappropriation in public artifacts. The work argues for epistemological pluralism in visualization tools and practices, emphasizing designer safety, transparency about positionality, and inclusive design processes to improve ethical representation of marginalized groups. Overall, it provides practical implications for researchers and practitioners to support equitable, context-aware visualizations of protected demographic data.

Abstract

Data visualizations are increasingly seen as socially constructed, with several recent studies positing that perceptions and interpretations of visualization artifacts are shaped through complex sets of interactions between members of a community. However, most of these works have focused on audiences and researchers, and little is known about if and how practitioners account for the socially constructed framing of data visualization. In this paper, we study and analyze how visualization practitioners understand the influence of their beliefs, values, and biases in their design processes and the challenges they experience. In 17 semi-structured interviews with designers working with race and gender demographic data, we find that a complex mix of factors interact to inform how practitioners approach their design process, including their personal experiences, values, and their understandings of power, neutrality, and politics. Based on our findings, we suggest a series of implications for research and practice in this space.