This is an extended sequence of assignments, typically peformed by a group of four students. Each team will conceptualize, design, test, build, and evaluate a prototype of an interactive application. The focus will be on information visualization. Of particular interest are applications which aid sensemaking through the visualization of semantic relationships among information resources.

Information visualization applications present alternate representations of information that aid the cognitive process of understanding relationships in the information. Interactive information visualization applications allow the user to manipulate parameters in the visualization, to engage in sequences such as, "Overview first. Zoom and filter. Details-on-demand." The high cognitive load associated with understanding information visualizations requires good visual design and strong interaction techniques.