We investigate the use of 2D black-and-white textures for the visualization of categorical data and contribute a summary of texture attributes, and the results of three experiments that elicited design strategies as well as aesthetic and effectiveness measures. Black-and-white textures are useful, for instance, as a visual channel for categorical data on low-color displays, in 2D/3D print, to achieve the aesthetic of historic visualizations, or to retain the color hue channel for other visual mappings. We specifically study how to use what we call geometric and iconic textures. Geometric textures use patterns of repeated abstract geometric shapes, while iconic textures use repeated icons that may stand for data categories. We parameterized both types of textures and developed a tool for designers to create textures on simple charts by adjusting texture parameters. 30 visualization experts used our tool and designed 66 textured bar charts, pie charts, and maps. We then had 150 participants rate these designs for aesthetics. Finally, with the top-rated geometric and iconic textures, our perceptual assessment experiment with 150 participants revealed that textured charts perform about equally well as non-textured charts, and that there are some differences depending on the type of chart.

翻译：我们研究使用二维黑白纹理进行分类数据可视化，总结纹理属性特征，并通过三项实验揭示设计策略及美学与有效性度量。黑白纹理的应用场景包括：低色彩显示器上的分类数据视觉通道、2D/3D打印、实现历史可视化美学效果，或将色彩色调通道留作其他视觉映射。我们重点研究几何纹理与图标纹理的使用方式：几何纹理采用重复的抽象几何形状图案，而图标纹理则使用可能代表数据类别的重复图标。我们对两类纹理进行参数化处理，并开发设计工具供用户通过调整纹理参数在简易图表中创建纹理。30位可视化专家使用该工具设计了66个带纹理的条形图、饼图和地图。随后由150名参与者对这些设计进行美学评分。最后，基于评分最高的几何纹理与图标纹理，我们通过150名参与者的知觉评估实验发现：带纹理图表与无纹理图表的视觉表现几乎相当，且不同图表类型间存在细微差异。