Bennett, ChrisRyall, JodySpalteholz, LeoGooch, AmyDouglas W. Cunningham and Gary Meyer and Laszlo Neumann2013-10-222013-10-222007978-3-905673-43-21816-0859https://doi.org/10.2312/COMPAESTH/COMPAESTH07/057-064The discipline of graph visualization produces pictorial representations of node link structures. Much effort has been directed toward making such diagrams visually pleasing. A variety of aesthetic heuristics have been proposed, with the assumption that these will improve readability and understanding. We look at a perceptual basis for these heuristics, including Gestalt principles and Norman s emotional design framework. Next, we review the work to date on aesthetic heuristics and examine what has been done to evaluate these heuristics. We summarize this in a framework that outlines graph drawing heuristics, their perceptual basis, and evaluation status.Categories and Subject Descriptors (according to ACM CCS): I.3.3 [Computer Graphics]: Line and Curve Generation