A Coloring Algorithm for Disambiguating Graph and Map Drawings

Yifan Hu, Lei Shi, Qingsong Liu

Abstract: Drawings of non-planar graphs always result in edge crossings. When there are many edges crossing at small angles, it is often difficult to follow these edges, because of the multiple visual paths resulted from the crossings that slow down eye movements. In this paper we propose an algorithm that disambiguates the edges with automatic selection of distinctive colors. Our proposed algorithm computes a near optimal color assignment of a dual collision graph, using a novel branch-and-bound procedure applied to a space decomposition of the color gamut. We give examples demonstrating this approach in real world graphs and maps, as well as a user study to establish its effectiveness and limitations.