Abstract
The proliferation of new technologies, notably GenAI, alongside augmented and virtual reality, has produced a paradoxical situation in visualization practice: while offering unprecedented multimodal richness, their complexity erects new barriers to entry, thereby exacerbating inequality and undermining design's democratic promise. Although research at the micro-level of visualization techniques abounds, a critical and systematic methodology for addressing the inherent power dynamics and design justice issues from meso- and macro-perspectives remains conspicuously absent. This paper intervenes by adapting an analytical framework from Critical Discourse Analysis to embed design justice within visualization practice. We propose a four-layer framework—Culture, Context, Meaning, and Expression (CCME)—as a shared language for the design community to systematically negotiate the tensions between technical possibility, user accessibility, and social equity. This work offers a practical yet critical tool for designers to navigate the politics of discourse in their practice, fostering a more reflective, dynamic, and liberatory approach to visualization.
Keywords
visualization design, multimodal discourse analysis, design justice, critical design practice
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.331
Citation
Wu, F., Jiang, C., Yin, Y., and Liu, Y. (2026) The paradox of richness: A discourse-centered framework for equitable visualization, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.331
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
The paradox of richness: A discourse-centered framework for equitable visualization
The proliferation of new technologies, notably GenAI, alongside augmented and virtual reality, has produced a paradoxical situation in visualization practice: while offering unprecedented multimodal richness, their complexity erects new barriers to entry, thereby exacerbating inequality and undermining design's democratic promise. Although research at the micro-level of visualization techniques abounds, a critical and systematic methodology for addressing the inherent power dynamics and design justice issues from meso- and macro-perspectives remains conspicuously absent. This paper intervenes by adapting an analytical framework from Critical Discourse Analysis to embed design justice within visualization practice. We propose a four-layer framework—Culture, Context, Meaning, and Expression (CCME)—as a shared language for the design community to systematically negotiate the tensions between technical possibility, user accessibility, and social equity. This work offers a practical yet critical tool for designers to navigate the politics of discourse in their practice, fostering a more reflective, dynamic, and liberatory approach to visualization.