Budget Visualization Using Proportional 3D Bubbles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing budget management software tools, such as bar graphs and pie charts, fail to provide an intuitive and easily understandable visual representation of personal budgeting information, especially on small display devices, leading to misinterpretation of budget data and difficulty in discerning budget limits.
Innovation Solution
The use of two-dimensional or three-dimensional bubble or spheroid graphical objects to represent budget data, where each bubble's size corresponds to its budget amount, allowing users to intuitively see if they are within or exceeding budget limits, with features like color, texture, and size adjustments for visual warnings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If bar graphs are used to depict budget data, then detailed information can be displayed, but the visual representation becomes misleading and difficult to comprehend intuitively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional bar graphs to three-dimensional bubble representations where budget categories are depicted as bubbles with sizes proportional to their budget amounts. This dimensional change allows simultaneous display of magnitude information (through size) and category identification (through labels), resolving the contradiction between providing detailed information and maintaining intuitive understanding.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the visual parameter from uniform bar heights to variable bubble sizes that directly correspond to budget amounts. This parameter change enables the visual representation to naturally convey magnitude differences, making large budgets appear as larger bubbles and small budgets as smaller bubbles, thereby providing both detail and intuitive comprehension.
2Device complexity
If bar graphs display all budget categories at the same size, then uniform presentation is achieved, but the relative importance and magnitude of different categories are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by making bubble sizes proportional to budget amounts rather than using uniform sizes. This allows the visual representation to naturally encode magnitude information through size variations, preserving the relative importance of different budget categories while maintaining a consistent bubble format across all categories.
3Area of stationary object
If bar graphs are used on small display devices, then portability is improved, but the fine level of detail and visual clarity are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses three-dimensional bubble representations that can be effectively displayed on small screens. The bubbles maintain their proportional size relationships even when scaled down, allowing users to perceive budget magnitudes and categories clearly on mobile devices without losing the fine level of detail that would be available on larger displays.
4Measurement precision
If numerical data is used to show budget versus actual expenses, then precise information is provided, but immediate visual comprehension is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the visual parameter from uniform bar heights to variable bubble sizes that directly correspond to budget amounts. This allows the visual representation to naturally convey magnitude differences, making large budgets appear as larger bubbles and small budgets as smaller bubbles, thereby providing both detail and intuitive comprehension.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatuses, methods, program products, and systems are disclosed for providing intuitively understandable visual representation of personal budgeting information. An apparatus includes a processor, a display device, and a memory that stores code executable by the processor to generate a graphical representation of a total budget for a user as a function of a total budget amount and a size of a viewing area of the display device, generate one or more graphical representations of individual budget items of the total budget as a function of budget amounts for each of the individual budget items and the size of the viewing area of the display device, and present the graphical representation of the total budget and the one or more graphical representations of the individual budget items together on the display device sized according to the size of the viewing area of the display device.