Welcome to the Lombardi graph drawing home page

Presented here is a new method of graph visualization, inspired by the style of the American artist Mark Lombardi. This method has two characteristics that differ from regular graph drawings: straight edges are replaced by circular arcs and the arcs around a vertex are evenly spaced out.

The objectives of this approach are to improve readability and engagement of graph drawings. Initial user feedback strongly indicates the aesthetic appeal of this style of drawing, with some associated keywords being “more natural”, “balloon animals”, “blobby”, “cute and cuddly”, in contrast with the traditional straight-line realizations, which were more “jagged” and “angular”.

The workings of our algorithm at core are simple. We randomly place vertices on a canvas, assign forces to them, and perform a physics simulation. This causes vertices to orient themselves in such a way that balances out the forces acting on them, often producing a visually appealing layout.

More information about this can be found in the paper.

Meanwhile, we recommend you take a look at the live demonstration and some results.