graphical intelligence

calyr.aí graphical interface catalog

A growing system of graphical interface contracts for scientific models, evidence, uncertainty, exploration, and decisions.

08interface contracts

Shared rules

question before chart
evidence before decoration
uncertainty stays visible
overview and detail remain connected
every interaction has a reversible state
adaptation must preserve user control

Catalog indexEach entry is a testable interface contract, not a visual style.

01OrientationContract seed

CALYR-UI-OVERVIEW-001

Overview and Orientation

Establish what exists, what changed, what requires attention, and where the user can go next.

Inputs: system state, entities, alerts, provenance, time
Core interactions: filter, focus, drill down, restore overview
Must show: scope, freshness, missingness, active filters, provenance
Validation gate: A user can explain the current state and reach one relevant detail without losing context.

02Analytical comparisonContract seed

CALYR-UI-COMPARE-001

Comparison and Trade-offs

Compare candidates, scenarios, models, or observations without hiding incompatible quantities or trade-offs.

Inputs: aligned entities, traits, units, uncertainty, reference state
Core interactions: align, sort, normalize visibly, brush, pin, compare
Must show: units, baseline, uncertainty, missing values, normalization
Validation gate: The same conclusion remains explainable when order, scale, and reference point change.

03Trust and limitsContract seed

CALYR-UI-UNCERTAINTY-001

Uncertainty and Applicability

Show what a model predicts, how uncertain it is, and whether the request lies within supported evidence.

Inputs: distributions, intervals, calibration, applicability status, model version
Core interactions: inspect interval, change confidence level, compare models, reveal support
Must show: point estimate, interval, calibration context, in-domain status, limitations
Validation gate: Users distinguish prediction, uncertainty, applicability, and observed evidence without instruction.

04Relational explorationContract seed

CALYR-UI-GRAPH-001

Knowledge Graph and Provenance

Navigate entities, claims, evidence, and dependencies while preserving why each relationship exists.

Inputs: typed nodes, typed edges, source records, confidence, time
Core interactions: expand, collapse, traverse, filter relation, inspect source, return to path
Must show: relation type, direction, provenance, confidence, current path
Validation gate: A user can reconstruct a claim's evidence path and return to the original context.

05Geometry and structureContract seed

CALYR-UI-SPATIAL-001

Spatial and Structural Viewer

Connect measurements, simulation fields, annotations, and model outputs to physical or molecular structure.

Inputs: geometry, coordinates, fields, layers, annotations, scale
Core interactions: rotate, slice, zoom, select, register, compare layers
Must show: orientation, scale, coordinate frame, layer source, resolution
Validation gate: View manipulation cannot silently change the scientific meaning of the displayed quantity.

06Process controlContract seed

CALYR-UI-WORKFLOW-001

Experiment and Workflow

Make the path from design through execution, evidence, validation, and update visible and controllable.

Inputs: steps, dependencies, artifacts, owners, gates, runtime state
Core interactions: inspect step, compare runs, approve gate, retry, branch, annotate
Must show: state, inputs, outputs, owner, version, failure, next gate
Validation gate: Every result can be traced to a reproducible run and every intervention is attributable.

07Decision supportWorking contract

CALYR-UI-ORACLE-001

Decision and Oracle

Turn evidence, constraints, uncertainty, and trade-offs into traceable proposals without automating away judgment.

Inputs: traits, constraints, evidence levels, Pareto set, rationale, next action
Core interactions: inspect reason, vary preference, compare frontier, defer, approve, request evidence
Must show: hard failures, unknowns, trade-offs, sensitivity, evidence level, abstention
Validation gate: A reviewer can reproduce why a proposal is usable, blocked, or requires review.

08Adaptive compositionArchitecture seed

CALYR-UI-ADAPTIVE-001

Adaptive Interface and LITHOS

Compose the interface around the active question, data, model, risk, and user role while preserving a stable interaction grammar.

Inputs: task contract, model schema, available evidence, user role, risk state
Core interactions: reveal, recommend view, rearrange, explain adaptation, lock layout, reset
Must show: why the interface changed, persistent state, available alternatives, reset path
Validation gate: Adaptation reduces task effort without hiding evidence, moving critical controls unexpectedly, or removing user agency.

Foundations

Read to design and validate

The Eyes Have It — task by data type taxonomyBen Shneiderman · 1996
Overview first, zoom and filter, then details on demand.
A Nested Model for Visualization Design and ValidationTamara Munzner · 2009
Validate domain problem, abstraction, encoding and interaction, and algorithm separately.
Design Study MethodologySedlmair, Meyer, and Munzner · 2012
Ground interface work in real tasks, evidence, and reflective validation.
D3 — Data-Driven DocumentsBostock, Ogievetsky, and Heer · 2011
Bind visible graphical state to data and explicit transformations.