Designing network visualizations for genetic literary criticism

We present a research project aimed at designing a new visual model for the analysis and presentation of data of genetic criticism, an approach to the study of literature that inquires about the genesis of literary works. The project was carried out in collaboration between researchers in information design and literary scholars, in the context of the project «Gustave Roud. Œuvres completes». The introduced visual model builds on top of network graphs and introduces speci昀椀c visual features aimed at supporting analysis of genetic criticism. The design process involved three moments: (1) the gathering of information for the de昀椀nition of design requirements; (2) the phase of the prototyping of the visual model; (3) the production and evaluation of the 昀椀nal network visualizations. The presented process is rich in insights into the collaboration between design researchers and scholars involved in digital humanities.