  Glyph-based visualization is an effective tool for depicting multivariate
information. Since sorting is one of the most common analytical tasks performed
on individual attributes of a multi-dimensional data set, this motivates the
hypothesis that introducing glyph sorting would significantly enhance the
usability of glyph-based visualization. In this paper, we present a glyph-based
conceptual framework as part of a visualization process for interactive sorting
of multivariate data. We examine several technical aspects of glyph sorting and
provide design principles for developing effective, visually sortable glyphs.
Glyphs that are visually sortable provide two key benefits: 1) performing
comparative analysis of multiple attributes between glyphs and 2) to support
multi-dimensional visual search. We describe a system that incorporates focus
and context glyphs to control sorting in a visually intuitive manner and for
viewing sorted results in an Interactive, Multi-dimensional Glyph (IMG) plot
that enables users to perform high-dimensional sorting, analyse and examine
data trends in detail. To demonstrate the usability of glyph sorting, we
present a case study in rugby event analysis for comparing and analysing trends
within matches. This work is undertaken in conjunction with a national rugby
team. From using glyph sorting, analysts have reported the discovery of new
insight beyond traditional match analysis.
