Workshop description

Graph Drawing (GD) and Dimensionality Reduction (DR) share many methodological, theoretical, and practical challenges. Both aim to project complex, high-dimensional structures into interpretable low-dimensional representations, facing issues of scalability, ambiguity, and interpretability. Yet, despite these similarities, the two communities have evolved largely in parallel with limited exchange of ideas and evaluation practices.

This workshop seeks to bridge GD and DR by creating a space for discussion on how methods, concepts, and lessons from one domain can inspire advances in the other. Participants will explore common evaluation pitfalls, domain-expert usage scenarios, and reliability issues such as comparing real versus synthetic data. The workshop aims to build synergy between the two communities and produce outcomes such as a community statement on evaluation and a roadmap for future collaboration.

Keynote Speaker

Program:

Monday (8th June), half-day workshop (14:00–17:30):

• 14:00–14:05 — Welcoming and Introduction 

• 14:05–15:30 — Paper Session: contributed short papers (8 minutes for each paper + 2 minutes for Q&A) (session chair: Claudio Linhares)

  1. GNN-Based Inductive Dimensionality Reduction on UMAP Graphs, Florian Grötschla

  2. Visualization and Evaluation of Multivariate Networks through Dimensionality Reduction and Graph Embeddings, Pedro A. M. Gagini

  3. Readability vs. Faithfulness: Unveiling Correlations between Graph Aesthetics and DR Quality, Seokweon Jung

  4. NodeSubstrates: Bridging Node-Link Diagrams with DR-Based Semantic Substrates, Sjoerd Vink

  5. Bridging Graph Drawing and Dimensionality Reduction with Stochastic Stress Optimization, Jacob Miller

  6. Multivariate Graph Layouts using NNP-NET, Ilan Hartskeerl

• 15:30–16:00 — Coffee Break

• 16:00–17:00 — Invited Keynote: Prof. Dr. Daniel Archambault - Title Dimensionality Reduction, Machine Learning, and Graph Drawing (followed by Q&A) (session chair: Andreas Kerren)

• 17:00–17:25 — Open Discussions: mapping synergies, challenges, and opportunities (session chair: Fernando Paulovich)

• 17:25–17:30 — Closing Remarks
  
  

The program combines presentations, interactive discussions, and collaborative activities to identify synergies, methodological parallels, and future research opportunities across GD and DR.

Accepted Papers — GDxDR 2026

This collection of papers is available on: https://diglib.eg.org/handle/10.2312/evgdxdr20261000

• Visualization and Evaluation of Multivariate Networks through Dimensionality Reduction and Graph Embeddings
  Pedro A. M. Gagini¹, Rafael M. Martins², Amilcar Soares², Fernando V. Paulovich³, Claudio D. G. Linhares²
  ¹University of São Paulo, Brazil · ²Linnaeus University, Sweden · ³Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands

• Readability vs. Faithfulness: Unveiling Correlations between Graph Aesthetics and DR Quality
  Seokweon Jung¹ ², Min Hyeong Kim², Hyeon Jeon², Jinwook Seo²
  ¹KAIST, South Korea · ²Seoul National University, South Korea

• NodeSubstrates: Bridging Node-Link Diagrams with DR-Based Semantic Substrates
  Sjoerd Vink¹ ², Leonardo Christino², Michael Behrisch¹ ²
  ¹Utrecht University, Netherlands · ²GraphPolaris, Netherlands

• GNN-Based Inductive Dimensionality Reduction on UMAP Graphs
  Florian Grötschla¹, Simon van Wageningen², Alexandru Telea²
  ¹ETH Zurich, Switzerland · ²Utrecht University, Netherlands

• Bridging Graph Drawing and Dimensionality Reduction with Stochastic Stress Optimization
  Daniel Hangan¹, Stephen Kobourov¹, Jacob Miller¹
  ¹Technical University of Munich, Germany

• Multivariate Graph Layouts using NNP-NET
  Ilan Hartskeerl¹, Florian Grötschla², Alexandru Telea¹
  ¹Utrecht University, Netherlands · ²ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Topics

Examples of relevant topics for the workshop are as follows: 

• Connections between graph drawing and dimensionality reduction

• Evaluation methodologies and interpretability

• Cross-domain metrics, quality criteria, and scalability

• Human-centered aspects of visualization (trust, stability, readability)

• Comparative and methodological studies

• Case studies and application scenarios combining GD and DR

Program Chairs 

• Alexandru Telea, Utrecht University, Netherlands

• Alessandra Tappini, University of Perugia, Italy

• Jean Ponciano, University of São Paulo, Brazil

• Luis Gustavo Nonato, University of São Paulo, Brazil

• Fabrizio Montecchiani, University of Perugia, Italy

• Jacob Miller, Technical University of Munich, Germany

• Lars Linsen, University of Münster, Germany

• Hyeon Jeon, Seoul National University, Korea

• Christophe Hurter, University of Toulouse, France

• Thomas Höllt, TU Delft, Netherlands

• Helwig Hauser, University of Bergen, Norway

• Mohammad Ghoniem,  Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Luxembourg

• Takanori Fujiwara,  University of Arizona, United States

• Velitchko Filipov, TU Wien, Austria

• Michael Behrisch, Utrecht University, Netherlands

Important Dates

All deadlines are 23:59:59 Anywhere on Earth (GMT/UTC-12:00) 

Submission Deadline: February 15, 2026 (Extended to February 28, 2026)

Notification of Acceptance: March 31, 2026  (Notifications sent!)

Camera-ready Papers Due: April 15, 2026

Submission Guidelines

We are accepting submissions of 3–4 pages (including references) in two categories:

• Short papers (4 pages): Present case studies, comparative analyses, or methodological contributions that highlight links between GD and DR. These may include empirical studies, critiques, or reports on cross-domain applications.

• Position papers (3–4 pages): Offer conceptual arguments, speculative ideas, or reflective perspectives on methodological synergies between GD and DR.

All contributions should be submitted on PCS (https://new.precisionconference.com/submissions). We welcome both single-blind and double-blind submissions. Accepted contributions will be included in the Eurographics Digital Library. Selected papers will be invited to submit an extended version to a Special Issue on the Information Visualization Journal (https://journals.sagepub.com/home/IVI). 

Link to the template and form for authors to prepare the camera-ready version: GDxDR Template, Copyright Form.

More details on the Call for Papers.

@Copyright 2026 Claudio D. G. Linhares