Big data such as social network data, financial data, and disease data have multiple dimensions that are more complicated to interpret by the human brain. In this regard, the concept of three-dimensional metaphor-based information visualization and navigation has become very important for big data visualization. The three-dimensional visual metaphors can be used to represent information allowing dealing with more abstract data of larger volumes. Therefore new three-dimensional metaphors are needed for the visualization of multidimensional attributes into easily readable and understandable forms. When compared with 2D data representations, 3D brings many advantages in complex data visualization. But most of the existing 3D visualizations result in complex Graphical User Interfaces that require high cognitive efforts to clearly understand these datasets. Therefore this paper presents a novel 3D user interface metaphor for visual analytics of multidimensional data which leads to drawing better conclusions on the datasets. The proposed system represents information in a more realistic 3D setting. The concept of the 3D water fountain metaphor is adopted to implement the novel data exploration mechanism in 3D space. This paper provides an outline of the proposed conceptual design. Employing a Vector-Borne Disease dataset as a case study, a proof-of-concept prototype based on this conceptual design is developed. The applicability of the conceptual metaphor is showcased through two distinct experiments, each involving four groups engaged in decision-making scenarios within the realm of multidimensional data visualization. Key findings reveal that 85% of the data analysis tasks were efficiently completed using the proposed 3D metaphor. Notably, user satisfaction levels including feedback on learnability, interface aesthetics, ease of use, and overall user experience were graded high. These key findings of the evaluation underscore the heightened potential of 3D user interface metaphors for facilitating visual analytics of multidimensional datasets.

Today, large volumes of complex data are collected in many application domains such as health, finance and business. However, using traditional data visualization techniques, it is challenging to visualize abstract information to gain valuable insights into complex multidimensional datasets. One major challenge is the higher cognitive load in interpreting information. In this context, 3D metaphor-based information visualization has become a key research area in helping to gain useful insight into abstract data. Therefore, it has become critical to investigate the evolution of 3D metaphors with HCI techniques to minimize the cognitive load on the human brain. However, there are only a few recent reviews can be found for 3D metaphor-based data visualization. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review of multidimensional data visualization by investigating the evolution of 3D metaphoric data visualization and interaction techniques to minimize the cognitive load on the human brain. Complying with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines this paper performs a systematic review of 3D metaphor-based data visualizations. This paper contributes to advancing the present state of knowledge in 3D metaphoric data visualization by critically analyzing the evolution of interactive 3D metaphors for information visualization. Further, this review identifies six main 3D metaphor categories and ten cognitive load minimizing techniques used in modern data visualization. In addition, this paper contributes three taxonomies by synthesizing the literature with a critical review of the strengths and weaknesses of metaphors. Finally, the paper discusses potential exploration paths for future research improvements.