Graphics Descriptor Ontology (GDO) for Visual Representation Annotation

An ontology for domain-independent annotation and description of graphics and their elements, developed by Melissa D. Clarkson. The work builds upon ontological modeling and theories from semiotics, visual arts, technical communication, and computer graphics. It is presented as an illustrated ontology with over 100 explanatory graphics and was last updated on 2026-04-29.

Use Cases

• Annotating anatomical graphics based on the provided anatomy extension for the GDO.
• Classifying graphical marks (line, point, region) within a visual composition.
• Modeling roles and qualities of information content entities in graphics.
• Developing information processing systems that interpret visual representations.

Strengths

• Includes over 100 explanatory graphics to illustrate the ontology concepts.
• Builds upon established theories from multiple fields including semiotics and computer graphics.
• Released under the permissive CC-BY-4.0 license.
• Provides a specific extension for modeling anatomical graphics content.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset is very small at 9.5 KB, indicating limited scope.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Ontological modeling and theoretical synthesis.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-29 17:32:32; freshness should be verified.