Graphics of all kinds are an ancient and widespread cognitive tool. Graphics serve many ends: to attract interest, to record and convey 
information, to offload memory and information processing, to facilitate inference and discovery, to promote collaboration.  To do 
so effectively, they use elements and the spatial relations among them to convey meanings that are spatial or metaphorically spatial.  
An historical survey and current experiments reveal how space and the 
things in it are used to convey meaning and foster creativity.