This study is a literature review on multi-dimensional big data visualization. We considered visualization to be a means for improving cognitive abilities, i.e., to increase insights. For visualization to be effective, several basic rules must be followed in order to accomomdate the visual system. If we understand how perception works, we can translate this knowledge into for displaying information. These rules can be followed to display data in a way that would cause important and informative patterns to emerge. However, ignoring these rules, may result in incomprehensible or misleading information. This literature survey provides an introduction to the visualization domain, presents different display methods, and describes cognitive research with implications for visualizations design.