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FREE! Eyetracking and the Web
While recently looking over some of the articles in Linda Goin's recent series Web Design Mysteries, I was struck by how much design I just completely overlook when I scan a Web page. Many of her insights, while familiar to a skilled artist like herself were a complete revelation to me.
Then while I was surfing the Web I came across a reference to eyetracking, sure I've heard of it before, but combined with Linda's articles this prompted me to delve a little deeper and try to find out what eyetracking studies had been done on Web sites and what the implications to Web developers may be.
Here I aim to share what I've found in my brief investigation – feel free to share any of your insights by adding comments to the bottom of the article.
An Aside II – Cultural Appreciation
While reading a page discussing how to build a website based on visitors' expectations and behaviour I was led to this page displaying a well-known Japanese picture of a large wave.
The accompanying text describes how Western left-right viewing and Eastern right-left viewing patterns cause very different responses to the picture. Suffice to say you may wish to disagree with my description of the picture!
Making Connections
I started off this article talking about Linda's articles – well the extract that really made me think about my eye moving over a screen, concerned movement.
In her deconstruction of Kate Rusby's website, Linda talked about how, when you first log onto Rusby's site, the animated Flash line drawing draws the eyes to one end of the screen. However, because of the position of the image, coupled with the direction of Rusby's gaze, our eyes are naturally drawn back across the screen to look at the left most of three columns.
Movement created by directional cues
As Linda points out in her article this gaze has forced (even Western readers) to eye track from right to left. Furthermore, and relevantly to the discussions above, we are led to the left most of three columns not the central one.
For comparisons of vertical and horizontal scrolling, as The Usability Company report talked about, try looking at these two sites from CSS Zen Garden and thinking about which you find easier to read:
If this article has stimulated your mind a little, keep an eye out for a new report on the eyetracking of more news site readers that should be released soon!
Over the course of the article I've reflected on my own ability to 'tune out' adverts and the general uniformity of blog structures and the positioning of all that important content. I've also realized that subconscious viewing behaviour leads to the adoption of conventions that you tamper with at your peril. However understanding how those conventions arise may enable you to subvert them with clever design.
Ian Blackham
Following a degree in Chemistry and a doctorate in Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, Ian spent several years wrestling with acronyms in industrial R&D (SEM with a side order of EDS, AFM and TEM augmented with a topping of XPS and SIMS and yet more SEM and TEM).
Feeling that he needed a career with more terminology but less high voltages, Ian became a technical/commissioning editor with Wrox Press working on books as diverse as Beg VB Application Development and Professional Java Security. After Wrox's dissolution and a few short term assignments Ian helped out with DMXzone's premium content section.
Ian is a refugee from the industrial Black Country having slipped across the border to live in Birmingham. In his spare time he helps out with the website of a local history society, tries to makes sure he does what his wife Kate says, and worries that the little 'un Noah is already more grown up than he is.