Interface Lab

Signal changes where they occur

Changes that users could overlook should be signaled where they happen; without a local cue, changes may go unnoticed.
MotionNot tested

Sources

  • Attention is needed to notice changes; without a local cue, attention is not directed toward them.

    “attention is required to perceive change, and that in the absence of localized motion signals attention is guided on the basis of high-level interest”Abstrak
  • Changes sometimes go unnoticed; afterglow makes a change understandable without delaying its outcome.

    “Sometimes users fail to notice a change that just took place on their display.”Abstrak
  • Animated transitions improve the perception of changes between data charts.

    “animated transitions can significantly improve graphical perception”Abstrak
  • Static interfaces can communicate change poorly.

    “events on the screen frequently startle and confuse users”Abstrak

Experiments

No experiments yet.

How to test it: Change one off-focus list item with no cue, a 300 ms animation, or an immediate afterglow. Measure change detection and time on the next task.

Findings

No findings yet.