The attentional capture of colour in visual interface design

Emil Andersen; Anja Maier

The attentional capture of colour in visual interface design

Emil Andersen, Anja Maier

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution book

8 Citations (Scopus)

22 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The use of colour is an integral component in visual interface design for creating separation between objects and for conveying meaning. It has previously been established that colours can be separated in a hierarchy of primary colours and secondary colours, and that colours are consistently associated with specific mood tones. However, it has thus far not been investigated whether these two factors, which we refer to as the perception-primacy and emotion-conveyance, are associated with attentional capture in a congruent manner. To investigate this, we conducted a visual search task study in a controlled environment, in which 11 participants scanned a 20 item display for a coloured target amongst coloured distractors. We found evidence to support that primary colours capture attention significantly more than secondary colours, and inconclusive evidence that colours convey their meaning at a sufficiently early level of processing to influence attention. We end by discussing implications of our results for design practice and research in psychology.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17), Vol. 8
Subtitle of host publication	Human Behaviour in Design
Editors	Anja Maier, Stanko Škec, Harrison Kim, Michael Kokkolaras, Josef Oehmen, Georges Fadel, Filippo Salustri, Mike Van der Loos
Place of Publication	Glasgow
Pages	519-528
Number of pages	10
Publication status	Published - 25 Aug 2017
Event	21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17) - The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada., Vancouver, Canada Duration: 21 Aug 2017 → 25 Aug 2017 Conference number: 21 http://iced17.org/

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design
Publisher	The Design Society
Number	DS 87-8
Volume	8
ISSN (Print)	2220-4342

Conference

Conference	21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17)
Abbreviated title	ICED17
Country/Territory	Canada
City	Vancouver
Period	21/08/17 → 25/08/17
Internet address	http://iced17.org/

Keywords

attention in design
emotional design
communication
human behaviour in design
visualisation

Access to Document

Andersen-Maier-ICED17-The-attentional-capture-colour-visual-interface-designFinal published version, 1.15 MB

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Andersen, E., & Maier, A. (2017). The attentional capture of colour in visual interface design. In A. Maier, S. Škec, H. Kim, M. Kokkolaras, J. Oehmen, G. Fadel, F. Salustri, & M. Van der Loos (Eds.), Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17), Vol. 8: Human Behaviour in Design (pp. 519-528). (Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design; Vol. 8, No. DS 87-8).. https://www.designsociety.org/publication/39870/The+attentional+capture+of+colour+in+visual+interface+design%3A+a+controlled-environment+study

Andersen, Emil ; Maier, Anja. / The attentional capture of colour in visual interface design. Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17), Vol. 8: Human Behaviour in Design. editor / Anja Maier ; Stanko Škec ; Harrison Kim ; Michael Kokkolaras ; Josef Oehmen ; Georges Fadel ; Filippo Salustri ; Mike Van der Loos. Glasgow, 2017. pp. 519-528 (Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design; DS 87-8).

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title = "The attentional capture of colour in visual interface design",

abstract = "The use of colour is an integral component in visual interface design for creating separation between objects and for conveying meaning. It has previously been established that colours can be separated in a hierarchy of primary colours and secondary colours, and that colours are consistently associated with specific mood tones. However, it has thus far not been investigated whether these two factors, which we refer to as the perception-primacy and emotion-conveyance, are associated with attentional capture in a congruent manner. To investigate this, we conducted a visual search task study in a controlled environment, in which 11 participants scanned a 20 item display for a coloured target amongst coloured distractors. We found evidence to support that primary colours capture attention significantly more than secondary colours, and inconclusive evidence that colours convey their meaning at a sufficiently early level of processing to influence attention. We end by discussing implications of our results for design practice and research in psychology.",

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booktitle = "Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17), Vol. 8",

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Andersen, E & Maier, A 2017, The attentional capture of colour in visual interface design. in A Maier, S Škec, H Kim, M Kokkolaras, J Oehmen, G Fadel, F Salustri & M Van der Loos (eds), Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17), Vol. 8: Human Behaviour in Design. Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design, no. DS 87-8, vol. 8, Glasgow, pp. 519-528, 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 21/08/17. <https://www.designsociety.org/publication/39870/The+attentional+capture+of+colour+in+visual+interface+design%3A+a+controlled-environment+study>

The attentional capture of colour in visual interface design. / Andersen, Emil; Maier, Anja.
Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17), Vol. 8: Human Behaviour in Design. ed. / Anja Maier; Stanko Škec; Harrison Kim; Michael Kokkolaras; Josef Oehmen; Georges Fadel; Filippo Salustri; Mike Van der Loos. Glasgow, 2017. p. 519-528 (Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design; Vol. 8, No. DS 87-8).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution book

TY - GEN

T1 - The attentional capture of colour in visual interface design

AU - Andersen, Emil

AU - Maier, Anja

N1 - Conference code: 21

PY - 2017/8/25

Y1 - 2017/8/25

N2 - The use of colour is an integral component in visual interface design for creating separation between objects and for conveying meaning. It has previously been established that colours can be separated in a hierarchy of primary colours and secondary colours, and that colours are consistently associated with specific mood tones. However, it has thus far not been investigated whether these two factors, which we refer to as the perception-primacy and emotion-conveyance, are associated with attentional capture in a congruent manner. To investigate this, we conducted a visual search task study in a controlled environment, in which 11 participants scanned a 20 item display for a coloured target amongst coloured distractors. We found evidence to support that primary colours capture attention significantly more than secondary colours, and inconclusive evidence that colours convey their meaning at a sufficiently early level of processing to influence attention. We end by discussing implications of our results for design practice and research in psychology.

AB - The use of colour is an integral component in visual interface design for creating separation between objects and for conveying meaning. It has previously been established that colours can be separated in a hierarchy of primary colours and secondary colours, and that colours are consistently associated with specific mood tones. However, it has thus far not been investigated whether these two factors, which we refer to as the perception-primacy and emotion-conveyance, are associated with attentional capture in a congruent manner. To investigate this, we conducted a visual search task study in a controlled environment, in which 11 participants scanned a 20 item display for a coloured target amongst coloured distractors. We found evidence to support that primary colours capture attention significantly more than secondary colours, and inconclusive evidence that colours convey their meaning at a sufficiently early level of processing to influence attention. We end by discussing implications of our results for design practice and research in psychology.

KW - attention in design

KW - emotional design

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KW - human behaviour in design

KW - visualisation

M3 - Conference contribution book

SN - 9781904670964

T3 - Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design

SP - 519

EP - 528

BT - Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17), Vol. 8

A2 - Maier, Anja

A2 - Škec, Stanko

A2 - Kim, Harrison

A2 - Kokkolaras, Michael

A2 - Oehmen, Josef

A2 - Fadel, Georges

A2 - Salustri, Filippo

A2 - Van der Loos, Mike

CY - Glasgow

T2 - 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17)

Y2 - 21 August 2017 through 25 August 2017

ER -

Andersen E, Maier A. The attentional capture of colour in visual interface design. In Maier A, Škec S, Kim H, Kokkolaras M, Oehmen J, Fadel G, Salustri F, Van der Loos M, editors, Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED17), Vol. 8: Human Behaviour in Design. Glasgow. 2017. p. 519-528. (Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design; DS 87-8).

The attentional capture of colour in visual interface design

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