Improving searching and reading performance: the effect of highlighting and text color coding

A message presentation and processing model is presented here. It was used, in two experiments, to study how different types of highlighting and text display color combinations affect reading performance. We found that highlighting can significantly improve table searching and that the best highlighting method was color, followed by reverse video and blinking. When different color combinations were used for textual display, the reading speed was higher but the visual preference was lower for situations in which the foreground luminance was lower than the background luminance or the foreground chroma was lower than the background chroma. Hue combinations also affected both visual preference and reading speed, but did not override the dominant impacts of luminance and chroma contrast. The color impact on visual preference was not consistent with its impact on reading speed. Based on these findings, design guidelines are proposed.

[1]  S. Pastoor,et al.  Legibility and Subjective Preference for Color Combinations in Text , 1990, Human factors.

[2]  Mark S. Sanders,et al.  Human Factors in Engineering and Design , 1957 .

[3]  W. David Thomsn,et al.  The Perception of Flicker on Raster-Scanned Displays , 1997, Hum. Factors.

[4]  Ahmet Çakir,et al.  Visual Display Terminals: A Manual Covering Ergonomics, WorkPlace Design, Health and Safety, Task Organization , 1980 .

[5]  Gerald M. Murch.  Physiological principles for the effective use of color , 1984, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[6]  Joan H. Coll,et al.  Graphs and tables: a four-factor experiment , 1994, CACM.

[7]  Kieran Mathieson,et al.  Beyond the interface: Ease of use and task/technology fit , 1998, Inf. Manag..

[8]  V. Smith.  Papers in experimental economics , 1991 .

[9]  David E. Kieras,et al.  Towards a Practical GOMS Model Methodology for User Interface Design , 1988 .

[10]  D L Fisher,et al.  Minimizing the Time to Search Visual Displays: The Role of Highlighting , 1989, Human factors.

[11]  W. Cushman.  Reading from Microfiche, a VDT, and the Printed Page: Subjective Fatigue and Performance , 1986, Human factors.

[12]  Michael H. Goldhaber,et al.  The Attention Economy and the Net , 1997, First Monday.

[13]  Lindsay W. MacDonald,et al.  Tutorial: Using Color Effectively in Computer Graphics , 1999, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[14]  T S Tullis,et al.  The Formatting of Alphanumeric Displays: A Review and Analysis , 1983, Human factors.

[15]  Uwe Pawlak,et al.  Ergonomic aspects of image polarity , 1986 .

[16]  J V Lovasik,et al.  Visual Performance and Subjective Discomfort in Prolonged Viewing of Chromatic Displays , 1989, Human factors.

[17]  David E. Kieras,et al.  Using GOMS for user interface design and evaluation: which technique? , 1996, TCHI.

[18]  Lotfi A. Zadeh,et al.  Fuzzy logic, neural networks, and soft computing , 1993, CACM.

[19]  D L Fisher,et al.  Visual Displays: The Highlighting Paradox , 1989, Human factors.

[20]  Allen Newell,et al.  The psychology of human-computer interaction , 1983 .

[21]  Douglas R. Vogel,et al.  The impacts of presentation visuals on persuasion , 1998, Inf. Manag..

[22]  J V Lovasik,et al.  Neural, Optical, and Search Performance in Prolonged Viewing of Chromatic Displays , 1989, Human factors.

[23]  Yufei Yuan,et al.  Investigation of Voice and Text Output Modes with Abstraction in a Computer Interface , 1996, Interact. Comput..

[24]  Harry L. Snyder,et al.  Color Contrast Metrics for Complex Images , 1986 .

[25]  William Remus,et al.  An Empirical Investigation of the Impact of Graphical and Tabular Data Presentations on Decision Making , 1984 .

[26]  M L Matthews,et al.  The influence of colour on CRT reading performance and subjective comfort under operational conditions. , 1987, Applied ergonomics.