Experiment Uses Eye Tracking to Measure the Effects of Design Elements in Magazine Ads
A recent study conducted at Texas State University, San Marcos, analyzed the effectiveness of five different design elements used in magazine advertisements.
Using eye tracking technology to measure the duration and number of eye fixations, the students conducting the experiment were able to measure the visual attention on each of the five elements: body text, head text, brand logo, product image, and human model image. Subjects were asked to browse through a magazine simulated on a LCD screen while wearing a head-mounted eye-tracking device to record eye movement.
The outcome of the experiment found that participants looked at the human model image more in terms of looking time and number of fixations than any other element when surface size wasn’t taken into account.
The second most looked at aspect was product image. Head text had the highest looking time and number of fixations per square centimeter when surface size was taken into account. These eye-tracking results illustrate the visual appeal of pictorial design elements over text in printed advertisements and can be used to help marketers design an ad that will be more likely to evoke visual fixation by targeted readers.
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