The Influence of Line Length: A Pilot Study

Abstract

The aim of this work is to understand the impact of typography on humans in terms of reading. Several tests were carried out to achieve the proposed objective of understanding the influence of different visual variables to ensure a more precise reading process. Four variables were studied using various sensors, such as the Brain Computer Interaction (BCI) device, to measure brain activity (active, neutral, and calm) and heart rate activity (HRA). The reading time and the number of errors were also considered. The results show that the visual variables have a different impact considering the type of text (scientific and children's text) as well as the reading medium (paper or screen). In addition, the results show that preferences vary according to the type of visual variables as predicted and as confirmed by the measurements taken during the reading process. However, oddly enough, the participants when questioned during the survey, their answers were not coincident by the measurement results. For this reason, this empirical study in interaction design is important as a future reference approach to the perceptibility and readability of text. On the other hand, the use of BCI and HRA parameters is not widely described in the literature. So, this paper allowed to perceive and identify the most adaptable typographic parameters both in the type of text and in the reading medium.