DETERMINING THE SIMILARITY OF PRODUCTS USING PAIRWISE COMPARISONS AND EYE TRACKING
Year: 2015
Editor: Christian Weber, Stephan Husung, Gaetano Cascini, Marco Cantamessa, Dorian Marjanovic, Frederico Rotini
Author: Boa, Duncan R; Ranscombe, Charlie; Hicks, Ben
Series: ICED
Institution: 1: University of Bristol, United Kingdom; 2: Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Section: Design Methods and Tools - part 1
Page(s): 225-234
ISBN: 978-1-904670-68-1
ISSN: 2220-4334
Abstract
Styling is an important aspect of the design process in which the overall appearance of a product is developed and the visual appeal is achieved. However, styling decisions are often subjective and can be difficult to satisfy the needs for all stakeholders. In this paper an exploratory study is discussed that aims to address the subjectivity of styling rationale by quantifying aspects of product appearance through the use of eye tracking. Two research questions are addressed that relate closely to typical styling issues; how are products compared when determining similarity? And, what patterns of feature engagement exist in pairwise comparisons? Preliminary findings show a weak effect between feature engagement and the similarity ratings of product pairs. Recommendations are made in the paper on the practical implementation of eye-tracking to support styling decisions as well as experimental refinements to elucidate behavioural patterns during pairwise comparisons.
Keywords: Human Behaviour In Design, Styling, Eye Tracking