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EMP: Final Test Stimuli

The following images show a selection of the stimuli that will be used during my eye tracking experiments. The tests are basic and highlight areas that could be furthered by others like myself with an interest in graphic design.


Icons & Images:

Eye tracking a selection of 12 common symbols and the physical objects they symbolise in order to understand the way various forms of visuals are observed. The test also intends to investigate the behavior of the eye during the recognition process.




Letterform: Helvetica

This is the first of two tests that investigates the way the human eye responds to letterform. The test participants will be exposed to each Regular Helvetica Character for 5 seconds.


Letterform: Times

This is the second of two tests that investigates the way the human eye responds to letterform. Again, the test participants will be exposed to each Character for 5 seconds, this time from the Times New Roman family.


Text as image

Investigating wether the eye is able to view text as image. Displayed is a sample of text based items that I see on a daily basis, things such as my e-mail address and number plate. The test involves understanding whether commonly viewed combinations of characters and numbers appear to the eye as image as apposed to text.


Familiar Objects

Eye tracking a selection of my favorite possessions. They furnish my living environment and I see them on a daily basis. The concept of this test was to observe how I see these object compared to others that are unfamiliar with my possessions. The items were photographed on grass as this surface is visually impacting and may test the participants eye more than shooting the objects on a plain background.

Construction complete! Test Environment.

Here are some shots of the finished test enviroment with the Tobii T60 in place. (Click images to enlarge)

Construction | Day 5

Today was the day to put the finishing touches in/on the booth. I began by cutting the carpet I'd acquired from work down to size.
As soon as the carpet was down I made my way over to the fashion rooms to begin making my curtain. 5 minutes induction took me back to my textiles days at secondary school and within half an hour the curtain was ready to be fitted.

And finally it was time to add the light fitting. I screwed a hook into the booth's ceiling then ran the cable neatly around the edge of the room to the power source above. All that was missing now was the Tobii T60.

Construction | Day 4

Work began today with clamping the boards back together in the graphics studio before screwing the unit together. Once complete I started to paint the inside of the booth white to maximize light levels, hence making the eye trackers job slightly easier.

With the paint inside the room still wet I began making a shelf from an off cut. A few coats of white paint in this afternoons sun and it was ready to be fixed to the room via the exterior walls. Finishing touches tomorrow!

Construction | Day 3

Luckily the boards had dried when I to the returned this morning. I moved the wood over to the workshop and began to clap the boards together. Not the easiest job for a first timer with no assistance. However, once together I drilled the pilot holes into the wood in order to make screwing the unit together much easier and neater.

Once all of the holes were drilled the clamps were removed and I had to transport the boards over to the graphic's studio, the home of the test environment. A large concrete pillar outside the room prevented me from fixing the whole booth together in the workshop and moving it over as one complete unit. Once the boards had been relocated it was then a case of fixing it all together. Tomorrows job.

Construction | Day 2

Today the 4 sheets of 4x8 12mm MDF arrived at the arts Institute from near by columbia timbers. After some hassling the workshop technician finnaly cut the boards to the correct size.


Once cut I began painting the boards white outside however I was against the clock as getting the wood cut to size took longer than expected. The boards received 3 coats of white emulsion and have been left to dry overnight.

Construction | Day 1

Before beginning the construction I have purchased from B&Q fixtures and fittings. These included screws, hooks, a light fitting and a curtain rail. I also wanted 8x4 sheets of either 9mm or 12mm MDF, however getting them into the car would have been impossible. Therefor I need to contact a local woodyard and arrange a delivery of the board.

Simple test environment design

In order to conduct my eye tracking experiments using the T120 Tobii eye tracker a secluded test environment will beecreated from the follow plans:




The design has been simplified in order to reduce both construct cost, and time.

EMP: FINAL CONCEPT

Here is the final concept/target for the EMP:


Create a study that both informs the reader of the commercial & scientific uses of eye tracking, as well as the history of the research tool and highlight potential creative uses of eye tracking within a graphic design parameter. Intersperse the study with ‘Creative case studies’, these are the results of my eye tracking experiments that will be reinterpreted into personally generated graphic visuals.