So, at this perspective, you deal with how people see the content on the page or screen, distinguish its elements and recognize them (for example, characters, words, sentences, numbers, etc). Legibility of content is focused on how people see it and distinguish elements one from another. Although designers often use the terms as synonyms, in fact, they are about different sides of content perception by the user. Let’s start with the basics and define the phenomena of legibility and readability. What Is Readability and Legibility of Digital Content
Why would you want to read about all that stuff? The reason is simple but big: app users or website visitors won’t read the content if it doesn’t look clear and digestible to them.
Our today’s article is devoted right to this aspect of user experience design: let’s check what readability and legibility are, why it’s important to care about them, what factors influence them in user interfaces, and how to improve them for usability and desirability of web or mobile user interface. 9.Whatever interesting your story is, the reader will never know it if it isn’t packed in clear and readable layout.Patently Extra News - Industry News+ (2042) Comments are reviewed daily from 5am to 7pm MST and sporadically over the weekend.
Readers are cautioned that the full text of any Granted Patent should be read in its entirety for full details.Ībout Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Patently Apple presents only a brief summary of granted patents with associated graphics for journalistic news purposes as each Granted Patent is revealed by the U.S. Furthermore, moving one's eyes away from the image after a period of time may result in a brief, strong afterimage of a circle of green spots. Some viewers may notice that the moving space has faded into a moving blue-green spot, possibly with a short trail following it. This leaves a grey background and the cross. The perceptual fading of stabilized retinal images presents a particularly difficult problem with respect to the navigation of a GUI using a movable indicator whose position is controlled by eye tracking."Īpple's invention provides systems, methods, and devices that provide a user of a GUI with one or more measures to counteract a perceptual fading of a movable indicator with respect to the GUI.Ībout Wikipedia's image above: In the noted Wiki example, the spots in the " lilac chaser" illusion fade away after several seconds when the black cross is stared at long enough. One result of this phenomenon is that when one fixates on a particular point, objects in one's peripheral vision will fade away and disappear. When one fixates on a particular point for even a short period of time, an unchanging stimulus away from the fixation point will fade away and disappear.Īpple's patent background notes that "Troxler fading is a phenomenon of visual perception that the human brain uses to cope with blind spots on the retina, which is the light-sensitive tissue lining of the inner surface of the eye. Wikipedia notes that the Troxler's fading, or the Troxler Effect, is an optical illusion affecting visual perception. 3A and 3B are detailed views of a movable indicator within a GUI presented by the eye tracking system.Īpple credits David Julian as the sole inventor of granted patent 8,937,591 which is officially titled "Systems and methods for counteracting a perceptual fading of a movable indicator." Apple originally filed for this patent back in Q2 2012. 2B is a diagram of an overhead view of a user interacting with a GUI presented by the eye tracking system FIGS. 2A is a diagram of a side view of a user interacting with a GUI presented by the eye tracking system FIG. 1B is a diagram including components associated with a display device or eye tracking apparatus within the eye tracking system.Īpple's granted patent figures below: FIG. 1A is a diagram including components of an eye tracking system FIG. Patently Apple was first to cover this patent application back in October 2013 under the report title "Apple Files Eye Tracking System with Advanced Gaze Controls." You can find more details and graphics pertaining to this invention here.Īpple's granted patent figures above: FIG. Granted Patent: Eye Tracking System with Advanced Gaze ControlsĪpple's newly granted patent covers their invention relating to enhancing the visibility of a movable indicator in a graphical user interface (GUI) and, more particularly, to altering the position, appearance, or both of a movable indicator so as to counteract a perceptual fading of the movable indicator with respect to the GUI.