Web Design and HCI: Together At Last?

Christopher Malone
Research School of Computer Science, Australian National University

Abstract
In this report, I look at the difference between Human Computer Interaction (HCI)
and Web Design with reference to two experiments that I have participated in, one
primary and one secondary. As a result of my experience of these experiments, I
come to conclusion that HCI studies are important for thinking about how to
move forward in web design. In particular, I find that tracking a persons eye
movement could prove significantly useful for figuring out how users intuitively
navigate webpages. As a result of this, we could figure out how best to map our
webpages onto the
mental model
that users have.

Introduction
I participated in two experiments this semester. One of these tracked my eye
movements as I answered questions, and the other required me to compare the
usability of two different types of eReader. In comparing my experience of these
two experiments, I hope to determine the ways in which Human Computer
Interaction (HCI) and web design are related. In this report, I will firstly be
providing the context in which the aforementioned experiments took place.
Secondly, I will reflect on my experience about the primary experiment

(eyetracking). I will then compare the two experiments before ending with my
thoughts on the relationship between HCI and web design.

Background
The two experiments had ostensibly separate aims. However, they intersected in
some interesting ways. Overall, I think that the aim of the experiment was to
explore the ways in which we experience devices that are either easy or difficult
to use. That is, the way that a devices level of intuitiveness affects the way we
feel about it, and the importance of this feature in forming our opinions about
devices. The benefits of this kind of study for web design theory are clear. Web
designing is about creating intuitive frameworks for users to navigate themselves
through. If we can get an idea of what makes it easy or hard for somebody to make
their way around a website, then we can extrapolate from that how we can best
design webpages.

Primary experiment
In the primary experiment I participated in, I sat in front of some cameras that
tracked my eye movements, while a computer monitor displayed a number of
realist paintings in sequence. As the paintings were displayed, I was asked a
number of questions. These questions varied in their difficulty and conceptual
nature. Compare, for instance, the difference between the questions How many
people are in this painting? and What social issues does this painting deal with?

These questions require different amount of cognitive work. The former asks us to
merely perceive facts about the image, however the latter asks to do some mental
work to come up with an answer. The aim of the experiment, then, was essentially
to note any difference in my gaze between the abstract and more concrete
questions. I must confess that I felt a level of discomfort and self-consciousness
while answering these questions. I feel as though I wasnt as focused as I would be
in a less formal atmosphere, and therefore my reactions and answers could have
been somehow unreliable. Overall, however, this seems like it would be an
excellent way of figuring out what our eyes do when we find a question difficult.
Perhaps in the future this problem could be erased by creating an atmosphere
where the participant felt at home.

Comparing the primary and secondary experiment

While the primary experiment focused on the user and their cognitive processing,
the secondary experiment focused on different devices and how we conceived of
them. Unlike the former, the latter relied largely on our opinions of the different
devices, whether we liked or disliked the way that the devices fulfilled the tasks
we used them for. I definitely felt more comfortable and in control participating in
the second experiment. It was also more fun, due to being more hands-on and
interactive. I got the impression that the primary experiment was designed to
find out what people are like, or some sort of biological or psychological rule
about humans. On the other hand, the secondary experiment took some products

of design and testing their usefulness or capability, perhaps in order to evaluate

and improve future designs of the same product.

Relationship between HCI and Web Design

On the whole, I think that tracking our gaze when using different consumer
devices could tell us a great deal about how difficult we find using different
things, and how much cognitive capacity they take up. Human Computer
Interaction is extremely useful for talking about what makes good web design,
because it tells us about what people expect and look for when using technology.
For instance, consider an eyetracking experiment that studied the use of the
eReader devices from the secondary experiment. From observing the onscreen
locations that participants directed their gaze towards, we could determine how
best to structure the devices navigation tools.

Conclusion
Human Computer Interaction is indispensable to web design theory. This is
because the success or failure of web design, like any other type of design,
depends on the user or audiences intuitive affinity with it. By tracking ones gaze,
we can look concretely and scientifically at how to best fulfil design principles.