CHAPTER SYNOPSIS
This chapter goes into detail of how people focus their attention. It's starting to become apparent that many of the processes in user experience are related. We are starting to see a lot of repeat in these chapters, which let's you know that really everything ties together.
People have selective attention (and hearing). Usually a viewer is going to focus on large photos and text/colors. There are certain things that your unconscious scans for such as your own name, food, sex, and danger. That being said, the items that can help in your design to garner the most attention are as follows: danger, sex, food, human faces (especially if they are looking at the user), stories, loud noises, and anything that moves (think flash ads on websites). When utilizing sound for attention vary noises according to intensity and attention level needed. For example, the sound of a foghorn typically is a high intensity noise that gets attention well whereas the sound of chimes is a low intensity noise that people typically don't pay attention to.
As we found in the last chapter, people like to organize things on their own if you do not provide organization for them. People in the same fashion filter information. It's important to use hierarchy to control what people focus on. Make important items stand out 10 times more that you think necessary. Salient cues are when people only pay attention to what you need for a given task. This is an interesting article that pertains to salient branding using examples of branding from Subway.
The two most important informational bits I found in this chapter were the Suzuki method information and the myth-busting of multitasking. First, the Suzuki method explains that constant repetition doesn't require constant attention. The book gives examples of learning music and how at some point you do not actively think about what you are doing, instead you just do. Secondly, multi-tasking isn't a real thing. The human brain isn't really capable of juggling multiple thought-conscious items at once. Designing where the user has to rely on multi-tasking leads to errors in what you're asking them to do. Sustained attention doesn't last more than 10 minutes, so it's important to keep demos and tutorials under 10 minutes and if you need more time than that to take a break in between.
CHAPTER ANALYSIS
What I found most difficult about this chapter is that fact that it didn't capture me as the others have so far. Is that because I am reading about how people don't really focus and it's then created a thought that I shouldn't focus on the reading? I'm not sure, but I did find it ironic.
I think the most useful information in this chapter is the 10 minute attention span detail. When I think about videos, tutorials, or steps I've had to take in any endeavor, I know that I avoid anything that looks too long. I may find a video that seems interesting, but when I see that it's 15 minutes I am quick to turn it off or lose interest. It's important to keep this in mind when designing so that your viewer doesn't miss any information or lose the point of your piece.
RELATED LINKS
http://www.wikihow.com/Focus
This article discusses ways in which you can focus. Who couldn't use a bit of help in that arena?
http://unbounce.com/landing-pages/designing-for-conversion-8-visual-design-techniques-to-focus-attention-on-your-landing-pages/
Visual cues to use in design to drive focus and attention.
http://blog.usabilla.com/getting-your-design-priorities-right-with-focus-on-the-user/
How to create a design focusing on the user's needs. Includes hierarchy tools.
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