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Summary

Information is increasingly being made available in standardized form factors, such as Really Simple Syndicate (R.S.S.) As a result, individuals have a tremendous amount of information at their fingertips. Peripheral display systems have been developed by researchers to display information in various form factors, some of which mimic traditional artwork. Furthermore, many peripheral display systems have avoided the use of animation, fearing that animation in the periphery will be distracting to users.

The BlueGoo system is a peripheral display that harnesses computational power to produce unique visual representations of information. BlueGoo visualizes any R.S.S. feed in the form of animated and dynamic photographic collages. When a collage is active, its images continually pan and zoom as well as fade in and out via alpha-blending.

BlueGoo was used to examine whether animation on a peripheral information display would be perceived as distracting, and whether animation provides an increased level of visual interest or appeal. Our study design explored both the effects of display placement and motivation to look at the secondary (BlueGoo) display, while users completed a timed monitoring task.

Our study (submitted for publication) found that animation can be used in peripheral displays without being overly distracting to individuals performing a main task--the participants in our study were able to mentally dismiss the type of animation effects used in the BlueGoo system. Additional findings are discussed in our paper.