Influence of simultaneous variation in size of type, width of line, and leading for newspaper type.

A speed of reading technique was employed with 820 readers to determine the effect on legibility of simultaneous variation of type size, line width, and leading for Excelsior newspaper type. 9 typographical variations were compared with text set in 8-point type in a 12-pica line width with 2-point leading. Results revealed that 7-, 8-, and 9-point type in a 12-pica line width with 2-point leading were read most rapidly and equally fast. But text in relatively long lines, very short lines, and small type size, or combinations of these with little or no leading were read significantly slower than the standard. Judgments for relative legibility and pleasingness revealed a reader preference for 8- or 9-point type with 2-point leading in a line width of 12 picas (12 or 18 picas for 9-point type). Text in relatively long or short lines, small type size, and no leading received low ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation and optimization by colorimetry of polarizers for liquid crystal display

This paper describes the development of useful polarizers for LCD application, their optimization and evaluation based on colorimetry. Figures of merit are suggested for the characterization of LCDs and polarizers using this technique. More than 50 polarizers were used in the experiment, which also evaluated their use for both twisted nematic black-and-white LCDs and guest-host colour LCDs. Their optical properties and the associated display legibility were shown to be best exprssed colorimetrically.     

Improving pedestrians’ navigation safety at night by enhancing legibility of foreground and background information on the display

Traffic intersections are dangerous areas for pedestrians at night, primarily when people use their mobile phones while walking; pedestrians’ line of sight switches between their phones and the environment, which causes inattentional blindness during emergencies. The salience of the foreground and background information is different by the lightness conditions; therefore, identifying the lightness level of the foreground and background is critical. In this study, the brightness of urban traffic intersection scenes in the nighttime was analyzed, and improved color tones of the navigation interface for enhancing information recognition were identified. Moreover, identify the balance of visual attention by adjusting lightness and color treatment between foreground and background information. A glance legibility experiment indicated that a warm color tone with contrast and gamma correction under a lighting value of 65 in the LAB color mode is the optimal recognition combination. The results of this study indicated that low gamma under high lighting effectively reduced glare-related distractions and resulted in the lowest error rate in background information recognition. This paper proposes increasing the visual attention of urban pedestrians during nighttime navigation through the balancing of the lighting of the foreground interface and the color treatment of the background. Navigating at nighttime can be safer when their attention toward the environment increases and decreases attention distraction.     

Optimization by colour representation of a twisted nematic display system for car application

Several means are proposed for improving the representation of coloured information by twisted nematic LCDs in the transflective negative contrast mode, which are well suited for automotive application. In order to optimize the optical appearance of such display systems we analyse the spectral and spatial properties if the residual off-transmission and its implications for the perceived contrast. An appropriate adjusting of cell parameters, proper choice of accessories and the use of dichroic dyes allow spectral matching of cell and light source and thus improve contrast.     

Is interlace refresh a practical method for reducing VDU flicker?

Tests were conducted to discover whether interlacing of successive lines in VDUs (with ‘fast’ phosphors and bright backgrounds) is a visually acceptable technique for reducing the bandwidth of the display's electronic circuitry. The experiments show that interlacing, compared to non-interlaced refresh, introduces several new types of interference in the visual channel of the observer, which can only be removed by using image repetition frequencies ? 50/100 Hz (full/half rame), and by increasing the line density to a value beyond that which is needed for the generation of 9 × 7 alphanumeric characters. The net reduction in bandwidths is thus only by a factor of 0.83 if all types of visual interference are to be removed at observing distances of greater than 0.3 m for line densities less than 3.4 lines per millimetre.