Optimising Visual Layout for Training and Learning Technologies

The layout and arraying of information in electronic aids used for training can affect viewer comprehension and impressions. This paper explains existing layout guidance, and defines an integrated design model for applying these recommendations. To test the efficacy of this model, two similar presentations were created, which contained the same content. However, one of these presentations applied the integrated design model to shape the positioning of the visual content, and a variant was developed that flipped the layout, so it did not conform to this design approach. The experimental results demonstrated that developing layouts that bias the important visual material to the top and left positively influenced viewer impressions. These results will have design implications for predominantly text-based material (e.g. presentations, web-pages, e-learning systems); particularly when the content is being delivered to people who typically read from left to right and top to bottom