The Impact of Typeface on Future Automotive HMIs Connected Car USA 2013 September 2013 David.Gould@monotype.com
2 More Screens
3 Larger Screens
4! More Information!
5 Nomadic Devices with Screen Replication
6
Each car has character Every typeface has a voice 7 Balance between brand / legibility
8 Balance between brand / legibility
9 Glance Time Reading
Can the right typeface reduce driver distraction? 10
What makes a typeface legible? 11
12 What makes a typeface legible?
Sq. Grotesque ( Eurostile ) - Very popular and widely used in many existing UIs - Highly-assimilated forms challenge at a glance legibility Humanist ( Frutiger ) - Open letterforms and loose spacing enhance legibility 13 Typeface Choices
Larger x-heights 14 What makes a typeface legible?
15 What makes a typeface legible?
Bryan Reimer, Ph.D. Research Scientist Associate Director of the New England Region University Transportation Center Bruce Mehler, M.A. Research Scientist 16
Sq. Grotesque ( Eurostile ) - Very popular and widely used in many existing UIs - Highly-assimilated forms challenge at a glance legibility Humanist ( Frutiger ) - Open letterforms and loose spacing enhance legibility 17 Typeface Choices
Equivalent letter heights based on the capital letter H in line with ISO5008 standards for defining automotive font sizes. Square)Grotesque) Humanist) 18 Apples to Apples
19 Simulator Setup
20! Simulator Setup!
Active, experienced drivers (3+ years) - In self-reported good health 36 to 75 year old - 50/50 males and females, - Fluent English speakers, - All recruited in the greater Boston area No statistical differences in age or visual acuity by gender (Snellen Eye Chart) - Study 1: 42 participants - Study 2: 40 participants Compensation was offered, with potential monetary penalties for unsafe driving 21 Driver sample statistics
List-based search task with three menu types - Address selections - Restaurant selections - Content search Each menu type is presented in random order using either a humanist or square grotesque typeface genre Physical text size was 4 mm at the screen surface 22 Experiment Setup
Task was initiated with instructions - Instructions are presented in all uppercase to prevent word shape carryover Ends with response - Task responses are designed to minimize word shapes differences to prevent simple visual search responses and increase cognitive demand The self-paced experiment - Driver controls the start and end times of the responses 23 Task Structure
Driving simulator based experiment Repeated exposure to menus Constant viewing conditions and text size Typeface designs scaled to match capital heights Study I and Study II differed only in display brightness and overall scene contrast - Brightness of display in study II was adjusted to match the ambient light intensity and projection screen brightness 24 Summary of Key Experimental Aspects
Overall significant difference in glance time for men combined over 2 studies - Among women the results showed a more modest improvement eyes on road eyes off road Results were robust and repeatable 25 Results
Across both studies - Typeface design significantly impacts the duration of glances to the touch screen - The effect on glance duration is most evident in men Study I Study II 26 Glance Duration
2 Studies, 82 participants Consistent benefit of humanist typeface across all measures Overall 10.6% difference in glance time for men - Among women the results showed a more modest improvement Equates to about a 50 foot difference when traveling at highway speeds 27 Study Results Summary
28 Key Takeaways
Typeface design makes a significant difference - Reducing glance duration, error rates, total task time - Industry should take notice - Simple and effective way to achieve >10% reduction for men 29 Key Takeaways
Results are robust and repeatable - Actionable now OEMS, Suppliers, government / standards bodies - Benefits likely greater in real world driving environment 30 Key Takeaways
Apparent gender differences observed in this sample are, to the best of our knowledge, novel and were unexpected - Points to complexity of factors involved, exploration of personalization 31 Key Takeaways
There is a delicate balance between brand and legibility 32
caller id gas station locator information text messages navigation and directions song names roadside assistance 33 Unpredictable Text
Future? Downloadable languages, or even style preferences? 34 World Languages
Future? Driver Personalization (text tuning)? 35 World Languages
Future? Immersive Text in 3D Environments 36 World Languages
Future? Automatic Environmental text tuning Perhaps based on viewing conditions? - Black text on white background vs. white on black - Bright sunlight vs. night time, glare, etc. Perhaps based on specific use cases? - Mapping, Web-browsing, etc. 37
Thank You! www.monotype.com/automotive! David.Gould@monotype.com! 38!